Skip to content
Kong Docs are moving soon! Our docs are migrating to a new home. You'll be automatically redirected to the new site in the future. In the meantime, view this page on the new site!
Kong Logo | Kong Docs Logo
  • Docs
    • Explore the API Specs
      View all API Specs View all API Specs View all API Specs arrow image
    • Documentation
      API Specs
      Kong Gateway
      Lightweight, fast, and flexible cloud-native API gateway
      Kong Konnect
      Single platform for SaaS end-to-end connectivity
      Kong AI Gateway
      Multi-LLM AI Gateway for GenAI infrastructure
      Kong Mesh
      Enterprise service mesh based on Kuma and Envoy
      decK
      Helps manage Kong’s configuration in a declarative fashion
      Kong Ingress Controller
      Works inside a Kubernetes cluster and configures Kong to proxy traffic
      Kong Gateway Operator
      Manage your Kong deployments on Kubernetes using YAML Manifests
      Insomnia
      Collaborative API development platform
  • Plugin Hub
    • Explore the Plugin Hub
      View all plugins View all plugins View all plugins arrow image
    • Functionality View all View all arrow image
      View all plugins
      AI's icon
      AI
      Govern, secure, and control AI traffic with multi-LLM AI Gateway plugins
      Authentication's icon
      Authentication
      Protect your services with an authentication layer
      Security's icon
      Security
      Protect your services with additional security layer
      Traffic Control's icon
      Traffic Control
      Manage, throttle and restrict inbound and outbound API traffic
      Serverless's icon
      Serverless
      Invoke serverless functions in combination with other plugins
      Analytics & Monitoring's icon
      Analytics & Monitoring
      Visualize, inspect and monitor APIs and microservices traffic
      Transformations's icon
      Transformations
      Transform request and responses on the fly on Kong
      Logging's icon
      Logging
      Log request and response data using the best transport for your infrastructure
  • Support
  • Community
  • Kong Academy
Get a Demo Start Free Trial
Kong Ingress Controller
2.6.x
  • Home icon
  • Kong Ingress Controller
  • Deployment
  • Kong for Kubernetes
github-edit-pageEdit this page
report-issueReport an issue
  • Kong Gateway
  • Kong Konnect
  • Kong Mesh
  • Kong AI Gateway
  • Plugin Hub
  • decK
  • Kong Ingress Controller
  • Kong Gateway Operator
  • Insomnia
  • Kuma

  • Docs contribution guidelines
  • unreleased
  • 3.4.x (latest) (LTS)
  • 3.3.x
  • 3.2.x
  • 3.1.x
  • 3.0.x
  • 2.12.x (LTS)
  • 2.11.x
  • 2.10.x
  • 2.9.x
  • 2.8.x
  • 2.7.x
  • 2.6.x
  • 2.5.x (LTS)
  • Introduction
    • FAQ
    • Version Support Policy
    • Stages of Software Availability
    • Changelog
  • Concepts
    • Architecture
    • Custom Resources
    • Deployment Methods
    • Kong for Kubernetes with Kong Gateway Enterprise
    • High-Availability and Scaling
    • Resource Classes
    • Security
    • Ingress Resource API Versions
    • Gateway API
  • Deployment
    • Kong Ingress on Minikube
    • Kong for Kubernetes
    • Kong Enterprise for Kubernetes (DB-less)
    • Kong Enterprise for Kubernetes (DB-backed)
    • Kong Ingress on AKS
    • Kong Ingress on EKS
    • Kong Ingress on GKE
    • Admission Controller
    • Installing Gateway APIs
  • Guides
    • Getting Started with KIC
    • Upgrading from previous versions
    • Upgrading to Kong 3.x
    • Using Kong Gateway Enterprise
    • Getting Started using Istio
    • Using Custom Resources
      • Using the Kong(Cluster)Plugin Resource
      • Using the KongIngress Resource
      • Using KongConsumer and Credential Resources
      • Using the TCPIngress Resource
      • Using the UDPIngress Resource
    • Using the ACL and JWT Plugins
    • Using cert-manager with Kong
    • Configuring a Fallback Service
    • Using an External Service
    • Configuring HTTPS Redirects for Services
    • Using Redis for Rate Limiting
    • Integrate KIC with Prometheus/Grafana
    • Configuring Circuit-Breaker and Health-Checking
    • Setting up a Custom Plugin
    • Using Ingress with gRPC
    • Setting up Upstream mTLS
    • Exposing a TCP-based Service
    • Exposing a UDP-based Service
    • Using the mTLS Auth Plugin
    • Using the OpenID Connect Plugin
    • Rewriting Hosts and Paths
    • Preserving Client IP Address
    • Using Gateway API
    • Using Kong with Knative
  • References
    • KIC Annotations
    • CLI Arguments
    • Custom Resource Definitions
    • Plugin Compatibility
    • Version Compatibility
    • Troubleshooting
    • Prometheus Metrics
    • Feature Gates
    • Gateway API Support
    • File Permissions Reference
enterprise-switcher-icon Switch to OSS
On this pageOn this page
  • Installers
You are browsing documentation for an older version. See the latest documentation here.

