linkerd

Check CLI and control plane versions

$ linkerd version

$ linkerd check

$ linkerd install | kubectl apply -f -

$ linkerd inject [deployment.yaml] | kubectl apply -f -

$ linkerd stat deploy

$ linkerd viz dashboard

$ linkerd viz top deploy/[name]

$ linkerd diagnostics proxy-status [pod-name]

linkerd command [options]

linkerd is the CLI for Linkerd, a lightweight service mesh for Kubernetes. It manages installation, proxy injection, and provides observability tools for microservices traffic.
The install command generates Kubernetes manifests for the control plane. Pipe output to kubectl apply for deployment. Use check to validate prerequisites and installation health.
Sidecar proxy injection with inject adds the Linkerd proxy to pods, enabling mTLS, traffic metrics, and load balancing. Injection can be automated via namespace annotations.
The viz extension provides observability features. The dashboard opens a web UI showing service topology and metrics. Commands like stat, top, and tap provide CLI-based traffic analysis.
Linkerd uses mutual TLS by default, automatically encrypting traffic between meshed services without application changes.

--context name

Kubernetes context to use.

Path to kubeconfig file.

Override API server address.

Target namespace.

Linkerd control plane namespace.

Override configuration values.

Path to values file for configuration.

Enable verbose output.

install

Generate Linkerd control plane installation manifest.

Validate installation and cluster configuration.

Add Linkerd proxy sidecar to Kubernetes resources.

Remove Linkerd proxy from resources.

Generate upgrade manifest for control plane.

Generate manifest to remove Linkerd.

Show CLI and control plane versions.

View workload identity certificates.

Troubleshooting and debugging commands.

Generate shell completion scripts.

viz install

Install observability extension.

Open web dashboard.

Display traffic statistics.

Show real-time traffic by route.

Live stream of requests.

Show connections between resources.

Display per-route metrics.

Some commands require the viz extension to be installed separately. The CLI version should match the control plane version. Proxy injection requires pod restart to take effect. Some features require cluster admin privileges.

Linkerd was originally created at Buoyant in 2016 as one of the first service meshes. Version 2 was a complete rewrite in Rust and Go, released in 2018, focusing on simplicity and low resource overhead. Linkerd joined the CNCF and graduated in 2021. It remains popular for its lightweight footprint and operational simplicity compared to alternatives.

kubectl(1), istioctl(1), helm(1)