OperatorHub for community operators in Kubernetes - Commands & Configuration

Introduction

OperatorHub is a place where you can find and install Kubernetes operators made by the community. Operators help you manage complex applications on Kubernetes automatically, saving you time and effort.

When you want to add new capabilities to your Kubernetes cluster without writing complex scripts.

When you need to deploy and manage databases or middleware with automatic updates and backups.

When you want to try community-built operators for popular software like Prometheus or Elasticsearch.

When you want to simplify managing application lifecycle tasks like upgrades and scaling.

When you want to share your own operator with others in the Kubernetes community.

Commands

This command lists all available operators from OperatorHub in the 'olm' namespace where Operator Lifecycle Manager stores them.

Terminal

kubectl get packagemanifests -n olm

Expected Output

NAME                 PACKAGE                  CHANNEL   CURRENTCSV                      AGE

prometheus-operator  prometheus-operator      stable    prometheus-operator.v0.47.0    10d

etcd                 etcd                     stable    etcdoperator.v0.9.4            10d

elasticsearch         elasticsearch-operator   stable    elasticsearch-operator.v1.2.0  10d

This command installs the Prometheus operator from OperatorHub by applying its installation manifest directly from the web.

Terminal

kubectl create -f https://operatorhub.io/install/prometheus.yaml

Expected Output

namespace/monitoring created

serviceaccount/prometheus-operator created

clusterrole.rbac.authorization.k8s.io/prometheus-operator created

clusterrolebinding.rbac.authorization.k8s.io/prometheus-operator created

deployment.apps/prometheus-operator created

This command checks that the Prometheus operator pods are running in the 'monitoring' namespace after installation.

Terminal

kubectl get pods -n monitoring

Expected Output

NAME                                        READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE

prometheus-operator-5f7d9f7d7b-abcde       1/1     Running   0          2m

This command lists the ClusterServiceVersions (CSVs) which show the installed operator versions and their status.

Terminal

kubectl get csv -n monitoring

Expected Output

NAME                          DISPLAY               VERSION   REPLACES                      PHASE

prometheus-operator.v0.47.0   Prometheus Operator   0.47.0    prometheus-operator.v0.46.0   Succeeded

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else from this pattern, remember: OperatorHub lets you easily find and install community operators to automate managing apps on Kubernetes.

Common Mistakes

Trying to install an operator without Operator Lifecycle Manager (OLM) installed.

Operators from OperatorHub require OLM to manage their lifecycle, so installation will fail or operators won't work properly.

First install OLM on your cluster before installing operators from OperatorHub.

Applying operator manifests from unknown or untrusted sources.

This can lead to security risks or unstable operators running in your cluster.

Always use official OperatorHub URLs or verified sources to install operators.

Not checking the operator pod status after installation.

The operator might fail to start or crash, causing your app management to break silently.

Always verify operator pods are running and healthy with kubectl get pods.

Summary

Use 'kubectl get packagemanifests -n olm' to see available community operators.

Install an operator by applying its manifest from OperatorHub.

Verify operator pods and ClusterServiceVersions to ensure successful installation.