Flux Quick Start

Get Started with Flux Operator

Install the Flux Operator and deploy Flux CD with a simple declarative configuration. Get up and running in minutes.

Install the Flux Operator CLI

Install the Flux Operator CLI using Homebrew:

bash

brew install controlplaneio-fluxcd/tap/flux-operator
brew install controlplaneio-fluxcd/tap/flux-operator

For other install methods see the CLI documentation

Create a Flux Instance

Define your Flux configuration with the FluxInstance CRD:

yaml

apiVersion: fluxcd.controlplane.io/v1
kind: FluxInstance
metadata:
  name: flux
  namespace: flux-system
spec:
  distribution:
    version: "2.x"
    registry: "ghcr.io/fluxcd"
    artifact: "oci://ghcr.io/controlplaneio-fluxcd/flux-operator-manifests"
  components:
    - source-controller
    - source-watcher
    - kustomize-controller
    - helm-controller
    - notification-controller
  cluster:
    type: kubernetes
    size: medium
    multitenant: false
    networkPolicy: true
    domain: "cluster.local"
apiVersion: fluxcd.controlplane.io/v1
kind: FluxInstance
metadata:
  name: flux
  namespace: flux-system
spec:
  distribution:
    version: "2.x"
    registry: "ghcr.io/fluxcd"
    artifact: "oci://ghcr.io/controlplaneio-fluxcd/flux-operator-manifests"
  components:
    - source-controller
    - source-watcher
    - kustomize-controller
    - helm-controller
    - notification-controller
  cluster:
    type: kubernetes
    size: medium
    multitenant: false
    networkPolicy: true
    domain: "cluster.local"

Install the Flux Operator and apply your configuration on a cluster:

bash

flux-operator install -f flux-instance.yaml
flux-operator install -f flux-instance.yaml

Other deploy methods: Helm, Terraform, OperatorHub

Sync from a Git Repository

Add a sync configuration to deploy resources from a Git repository:

yaml

apiVersion: fluxcd.controlplane.io/v1
kind: FluxInstance
metadata:
  name: flux
  namespace: flux-system
spec:
  sync:
    kind: GitRepository
    url: "https://github.com/fluxcd/flux2-kustomize-helm-example"
    ref: "refs/heads/main"
    path: "clusters/staging"
    pullSecret: "flux-system"
apiVersion: fluxcd.controlplane.io/v1
kind: FluxInstance
metadata:
  name: flux
  namespace: flux-system
spec:
  sync:
    kind: GitRepository
    url: "https://github.com/fluxcd/flux2-kustomize-helm-example"
    ref: "refs/heads/main"
    path: "clusters/staging"
    pullSecret: "flux-system"

For private repositories, create a secret with your credentials:

bash

flux-operator create secret basic-auth flux-system \
  --namespace=flux-system \
  --username=git \
  --password=$GITHUB_TOKEN
flux-operator create secret basic-auth flux-system \
  --namespace=flux-system \
  --username=git \
  --password=$GITHUB_TOKEN

For more information on how to configure syncing from Git repositories, container registries and S3-compatible storage, refer to the cluster sync guide.

Access the Status Page

Port-forward to access the built-in dashboards:

bash

kubectl -n flux-system port-forward svc/flux-operator 9080:9080
kubectl -n flux-system port-forward svc/flux-operator 9080:9080

Open http://localhost:9080 in your browser to monitor your GitOps pipelines.

Learn more about the Flux Web UI →

Setup the MCP Server

Install the Flux MCP Server to enable Agentic GitOps within Claude, Cursor, or other MCP-compatible tools:

bash

brew install controlplaneio-fluxcd/tap/flux-operator-mcp
brew install controlplaneio-fluxcd/tap/flux-operator-mcp

Add the following configuration to your AI assistant's MCP server settings:

json

{
  "flux-operator-mcp": {
    "command": "flux-operator-mcp",
    "args": [
      "serve",
      "--read-only=false"
    ],
    "env": {
      "KUBECONFIG": "/path/to/.kube/config"
    }
  }
}
{
  "flux-operator-mcp": {
    "command": "flux-operator-mcp",
    "args": [
      "serve",
      "--read-only=false"
    ],
    "env": {
      "KUBECONFIG": "/path/to/.kube/config"
    }
  }
}