Add a cluster using cluster certificates (DEPRECATED) (FREE)

Deprecated in GitLab 14.0.

WARNING: This feature was deprecated in GitLab 14.0. To create a new cluster use Infrastructure as Code.

NOTE: Every new Google Cloud Platform (GCP) account receives $300 in credit upon sign up. In partnership with Google, GitLab is able to offer an additional $200 for new GCP accounts to get started with the GitLab integration with Google Kubernetes Engine. Follow this link to apply for credit.

NOTE: Watch the webcast Scalable app deployment with GitLab and Google Cloud Platform and learn how to spin up a Kubernetes cluster managed by Google Cloud Platform (GCP) in a few clicks.

Create new cluster

Deprecated in GitLab 14.0.

As of GitLab 14.0, use Infrastructure as Code to safely create new clusters from GitLab.

Creating clusters from GitLab using cluster certificates is still available on the GitLab UI but was deprecated in GitLab 14.0 and is scheduled for removal in GitLab 15.0. We don't recommend using this method.

You can create a new cluster hosted in EKS, GKE, on premises, and with other providers using cluster certificates:

To host them on premises and with other providers, you can use Terraform or your preferred tool of choice to create and connect a cluster with GitLab. The GitLab Terraform provider supports connecting existing clusters using the certificate-based connection method.

Add existing cluster

As of GitLab 14.0, use the GitLab agent to connect your cluster to GitLab.

Alternatively, you can add an existing cluster through the certificate-based method, but we don't recommend using this method for security implications.

Configure your cluster

As of GitLab 14.0, use the GitLab agent to configure your cluster.

Disable a cluster

When you successfully create a new Kubernetes cluster or add an existing one to GitLab, the cluster connection to GitLab becomes enabled. To disable it:

Go to your:
- Project's {cloud-gear} Infrastructure > Kubernetes clusters page, for a project-level cluster.
- Group's {cloud-gear} Kubernetes page, for a group-level cluster.
- Menu > Admin > Kubernetes page, for an instance-level cluster.
Select the name of the cluster you want to disable.
Toggle GitLab Integration off (in gray).
Click Save changes.

Remove a cluster

Introduced in GitLab 12.6, you can remove cluster integrations and resources.

When you remove a cluster integration, you only remove the cluster relationship to GitLab, not the cluster. To remove the cluster itself, visit your cluster's GKE or EKS dashboard to do it from their UI or use kubectl.

You need at least Maintainer permissions to your project or group to remove the integration with GitLab.

When removing a cluster integration, you have two options:

Remove integration: remove only the Kubernetes integration.
Remove integration and resources: remove the cluster integration and all GitLab cluster-related resources such as namespaces, roles, and bindings.

To remove the Kubernetes cluster integration:

Go to your cluster details page.
Select the Advanced Settings tab.
Select either Remove integration or Remove integration and resources.

Access controls

See cluster access controls (RBAC or ABAC).

Troubleshooting

There was a problem authenticating with your cluster. Please ensure your CA Certificate and Token are valid

If you encounter this error while adding a Kubernetes cluster, ensure you're properly pasting the service token. Some shells may add a line break to the service token, making it invalid. Ensure that there are no line breaks by pasting your token into an editor and removing any additional spaces.

You may also experience this error if your certificate is not valid. To check that your certificate's subject alternative names contain the correct domain for your cluster's API, run this:

echo | openssl s_client -showcerts -connect kubernetes.example.com:443 2>/dev/null |
openssl x509 -inform pem -noout -text

Note that the -connect argument expects a host:port combination. For example, https://kubernetes.example.com would be kubernetes.example.com:443.