Phase 3 - install CircleCI server

Server v4.2

Server Admin

1. Prepare `values.yaml`

The values.yaml file for installing CircleCI should be prepared according to the Create Helm values section of the regular installation guide. Once this is complete, you will modify the fields listed in the steps below for air-gapped installation compatibility.

a. Configure global values

For a full example of a values.yaml file for an air-gapped environment, see the Example values.yaml page.

In the global.container section of your values.yaml file:

Set the domainName value to the internal domain name of the installation
Set container.org to circleci
Set container.registry to the internal registry hostname (and port if using a non-standard port) of your instance

global:
  ...
  domainName: "server.internal.example.com"
  container:
    registry: "docker.internal.example.com:5000"
    org: "<image-registry-org>"

If you are using a non-TLS installation for your Docker registry, visit the Non-TLS Docker Installation section for consideration.

b. Configure GitHub Enterprise

In the github section of your values.yaml file, configure settings for your GitHub Enterprise installation.

The hostname value should be the internal hostname of your GitHub enterprise installation. The enterprise value should be set to true.

If this instance is not using TLS or self-signed certificates, make sure to set the unsafeDisableWebhookSSLVerification: true and selfSignedCert: true values.

Additionally, an OAuth application and a personal access token should be set in GitHub Enterprise and values provided as shown below. For more information about this process, see the documentation for creating a GitHub OAuth application.

# GitHub Enterprise
github:
  hostname: "github.internal.example.com"
  unsafeDisableWebhookSSLVerification: true # If using self-signed certificates
  enterprise: true
  selfSignedCert: true # If using self-signed certificates
  # These must be generated and added manually from GitHub Enterprise
  clientId: "<<github-enterprise-oauth-app-client-id>>"
  clientSecret: "<<github-enterprise-oauth-app-client-secret>>"
  defaultToken: "<<github-enterprise-personal-application-token>>"

c. Configure MinIO object storage

In the object_storage section of the values.yaml file, add the following configuration, modifying ports as necessary.

object_storage:
  bucketName: circleci-data
  expireAfter: 0
  s3:
    enabled: true
    endpoint: http://<minio-internal-hostname>:9000
    accessKey: <minio-root-user>
    secretKey: <minio-root-password>

Update the endpoint protocol to http or https depending on your MinIO installation.

d. Configure MinIO build agent

In the distributor section of the values.yaml file, point agent_base_url and launch_agent_base_url to the circleci-data bucket you created in your MinIO installation.

distributor:
  agent_base_url: http://<minio-internal-hostname>:9000/circleci-data/
  launch_agent_base_url: http://<minio-internal-hostname>:9000/circleci-data/

Port 9000 is referenced here as that is a default for MinIO. If your MinIO instance is configured differently, this port will need to be updated.

Update the protocol to http or https depending on your MinIO installation.

e. Configure the Nomad build agent image

Specify the location of the Nomad build agent image within your registry, copied during phase 1, modifying the port as necessary.

nomad:
  ...
  buildAgentImage: "<your-internal-registry-hostname>:5000/circleci/picard"

Update the port on your Docker registry hostname as necessary

If using a non-TLS installation for your Docker registry, visit the Non-TLS Docker Installation section for consideration.

f. Disable VM service

In the vm_service section of values.yaml, set enabled to false to disable it. This feature requires cloud connectivity.

# VM Service Disabled - Requires cloud connectivity
vm_service:
  enabled: false

g. Add additional nginx annotations

Add any additional nginx annotations as necessary depending on your installation to provision a load balancer. In this example, MetalLB is used. For more information, see the Service Type Load Balancers in K3s section on the Additional considerations page.

# Additional nginx annotations
nginx:
  annotations:
    # This example uses MetalLB as a k3s load balancer
    metallb.universe.tf/allow-shared-ip: default

2. Install CircleCI server

With your completed values.yaml file and the copied Helm chart, run the Helm install command in your air-gapped environment to install CircleCI server.

We recommend first creating a namespace (circleci-server) and deploying the chart into that namespace.

helm install circleci-server ./circleci-server/ -n <kubernetes-namespace> --version 4.2.7 -f <path-to-values.yaml>

3. Post installation steps

After the Helm deployment, depending on your installation, it may be necessary to manually patch the circleci-proxy Load Balancer service (such as when using MetalLB). For more information, see the Service Type Load Balancers in K3s section on the Additional considerations page.