Kong for Kubernetes

Kong for Kubernetes is an Ingress Controller based on the Open-Source Kong Gateway. It consists of two components:

  • Kong the Open-Source Gateway
  • Controller a daemon process that integrates with the Kubernetes platform and configures Kong.

Installers

Kong for Kubernetes can be installed using an installer of your choice. After the installation is complete, see the getting started tutorial to learn more.

YAML manifests
Kustomize
Helm

You can install Kong Ingress Controller with a single kubectl apply for testing purposes:

$ kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v2.6.x/deploy/single/all-in-one-dbless.yaml

There are additional instructions for the following platforms:

  • Minikube
  • Google Kubernetes Engine(GKE) by Google
  • Elastic Kubernetes Service(EKS) by Amazon
  • Azure Kubernetes Service(AKS) by Microsoft

Kustomize manifests are provided for illustration purposes only and are not officially supported by Kong. There is no guarantee of backwards compatibility or upgrade capabilities for our Kustomize manifests. For a production setup with Kong support, use the Helm chart.

  1. Install Kong for Kubernetes using Kustomize:

     kubectl apply -k github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/config/base
    

    You can use the above URL as a base kustomization and build on top of it to make it suite better for your cluster and use-case.

  2. Kubernetes exposes the proxy through a Kubernetes service. Run the following commands to store the load balancer IP address in a variable named PROXY_IP:

     HOST=$(kubectl get svc --namespace kong kong-proxy -o jsonpath='{.status.loadBalancer.ingress[0].ip}')
     PORT=$(kubectl get svc --namespace kong kong-proxy -o jsonpath='{.spec.ports[0].port}')
     export PROXY_IP=${HOST}:${PORT}
     echo $PROXY_IP  
    
  1. Install Kong Ingress Controller and Kong Gateway with Helm:

     $ helm repo add kong https://charts.konghq.com
     $ helm repo update
     $ helm install kong kong/ingress -n kong --create-namespace
    
  2. Kubernetes exposes the proxy through a Kubernetes service. Run the following commands to store the load balancer IP address in a variable named PROXY_IP:

     HOST=$(kubectl get svc --namespace kong kong-gateway-proxy -o jsonpath='{.status.loadBalancer.ingress[0].ip}')
     PORT=$(kubectl get svc --namespace kong kong-gateway-proxy -o jsonpath='{.spec.ports[0].port}')
     export PROXY_IP=${HOST}:${PORT}
     echo $PROXY_IP   
    
Thank you for your feedback.
Was this page useful?
Too much on your plate? close cta icon
More features, less infrastructure with Kong Konnect. 1M requests per month for free.
Try it for Free
  • Kong
    Powering the API world

    Increase developer productivity, security, and performance at scale with the unified platform for API management, service mesh, and ingress controller.

    • Products
      • Kong Konnect
      • Kong Gateway Enterprise
      • Kong Gateway
      • Kong Mesh
      • Kong Ingress Controller
      • Kong Insomnia
      • Product Updates
      • Get Started
    • Documentation
      • Kong Konnect Docs
      • Kong Gateway Docs
      • Kong Mesh Docs
      • Kong Insomnia Docs
      • Kong Konnect Plugin Hub
    • Open Source
      • Kong Gateway
      • Kuma
      • Insomnia
      • Kong Community
    • Company
      • About Kong
      • Customers
      • Careers
      • Press
      • Events
      • Contact
  • Terms• Privacy• Trust and Compliance
© Kong Inc. 2025