Linkerd

Service mesh for Kubernetes providing observability and security - Essential commands and usage patterns.

Overview

Linkerd is a service mesh used for service mesh for kubernetes providing observability and security. This cheat sheet covers the most commonly used commands and workflows.

Platform Support: Kubernetes Category: Development

Installation

Linux/Ubuntu

# Package manager installation
sudo apt update
sudo apt install linkerd

# Alternative installation methods
wget -O linkerd https://github.com/example/linkerd/releases/latest
chmod +x linkerd
sudo mv linkerd /usr/local/bin/

macOS

# Homebrew installation
brew install linkerd

# Manual installation
curl -L -o linkerd https://github.com/example/linkerd/releases/latest
chmod +x linkerd
sudo mv linkerd /usr/local/bin/

Windows

# Chocolatey installation
choco install linkerd

# Scoop installation
scoop install linkerd

# Manual installation
# Download from official website and add to PATH

Basic Commands

Command	Description
`linkerd --help`	Display help information
`linkerd --version`	Show version information
`linkerd init`	Initialize linkerd in current directory
`linkerd status`	Check current status
`linkerd list`	List available options/items

Common Operations

Basic Usage

# Start linkerd
linkerd start

# Stop linkerd
linkerd stop

# Restart linkerd
linkerd restart

# Check status
linkerd status

Configuration

# View configuration
linkerd config show

# Set configuration option
linkerd config set <key> <value>

# Reset configuration
linkerd config reset

Advanced Operations

# Verbose output
linkerd -v <command>

# Debug mode
linkerd --debug <command>

# Dry run (preview changes)
linkerd --dry-run <command>

# Force operation
linkerd --force <command>

File Operations

Command	Description
`linkerd create <file>`	Create new file
`linkerd read <file>`	Read file contents
`linkerd update <file>`	Update existing file
`linkerd delete <file>`	Delete file
`linkerd copy <src> <dst>`	Copy file
`linkerd move <src> <dst>`	Move file

Network Operations

# Connect to remote host
linkerd connect <host>:<port>

# Listen on port
linkerd listen --port <port>

# Send data
linkerd send --data "<data>" --target <host>

# Receive data
linkerd receive --port <port>

Security Features

Authentication

# Login with credentials
linkerd login --user <username>

# Logout
linkerd logout

# Change password
linkerd passwd

# Generate API key
linkerd generate-key

Encryption

# Encrypt file
linkerd encrypt <file>

# Decrypt file
linkerd decrypt <file>

# Generate certificate
linkerd cert generate

# Verify signature
linkerd verify <file>

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue: Command not found

# Check if installed
which linkerd

# Reinstall if necessary
sudo apt reinstall linkerd

Issue: Permission denied

# Run with sudo
sudo linkerd <command>

# Fix permissions
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/linkerd

Issue: Configuration errors

# Reset configuration
linkerd config reset

# Validate configuration
linkerd config validate

Debug Commands

Command	Description
`linkerd --debug`	Enable debug output
`linkerd --verbose`	Verbose logging
`linkerd test`	Run self-tests
`linkerd doctor`	Check system health

Best Practices

Security

Always verify checksums when downloading
Use strong authentication methods
Regularly update to latest version
Follow principle of least privilege

Performance

Use appropriate buffer sizes
Monitor resource usage
Optimize configuration for your use case
Regular maintenance and cleanup

Maintenance

# Update linkerd
linkerd update

# Clean temporary files
linkerd clean

# Backup configuration
linkerd backup --config

# Restore from backup
linkerd restore --config <backup-file>

Integration

Scripting

#!/bin/bash
# Example script using linkerd

# Check if linkerd is available
if ! command -v linkerd &> /dev/null; then
    echo "linkerd is not installed"
    exit 1
fi

# Run linkerd with error handling
if linkerd <command>; then
    echo "Success"
else
    echo "Failed"
    exit 1
fi

API Integration

# Python example
import subprocess
import json

def run_linkerd(command):
    try:
        result = subprocess.run(['linkerd'] + command.split(),
                              capture_output=True, text=True)
        return result.stdout
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error: \\\\{e\\\\}")
        return None

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
`LINKERD_CONFIG`	Configuration file path	`~/.linkerd/config`
`LINKERD_HOME`	Home directory	`~/.linkerd`
`LINKERD_LOG_LEVEL`	Logging level	`INFO`
`LINKERD_TIMEOUT`	Operation timeout	`30s`

Configuration File

# ~/.linkerd/config.yaml
version: "1.0"
settings:
  debug: false
  timeout: 30
  log_level: "INFO"

network:
  host: "localhost"
  port: 8080
  ssl: true

security:
  auth_required: true
  encryption: "AES256"

Examples

Basic Workflow

# 1. Initialize
linkerd init

# 2. Configure
linkerd config set host example.com

# 3. Connect
linkerd connect

# 4. Perform operations
linkerd list
linkerd create example

# 5. Cleanup
linkerd disconnect

Advanced Workflow

# Automated deployment
linkerd deploy \
  --config production.yaml \
  --environment prod \
  --verbose \
  --timeout 300

# Monitoring
linkerd monitor \
  --interval 60 \
  --alert-threshold 80 \
  --log-file monitor.log

Resources

Official Documentation

Community

Tutorials

Last updated: 2025-07-05