How to use this image

All examples in this guide use the public image. If you've mirrored the repository for your own use (for example, to your Docker Hub namespace), update your commands to reference the mirrored image instead of the public one.

For example:

• Public image: dhi.io/<repository>:<tag>
• Mirrored image: <your-namespace>/dhi-<repository>:<tag>

For the examples, you must first use docker login dhi.io to authenticate to the registry to pull the images.

What's included in this kiali-operator image

This image includes:

• the Operator SDK ansible-operator controller
• Kiali's Kubernetes and OpenShift watch configurations, Ansible roles, and playbooks under /opt/ansible
• the community.general, kubernetes.core, operator_sdk.util, and ansible.posix collections pinned by upstream
• the Ansible runtime and Python jmespath dependency used by the Kiali roles
• tini, a POSIX shell, and core utilities required by Ansible

Deploy Kiali Operator

Kiali recommends deploying the operator with its Helm chart. First create the namespace and a pull secret that Kubernetes can use to authenticate to dhi.io:

kubectl create namespace kiali-operator
kubectl create secret docker-registry dhi-pull-secret \
  --namespace kiali-operator \
  --docker-server=dhi.io \
  --docker-username='<username>' \
  --docker-password='<access-token>'

Install the upstream chart while overriding its operator image:

helm repo add kiali https://kiali.org/helm-charts
helm repo update kiali
helm upgrade --install kiali-operator kiali/kiali-operator \
  --namespace kiali-operator \
  --set image.repo=dhi.io/kiali-operator \
  --set image.tag=<tag> \
  --set image.pullSecrets[0]=dhi-pull-secret

The chart selects watches-k8s.yaml on Kubernetes and watches-os.yaml on OpenShift. It also mounts a writable emptyDir at /tmp, which the operator uses for temporary Ansible files.

Verify the packaged playbook

The runtime image retains /bin/sh because Ansible requires it. You can use it to validate the primary Kiali playbook:

docker run --rm --entrypoint /bin/sh dhi.io/kiali-operator:<tag> \
  -c 'ansible-playbook --syntax-check playbooks/kiali-deploy.yml'

Ports

Environment variables

Non-hardened images vs. Docker Hardened Images

• The image keeps upstream's user 1001:0, working directory /opt/ansible, payload paths, and tini-wrapped ansible-operator entrypoint.
• The runtime variants use Debian instead of UBI and omit build-only tools such as git, pip, and package managers.
• The runtime variants retain /bin/sh and core utilities because Ansible executes local modules through them.
• The operator payload under /opt/ansible is read-only. The upstream chart already directs Ansible temporary files to its writable /tmp volume.
• Debian variants are published for linux/amd64 and linux/arm64; upstream also publishes ppc64le and s390x.
• FIPS variants use the Go FIPS module for ansible-operator and the system OpenSSL FIPS provider for the Ansible runtime.

Image variants

Docker Hardened Images come in different variants depending on their intended use. Image variants are identified by their tag.

• Runtime variants are designed to run your application in production. These images are intended to be used either directly or as the FROM image in the final stage of a multi-stage build. These images typically:

  • Run as a nonroot user
  • Do not include a shell or a package manager
  • Contain only the minimal set of libraries needed to run the app

  kiali-operator is an exception: its runtime variants ship /bin/sh and core utilities because Ansible runs its modules through them; they still ship no package manager.

• Build-time variants typically include dev in the tag name and are intended for use in the first stage of a multi-stage Dockerfile. These images typically:

  • Run as the root user
  • Include a shell and package manager
  • Are used to build or compile applications

• FIPS variants include fips in the variant name and tag. They come in both runtime and build-time variants. These variants use cryptographic modules that have been validated under FIPS 140, a U.S. government standard for secure cryptographic operations. For example, usage of MD5 fails in FIPS variants.

To view the image variants and get more information about them, select the Tags tab for this repository, and then select a tag.

Migrate to a Docker Hardened Image

To migrate your application to a Docker Hardened Image, you must update your Dockerfile. At minimum, you must update the base image in your existing Dockerfile to a Docker Hardened Image. This and a few other common changes are listed in the following table of migration notes.

The following steps outline the general migration process.

1. Find hardened images for your app.

   A hardened image may have several variants. Inspect the image tags and find the image variant that meets your needs.

2. Update the base image in your Dockerfile.

   Update the base image in your application's Dockerfile to the hardened image you found in the previous step. For framework images, this is typically going to be an image tagged as dev because it has the tools needed to install packages and dependencies.

3. For multi-stage Dockerfiles, update the runtime image in your Dockerfile.

   To ensure that your final image is as minimal as possible, you should use a multi-stage build. All stages in your Dockerfile should use a hardened image. While intermediary stages will typically use images tagged with dev, your final runtime stage should use a non-dev image variant.

4. Install additional packages.

   Docker Hardened Images contain minimal packages in order to reduce the potential attack surface. You may need to install additional packages in your Dockerfile. Inspect the image variants to identify which packages are already installed.

   Only images tagged with dev typically have package managers. You should use a multi-stage Dockerfile to install packages. Install the packages in the build stage that uses a dev image. Then, if needed, copy any necessary artifacts to the runtime stage that uses a non-dev image.

Troubleshooting migration

The following are common issues that you may encounter during migration.

General debugging

The recommended method for debugging hardened runtime containers is Docker Debug⁠. Docker Debug provides common debugging tools in an ephemeral, writable layer that only exists during the debugging session.

Permissions

Runtime variants run as user 1001 in group 0. Ensure that mounted files are readable by this user and that writable volumes permit group 0 access. The upstream Helm chart mounts /tmp as an emptyDir for Ansible temporary files.

Entry point

The image uses the upstream entrypoint. The Kiali Helm chart supplies WATCHES_FILE and controller arguments; when running the image outside that chart, select the appropriate watch file explicitly.