☸️Kubernetes

Kube ahoy!

Collect container logs and cluster events from Kubernetes clusters via an in-cluster agent.

How it works

The ControlTheory agent runs inside your cluster and forwards data to Dstl8. It has two components:

• DaemonSet — runs on every node to collect pod and container logs. Optionally exposes OTLP ports (1757, 1758) on each node so applications co-located with the agent can push their own telemetry to it.

• Cluster component — runs once per cluster to collect cluster-wide events and metadata.

You can install both (recommended, default), or either one independently.

Add a Kubernetes source

1. Create the source in Dstl8

From Sources, click Add Source and select Kubernetes. Configure the source and complete setup — Dstl8 will provide:

• Organization ID

• DaemonSet and cluster admission tokens

• Config and data endpoints

• A ready-to-run install command

2. Install the agent

With kubectl configured against the target cluster, run the install script (the UI provides this command with your values prefilled):

./install.sh \
  -i <org-id> \
  --ds-token <ds-token> \
  --cluster-token <cluster-token> \
  --config-endpoint <config-url> \
  --data-endpoint <host:port> \
  --cluster-name <name> \
  -e <env>

The agent installs via Helm into the controltheory namespace by default.

3. Verify

Check the rollout:

./install.sh -o status

In the Dstl8 UI, the source transitions from Pending to Healthy as the agent connects and begins forwarding. Streams appear as pods emit logs — typical stream types include Deployments, DaemonSets, StatefulSets, and Jobs.

Install options

Flag	Description
-i, --org-id	Organization identifier (required)
--config-endpoint	Config endpoint URL (required)
--data-endpoint	Data endpoint host:port (required)
--cluster-name	Name to identify this cluster (required)
-e, --env	Deployment environment, e.g. prod, staging (required)
--ds-token	DaemonSet admission token (required for ds / both)
--cluster-token	Cluster admission token (required for cluster / both)
-t, --type	Install ds, cluster, or both (default: both)
-n, --namespace	Kubernetes namespace (default: controltheory)
--no-host-port	Don't expose OTLP ports (1757 / 1758) on nodes
--kubeconfig	Path to kubeconfig (default: ~/.kube/config)
--helm-version	Pin a specific Helm chart version (default: latest stable)

Other operations

./install.sh -o preflight     # check node capacity, taints, and schedulability before install
./install.sh -o status        # report on current agent state
./install.sh -o uninstall     # remove the agent

Run preflight on large or constrained clusters to surface scheduling issues — node capacity, taints, and overprovisioned pods — before committing to install.

Tips

• Install a separate Kubernetes source per cluster rather than sharing tokens across clusters.

• If OTLP ports 1757 / 1758 conflict with existing workloads on your nodes, pass --no-host-port.

• Assign the resulting streams to workspaces as described in Sources → Assigning streams to workspaces.