istioctl(1)
istioctl is the command-line tool for managing and debugging Istio service mesh deployments.
Synopsis
istioctl [COMMAND] [OPTIONS]Description
istioctl is the primary command-line interface for the Istio service mesh. It provides tools for installing and upgrading Istio, managing traffic policies, debugging service connectivity, analyzing configurations, and troubleshooting mesh issues. istioctl interacts with Kubernetes clusters to deploy and manage Istio control plane components and configuration resources.
Common workflows include installing Istio with istioctl install, validating configurations with istioctl analyze, debugging traffic with istioctl analyze and istioctl describe, and managing virtual services, gateways, and destination rules.
Common options
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
--kubeconfig | Path to kubeconfig file (defaults to ~/.kube/config) |
-c, --context | The name of the kubeconfig context to use |
-n, --namespace | The Kubernetes namespace scope for the command |
--manifests | Specify a custom charts and profiles path for installation |
--revision | The Istio control plane revision to target (for multi-revision installs) |
-o, --output | Output format (json, yaml, table) |
--dry-run | Print the objects that would be created without applying them |
-f, --filename | Read configuration from a file |
Examples
Install Istio using the demo profile with automatic approval
istioctl install --set profile=demo -yAnalyze the default namespace for configuration issues and mismatches
istioctl analyze -n defaultDisplay detailed information about traffic configuration affecting a specific pod
istioctl describe pod my-pod -n productionVerify that Istio has been successfully installed and all components are running
istioctl verify-installOpen the Kiali dashboard in your default web browser
istioctl dashboard kialiAnalyze YAML files in the current directory for configuration errors
istioctl analyze --recursive-depth 1 *.yamlUpgrade Istio control plane to a new version with production profile settings
istioctl upgrade --set profile=productionRemove Istio completely from the cluster, including all custom resources and finalizers
istioctl uninstall --purge