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This guide walks you through the essential workflow for getting Consul up and running on your machine or server. You’ll learn how to:
  1. Download and install the Consul CLI
  2. Create configuration files
  3. Launch the Consul agent (service or manual)
  4. Run Consul in development mode

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1. Download and Install Consul

Visit the Consul releases page to download the appropriate binaries for your operating system: Consul Releases
If you have a Consul Enterprise license, be sure to select the enterprise package instead of the open-source edition.
  1. Unzip the downloaded archive.
  2. Move the consul binary into your $PATH. For example, on Linux:
sudo mv consul /usr/local/bin/
  1. Verify the installation:
consul version

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2. Create Consul Configuration

Consul supports HCL files and CLI flags. You can use a single file or a directory of files.

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Single File vs. Configuration Directory

MethodCommandDescription
Single file-config-file=/etc/consul.d/config.hclLoad one HCL file
Configuration folder-config-dir=/etc/consul.d/Load all .hcl files in the directory
Example directory structure when using a folder: 
/etc/consul.d
├── config.hcl
├── metadata.hcl
└── service.hcl
Mixing CLI flags and configuration files can lead to unexpected overrides. Prefer HCL files for production setups.

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3. Start the Consul Agent

In production environments, run Consul under a service manager (e.g., systemd on Linux). Create a unit file like this: 
[Unit]
Description=Consul Agent
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/consul agent -config-dir=/etc/consul.d/
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
The image is a slide titled "Starting the Consul Process," explaining how to start a Consul agent using a service manager like systemctl or Windows Service Manager, with configurations via command line or configuration files.
Alternatively, launch the agent manually with custom flags: 
consul agent \
  -datacenter="aws" \
  -bind="10.0.10.42" \
  -data-dir="/opt/consul" \
  -encrypt="<key>" \
  -retry-join="10.0.10.64,10.4.23.98"
FlagDescriptionExample
-datacenterName of your datacenteraws
-bindAddress for RPC and gossip10.0.10.42
-data-dirPath to store Consul data/opt/consul
-encryptGossip encryption key<key>
-retry-joinPeers for initial join10.0.10.64,10.4.23.98

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4. Development Mode

For quick testing or demos, start Consul in development mode. This is not recommended for production. 
consul agent -dev
  • Runs entirely in memory (no disk persistence)
  • Enables Connect (service mesh) on port 8502
  • Suitable for single-node experiments
To stop the dev agent, press Ctrl+C.
Now you have the basics: installing Consul, writing configurations, and starting the agent in both production and development modes. Next up: service registration and health checks.

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