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Version: 2.0.2

Deploy NATS in 5 minutes

This guide walks you step by step through deploying your first NATS cluster on Hikube, from the YAML manifest to initial messaging tests.

Objectives​

By the end of this guide, you will have:

  • A NATS cluster deployed and running on Hikube
  • A high availability configuration with multiple replicas
  • JetStream enabled for persistent message storage
  • A user configured to connect to your cluster

Prerequisites​

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • kubectl configured with your Hikube kubeconfig
  • Admin rights on your tenant
  • A dedicated namespace to host your NATS cluster
  • The NATS CLI (nats) installed on your workstation (optional, for testing)

Step 1: Create the NATS manifest​

Create a nats.yaml file with the following configuration:

nats.yaml
apiVersion: apps.cozystack.io/v1alpha1
kind: NATS
metadata:
  name: example
spec:
  external: false

  replicas: 3
  resourcesPreset: small
  storageClass: replicated

  jetstream:
    enabled: true
    size: 10Gi

  users:
    user1:
      password: mypassword

  config:
    merge:
      max_payload: 16MB
      write_deadline: 2s
      debug: false
      trace: false
tip

If resources is defined, the resourcesPreset value is ignored. See the API Reference for the full list of available options.

Step 2: Deploy the NATS cluster​

Apply the manifest and verify that the deployment starts:

# Apply the manifest
kubectl apply -f nats.yaml

Check the cluster status (may take 1-2 minutes):

kubectl get nats

Expected output:

NAME      READY   AGE     VERSION
example   True    2m      0.10.0

Step 3: Pod verification​

Verify that all pods are in Running state:

kubectl get pods | grep nats

Expected output:

nats-example-0    1/1     Running   0   2m
nats-example-1    1/1     Running   0   2m
nats-example-2    1/1     Running   0   2m

With replicas: 3, you get 3 NATS pods forming a high-availability cluster with Raft consensus for JetStream.

PrefixRoleCount
nats-example-*NATS Server (messaging + JetStream)3

Step 4: Retrieve credentials​

NATS user passwords are stored in a Kubernetes Secret:

kubectl get secret nats-example-credentials -o json | jq -r '.data | to_entries[] | "\(.key): \(.value|@base64d)"'

Expected output:

user1: mypassword

Step 5: Connection and testing​

Port-forward the NATS service​

kubectl port-forward svc/nats-example 4222:4222 &

Publish and consume test​

# Create a JetStream stream
nats -s nats://user1:mypassword@localhost:4222 stream add EVENTS \
  --subjects "events.*" --storage file --replicas 3 --retention limits \
  --max-msgs -1 --max-bytes -1 --max-age 24h --discard old

# Publish a message
nats -s nats://user1:mypassword@localhost:4222 pub events.test "Hello Hikube!"

# Consume the message
nats -s nats://user1:mypassword@localhost:4222 stream view EVENTS

Expected output:

[1] Subject: events.test Received: 2025-01-15T10:30:00Z
  Hello Hikube!
note

If you don't have the NATS CLI, you can install it from nats-io/natscli.

Step 6: Quick troubleshooting​

Pods in CrashLoopBackOff​

# Check the logs of the failing pod
kubectl logs nats-example-0

# Check the pod events
kubectl describe pod nats-example-0

Common causes: insufficient memory (resources.memory too low), JetStream volume full (jetstream.size too low).

NATS not accessible​

# Check that the services exist
kubectl get svc | grep nats

# Check the NATS service
kubectl describe svc nats-example

Common causes: port-forward not active, wrong port (4222 for clients), incorrect credentials.

JetStream not working​

# Check JetStream status in the logs
kubectl logs nats-example-0 | grep -i jetstream

# Check the JetStream report
nats -s nats://user1:mypassword@localhost:4222 server report jetstream

Common causes: jetstream.enabled: false in the manifest, insufficient JetStream storage space, not enough replicas for the requested replication factor.

General diagnostic commands​

# Recent events in the namespace
kubectl get events --sort-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp

# Detailed NATS cluster status
kubectl describe nats example

Step 7: Cleanup​

To delete the test resources:

kubectl delete -f nats.yaml
warning

This action deletes the NATS cluster and all associated data. This operation is irreversible.

Summary​

You have deployed:

  • A NATS cluster with 3 replicas in high availability
  • JetStream enabled for message persistence
  • An authenticated user to connect to the cluster
  • Persistent storage for data durability

Next steps​

  • API Reference: Full configuration of all NATS options
  • Overview: Detailed architecture and NATS use cases on Hikube