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wtf is installer?

nmittler/installer — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-18 · repo last pushed 2019-07-18

SmartyAudience · ops devopsComplexity · 4/5DormantSetup · hard

TL;DR

A pick-and-choose installer for Istio that lets you install, upgrade, or remove individual service-mesh components in a Kubernetes cluster independently, instead of one all-or-nothing bundle.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((installer))
    What it does
      Modular Istio install
      Independent components
      Namespace separation
    Tech Stack
      Kubernetes
      Istio
      Smarty templating
    Use Cases
      Run two control plane versions
      Isolate security from monitoring
      Swap in existing tools
    Audience
      Platform engineers
      Security teams

Code map

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Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Run a test version of Istio's control plane alongside a production version and migrate gradually.

REASON 2

Give the security team control over certificate management while another team owns monitoring.

REASON 3

Skip Istio's built-in monitoring component and plug in your existing Prometheus setup instead.

REASON 4

Upgrade a single Istio component in production without touching the rest of the mesh.

What's in the stack?

KubernetesIstioSmarty

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1h+

Requires a running Kubernetes cluster and understanding of Istio's component architecture.

License is not stated in the available content.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Show me how to install only the Istio security and control plane components using this installer, skipping monitoring.
Prompt 2
Explain how this installer separates Istio components into namespaces so different teams can manage them independently.
Prompt 3
Walk me through upgrading one Istio control plane version to another using this repo without downtime.
Prompt 4
Help me configure this installer to use my existing Prometheus setup instead of Istio's built-in monitoring.
Prompt 5
Explain the templating commands this installer uses to apply individual Istio components.

Frequently asked questions

wtf is installer?

A pick-and-choose installer for Istio that lets you install, upgrade, or remove individual service-mesh components in a Kubernetes cluster independently, instead of one all-or-nothing bundle.

What language is installer written in?

Mainly Smarty. The stack also includes Kubernetes, Istio, Smarty.

Is installer actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2019-07-18).

What license does installer use?

License is not stated in the available content.

How hard is installer to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated hard, with roughly 1h+ to a first successful run.

Who is installer for?

Mainly ops devops.

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