---
title: Deploy Elastic OpenTelemetry for Kubernetes observability
description: Instructions for deploying {{edot}} components for Kubernetes monitoring, using guided onboarding or manual steps.
url: https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/4302/solutions/observability/get-started/opentelemetry/use-cases/kubernetes/deployment
products:
  - Elastic Agent
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless
  - Elastic Documentation
  - Elastic Observability
applies_to:
  - Serverless Observability projects: Generally available
  - Elastic Stack: Generally available
  - Elastic Agent: Generally available
---

# Deploy Elastic OpenTelemetry for Kubernetes observability
You can use the [guided onboarding](#deploy-using-the-guided-onboarding) or [deploy all components manually](#manual-deployment)

## Deploy using the guided onboarding

The guided onboarding simplifies deploying your Kubernetes components by setting up an [API Key](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/4302/deploy-manage/api-keys/elasticsearch-api-keys) and the needed [Integrations](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/4302/reference) in the background.
Follow these steps to use the guided onboarding:
1. In Kibana, navigate to **Observability** → **Add data**.
2. Select **Kubernetes**, then choose **Kubernetes monitoring with Elastic Agent**.
3. Follow the instructions to install the OpenTelemetry Operator using the Helm chart and the provided `values.yaml`.

When installing the OpenTelemetry Operator:
- Make sure the `elastic_endpoint` shown in the installation command is valid for your environment. If not, replace it with the correct Elasticsearch endpoint.
- The `elastic_api_key` shown in the installation command corresponds to an API key created by Kibana when the onboarding process is initiated.

<note>
  The default installation deploys an OpenTelemetry Operator with a self-signed TLS certificate.
  To automatically generate and renew certificates, refer to [cert-manager integrated installation](/elastic/docs-builder/docs/4302/solutions/observability/get-started/opentelemetry/use-cases/kubernetes/customization#cert-manager-integrated-installation) for instructions on customizing the `values.yaml` file before running the `helm install` command.
</note>


## Manual deployment

Follow these steps for a manual deployment of all components.

### Elastic Stack preparations

Before installing the operator do the following:
1. Create an [API Key](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/4302/deploy-manage/api-keys/elasticsearch-api-keys).
2. Install the following integrations in Kibana:
   - `System`
- `Kubernetes`
- `Kubernetes OpenTelemetry Assets`

When using the [Kibana onboarding UX](#deploy-using-the-guided-onboarding), the previous actions are automatically handled by Kibana.

### Operator installation

Follow these steps to install the operator:
1. Create the `opentelemetry-operator-system` Kubernetes namespace:
   ```bash
   $ kubectl create namespace opentelemetry-operator-system
   ```
2. Create a secret in the new namespace with the following command:
   ```bash
   kubectl create -n opentelemetry-operator-system secret generic elastic-secret-otel \
     --from-literal=elastic_endpoint='YOUR_ELASTICSEARCH_ENDPOINT' \
     --from-literal=elastic_api_key='YOUR_ELASTICSEARCH_API_KEY'
   ```
   Don't forget to replace:
   - `YOUR_ELASTICSEARCH_ENDPOINT`: Elasticsearch endpoint (**with `https://` prefix**). For example: `https://1234567.us-west2.gcp.elastic-cloud.com:443`.
- `YOUR_ELASTICSEARCH_API_KEY`: Elasticsearch API Key created in the previous step.
3. If you need to [customize the configuration](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/4302/solutions/observability/get-started/opentelemetry/use-cases/kubernetes/customization), copy the `values.yaml` file and adapt it to your needs. Refer to the [compatibility matrix](/elastic/docs-builder/docs/4302/solutions/observability/get-started/opentelemetry/use-cases/kubernetes/prerequisites-compatibility#compatibility-matrix) for a complete list of available manifests in the `release branches`.
4. Run the following commands to deploy the `opentelemetry-kube-stack` Helm chart, using the appropriate values file:
   ```bash
   helm repo add open-telemetry https://open-telemetry.github.io/opentelemetry-helm-charts
   helm repo update
   helm upgrade --install --namespace opentelemetry-operator-system opentelemetry-kube-stack open-telemetry/opentelemetry-kube-stack \
         --values 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/elastic/elastic-agent/refs/tags/v9.5.5/deploy/helm/edot-collector/kube-stack/values.yaml' \
         --version 0.16.0
   ```


### Deploy on OpenShift

<applies-to>
  - Elastic Agent: Generally available since 9.5
</applies-to>

On OpenShift, follow the [operator installation instructions](#operator-installation) and in step 4 use the following command to apply the OpenShift values file after the base values file:
```bash
helm upgrade --install --namespace opentelemetry-operator-system opentelemetry-kube-stack open-telemetry/opentelemetry-kube-stack \
      --values 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/elastic/elastic-agent/refs/tags/v9.5.5/deploy/helm/edot-collector/kube-stack/values.yaml' \
      --values 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/elastic/elastic-agent/refs/tags/v9.5.5/deploy/helm/edot-collector/kube-stack/openshift/values.yaml' \
      --version 0.16.0
```

The OpenShift values file configures the minimum permissions required to run the chart and collect Kubernetes telemetry. It creates a custom [security context constraint (SCC)](https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.22/html/authentication_and_authorization/managing-pod-security-policies) for the daemon collector. Refer to the [OpenShift values file](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/elastic/elastic-agent/refs/tags/v9.5.5/deploy/helm/edot-collector/kube-stack/openshift/values.yaml) for the complete configuration.

#### Run the daemon collector as non-root

By default, the daemon collector runs as root to read host files. To run it as a non-root user, also apply the rootless values file after the OpenShift values file:
```bash
--values 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/elastic/elastic-agent/refs/tags/v9.5.5/deploy/helm/edot-collector/kube-stack/openshift/rootless-values.yaml'
```

The rootless configuration uses an init container to make `/var/lib/otelcol` writable so that the collector can persist file log checkpoints.

#### Use an existing OpenTelemetry Operator

If the OpenTelemetry Operator is already installed through Operator Lifecycle Manager (OLM), such as from OperatorHub, add the following flags to prevent the chart from installing another operator and its custom resource definitions (CRDs):
```bash
--set crds.installOtel=false \
--set opentelemetry-operator.enabled=false
```


## Verify the installation

Perform the following checks to verify that everything is running properly:

### Check Pods status

Ensure the following components are running without errors:
- Operator Pod
- DaemonSet Collector Pod
- Deployment Collector Pod


### Validate instrumentation object

Confirm that the Instrumentation object is deployed and configured with a valid endpoint.

### Kibana dashboard check

Verify that the **OTEL][Metrics Kubernetes] Cluster Overview** dashboard in Kibana is displaying data correctly.

### Log data availability in Kibana

In **Kibana Discover**, confirm the availability of data under the `__logs-*__` data view.

### Metrics data availability in Kibana

In **Kibana Discover**, ensure data is available under the `__metrics-*__` data view.