Installation with CLI

In this lesson we will go over how to install Cilium using the Cilium CLI.

A presentation title slide with the text "Installing Cilium With CLI" on a blue-green gradient background. A small "© Copyright KodeKloud" appears in the lower-left corner.

Download and install the Cilium CLI

First, download the Cilium CLI binary appropriate for your platform and install it into your PATH. The example below targets Linux; macOS and Windows users can find platform-specific binaries on the Cilium releases page. Recommended links:

Cilium CLI releases: https://github.com/cilium/cilium-cli/releases
Cilium docs: https://cilium.io/docs/

Example (Linux):

# Determine the stable CLI version
CILIUM_CLI_VERSION=$(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cilium/cilium-cli/main/stable.txt)

# Default architecture; override for aarch64
CLI_ARCH=amd64
if [ "$(uname -m)" = "aarch64" ]; then
  CLI_ARCH=arm64
fi

# Download the tarball and checksum
curl -L --fail --remote-name-all "https://github.com/cilium/cilium-cli/releases/download/${CILIUM_CLI_VERSION}/cilium-linux-${CLI_ARCH}.tar.gz"{,.sha256sum}

# Extract and install
tar xzf "cilium-linux-${CLI_ARCH}.tar.gz"
sudo mv cilium /usr/local/bin/

Verify the installation:

cilium version

Notes:

For macOS use the darwin tarball; for Windows use the appropriate zip.
If you prefer package managers, check the Cilium docs for Homebrew, Chocolatey, or distribution packages.

Install Cilium into the cluster

The Cilium CLI uses your current kubeconfig context to determine which cluster to install into. Ensure your kubeconfig points to the intended cluster before running the installer. Warning: make sure you are targeting the correct cluster/context to avoid accidental changes to production clusters.

Ensure your kubeconfig context is set to the intended cluster before running cilium install. Installing Cilium will create ClusterRoles, DaemonSets, Deployments, and other cluster-scoped resources.

Run the installer:

cilium install

Wait for components to become healthy. Use —wait to block until readiness conditions are met:

cilium status --wait

Example output (truncated):

/'`\
/'--\__\
\__/--/
 \__/

Cilium:        OK
Operator:      OK
Hubble:        disabled
ClusterMesh:   disabled

DaemonSet            cilium               Desired: 2, Ready: 2/2, Available: 2/2
Deployment           cilium-operator      Desired: 2, Ready: 2/2, Available: 2/2
Containers:          cilium-operator      Running: 2
                     cilium               Running: 2
Image versions       cilium               quay.io/cilium/cilium:v1.9.5: 2
                     cilium-operator      quay.io/cilium/operator-generic:v1.9.5: 2

A successful deployment shows components (DaemonSet, Deployment, containers) with matching Desired/Ready/Available counts.

Preview resources with a dry run

If you want to review the exact Kubernetes manifests that will be applied without changing the cluster, use a dry run. This is useful for auditing and validating Helm values before applying them.

cilium install --dry-run

This prints the rendered YAML to stdout so you can inspect it, pipe to a file, or run kubectl apply -f - later when ready.

Common CLI commands

Command	Purpose	Notes
`cilium install`	Install Cilium using current kubeconfig context	Uses Helm under the hood
`cilium install --dry-run`	Render manifests without applying	Good for validation/auditing
`cilium status --wait`	Wait until Cilium components are ready	Blocks until readiness conditions
`cilium uninstall`	Remove Cilium resources from cluster	Use with caution in production

Configuring Cilium at install time

The Cilium CLI uses the Cilium Helm chart to render manifests. You can customize installation by supplying Helm values either inline via --helm-set or from a values file via --values. Examples:

# Pass individual Helm values from the CLI
cilium install \
  --helm-set ipv6.enabled=true \
  --helm-set routingMode=native \
  --helm-set autoDirectNodeRoutes=true

# Or use a YAML values file
cilium install --values values.yaml

For a complete list of configuration keys, review the Helm chart’s values.yaml in the Cilium GitHub repository or the chart documentation.

The available configuration keys come from the Cilium Helm chart. Use —dry-run to preview the final rendered manifest or check the chart’s values.yaml to see all options.

Sample values.yaml

Below is an example values.yaml that enables IPv6 and configures dual-stack IPAM using a cluster pool. Adjust CIDRs and other options to match your network design and cluster requirements.

# Enable IPv6 support
ipv6:
  enabled: true

# Enable dual-stack mode (optional, if using both IPv4 and IPv6)
ipam:
  mode: "cluster-pool"
  operator:
    clusterPoolIPv6PodCIDRList:
      - "fd00::/104" # Adjust based on your network setup

# Use native routing mode (recommended for better performance)
routingMode: "native"

# eBPF/networking-related settings
bpf:
  masquerade: true
  tproxy: true

Best practices and references

Always validate rendered manifests using cilium install --dry-run before applying to production.
Use the table above to quickly reference common cilium CLI commands.
Consult the official documentation and Helm chart values:
- Cilium Documentation: https://cilium.io/docs/
- Cilium Helm chart / values: https://github.com/cilium/cilium/tree/main/install/kubernetes/cilium
- Cilium CLI releases: https://github.com/cilium/cilium-cli/releases

With these steps you can install and configure Cilium using the CLI, preview resources before applying changes, and supply Helm values either inline or via a values file.

Introduction

Cilium Overview

Installing & Configuring Cilium

Exploring Cilium

Network Policy

Service Mesh

Cluster Mesh

Observability

BGP & External Networking

Optimization

Installation with CLI

Download and install the Cilium CLI

Install Cilium into the cluster

Preview resources with a dry run

Common CLI commands

Configuring Cilium at install time

Sample values.yaml

Best practices and references

Watch Video

​Download and install the Cilium CLI

​Install Cilium into the cluster

​Preview resources with a dry run

​Common CLI commands

​Configuring Cilium at install time

​Sample values.yaml

​Best practices and references

Watch Video

Download and install the Cilium CLI

Install Cilium into the cluster

Preview resources with a dry run

Common CLI commands

Configuring Cilium at install time

Sample values.yaml

Best practices and references