Prerequisites

Before you begin using Envoy AI Gateway, you'll need to ensure you have the following prerequisites in place:

Required Tools

Make sure you have the following tools installed:

• kubectl - The Kubernetes command-line tool
• helm - The package manager for Kubernetes
• curl - For testing API endpoints (installed by default on most systems)

Verify Installation

Run these commands to verify your tools are properly installed:

Verify kubectl installation:

kubectl version --client

Verify helm installation:

helm version

Verify curl installation:

curl --version

Kubernetes Cluster

Version Requirements

Envoy AI Gateway requires Kubernetes version 1.29 or higher. We recommend using a recent stable version of Kubernetes for the best experience.

You need a running Kubernetes cluster with your kubeconfig properly configured. You have several options:

Existing Cluster

If you already have a Kubernetes cluster, ensure your kubeconfig is properly configured to access it.

Verify your cluster meets the version requirements by running:

kubectl version --output=json

The server version in the output should show version 1.29 or higher:

{
  "serverVersion": {
    "major": "1",
    "minor": "29+",
    ...
  }
}

caution

If your cluster is running a version lower than 1.29, you'll need to upgrade it before proceeding with the installation.

Docker Desktop

If you're using Docker Desktop, you can enable its built-in Kubernetes cluster:

1. Open Docker Desktop
2. Click on the gear icon (Settings)
3. Select "Kubernetes" from the left sidebar
4. Check "Enable Kubernetes"
5. Click "Apply & Restart"

Wait for Docker Desktop to restart and for the Kubernetes cluster to be ready. You can verify the setup by running:

kubectl config use-context docker-desktop
kubectl cluster-info

The output should show that the Kubernetes control plane is running.

tip

Docker Desktop's Kubernetes is a great choice for local development as it:

• Comes pre-installed with Docker Desktop
• Runs locally on your machine
• Integrates well with Docker Desktop's UI
• Requires minimal setup

Local Kind Cluster

If you don't have a Kubernetes cluster, you can quickly create a local one using kind.

First, install kind if you haven't already (on macOS with Homebrew):

brew install kind

Then create a cluster:

kind create cluster

Envoy Gateway

Important

Ensure you're using a clean Envoy Gateway deployment. If you have an existing Envoy Gateway installation with custom configurations, it may conflict with AI Gateway's requirements. We recommend:

• Using a fresh Kubernetes cluster, or
• Uninstalling any existing Envoy Gateway deployments before proceeding:

  helm uninstall eg -n envoy-gateway-system
  kubectl delete namespace envoy-gateway-system

Version Requirements

Envoy AI Gateway requires Envoy Gateway version 1.3.0 or higher. For the best experience while trying out AI Gateway, we recommend using the latest version as shown in the commands below.

Envoy AI Gateway is built on top of Envoy Gateway. Install it using Helm and wait for the deployment to be ready:

helm upgrade -i eg oci://docker.io/envoyproxy/gateway-helm \
    --version v0.0.0-latest \
    --namespace envoy-gateway-system \
    --create-namespace

kubectl wait --timeout=2m -n envoy-gateway-system deployment/envoy-gateway --for=condition=Available