Local Quickstart

Install the complete evaluation stack, open the dashboard, and create a real preview. The quickstart chart includes Envy, Istio, PostgreSQL, and a tea-shop application. No setup script, database configuration, or Envy CLI is needed.

Prerequisites

• A dedicated local Kubernetes cluster, such as Kind or Docker Desktop Kubernetes, with kubectl pointing at it. Use a cluster without an existing Istio installation. See Kind’s quick start if you need one.
• Cluster-admin installation permissions: the bundled mesh creates cluster-wide CRDs and RBAC. Do not use a shared cluster for this quickstart.
• Helm: brew install helm on macOS installs the standard Homebrew formula.
• A default storage class for PostgreSQL’s 1 GiB volume. Kind and Docker Desktop normally provide one.
• Network access to download the chart and images from Docker Hub. Start with 4 CPUs and 8 GiB of Docker memory; initial image downloads can take several minutes.

No mesh or database needs to be installed beforehand. For a cluster with existing infrastructure, use Install a Release instead.

1. Install everything

helm upgrade --install envy oci://registry-1.docker.io/davey/envy-quickstart \
  --version 0.9.0 --namespace envy-quickstart --create-namespace \
  --wait --wait-for-jobs --timeout 10m

Use the release name and namespace shown. This intentionally fixed local setup creates the mesh, database, Envy, and sample application, then registers the Tea shop / staging baseline. Helm waits for the setup Job to finish. Database credentials are generated automatically.

2. Open the dashboard

kubectl -n envy-quickstart port-forward service/envy-ingress 8080:80

Keep that terminal running and open http://127.0.0.1:8080. Sign in with admin / admin. Leave Demo simulation off: this installation has a real sample application.

The same port-forward handles the dashboard and preview traffic. The baseline is at http://shop.envy.localhost:8080/products; it shows tea priced at 1200 minor units (£12.00).

3. Create a working preview

1. Open Previews, choose Create preview, and select Tea shop / staging.
2. Select the pricing component to override.
3. Choose Direct image and enter davey/envy-demo:0.9.0-v2.
4. Give the preview a name, review the changes, and create it.
5. Wait for readiness, then open the preview URL. Its root redirects to /products.

The preview shows a price of 990 (£9.90). Reload the baseline: it still shows 1200 (£12.00). The storefront is shared; only the preview’s pricing service uses the new image.

When finished, destroy the preview in the dashboard. See the web interface walkthrough for more controls.

Local addresses

Use 127.0.0.1:8080 for dashboard login. localhost is a different authentication origin. CLI users can optionally install the CLI and set ENVY_API_URL=http://127.0.0.1:8080.

Most browsers resolve *.localhost to loopback. If your system resolver does not, use curl’s explicit mapping for the baseline or returned preview hostname:

curl --resolve shop.envy.localhost:8080:127.0.0.1 \
  http://shop.envy.localhost:8080/products

Port 8080 must be available on your laptop. Stop another local service using it before opening the port-forward. No public DNS or certificates are needed.

Stop or remove the evaluation

Stopping the port-forward closes local access; it does not delete workloads. Destroy all previews in the dashboard before uninstalling:

helm uninstall envy --namespace envy-quickstart

The PostgreSQL volume and credential Secret are retained so a reinstall can use the same database. Istio CRDs also remain. For a complete reset, delete the dedicated local cluster through Kind or Docker Desktop; this deletes its database contents too. Do not delete a cluster that contains other work.

Move to your own installation

This chart is for local evaluation, with a default password, plain HTTP, and a single PostgreSQL pod. When you are ready to configure a shared installation, follow Install a Release with your managed database, mesh, authentication, and HTTPS settings.