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Normally, our distribution platform Replicated uses KOTS to manage deployments and updates in self-hosted clusters. If you’d prefer to avoid using KOTS, you can alternatively manage deployments yourself using Helm. This will require more work to configure Opal correctly, but will allow greater control over the resources you deploy.

Initial setup

To start, make sure you finish the Infrastructure Setup sections in the AWS Setup Guide or GKE Setup Guide. Next, you’ll need to access Replicated’s customer-facing download portal. This lists the available versions of Opal, and has instructions and credentials for Helm installs. Opal support will provide you with access to this download portal. Log in to the download portal and select the Existing cluster with Helm installation option. It’ll look like this: download-portal.png From here, you can either We recommend using Opal’s registry unless you have specific security concerns that require you to use a private registry.

Pull images from Opal’s Registry

  1. Copy the license ID from step 1 in the download portal:
  2. Log in to Replicated’s Helm registry, using the command in step 4 of the download portal:
  3. Continue with the following Configure and Install via Helm steps.

Use a private Docker registry

  1. Create the following repositories in your private registry:
  2. Ensure your cluster is setup with default credentials to pull images from your private registry.
  3. Proceed with all of the steps from the Replicated download portal. When you reach steps 6 and 7 to download and edit values.yaml, continue with the following Configure and Install via Helm steps.

Configure and Install via Helm

Refer to the following annotated values.yaml file when you’re ready to configure your values for the Opal chart. Take note of the comments, and fill in anything with <angle brackets>.
Once you’ve configured your values.yaml, run the helm install command from the final step in your download portal: Screenshot 2025-03-26 at 10.54.41 AM.png

Update Helm Installations

For subsequent updates to your Opal cluster, log back in to your download portal and select the Manual Updates tab at the top. Set the current and update versions from the dropdowns: Screenshot 2025-03-26 at 10.56.31 AM.png If you’re using a private registry, you’ll need to re-run the commands to pull, retag, and push images to your private registry. We recommend you run these via a script or other automation. Finally, run the helm upgrade command from the final step in your download portal: Screenshot 2025-03-26 at 10.57.26 AM.png

Migrate from a KOTS-Based Installation

If you previously installed Opal using KOTS and want to manage your deployment with Helm, you can perform a one-way migration. This will not cause any downtime for your cluster, but will not be reversible. First, follow the Initial Setup instructions above. Once you reach Configure and Install via Helm, skip that section and follow the steps below instead.
  1. Pull your cluster’s current Helm values into a local file:
  2. Scale down the KOTS pods:
  3. Use helm list to check the currently installed version of opal:
    Copy the value under APP VERSION for the step below
  4. Run a Helm upgrade to take over the chart’s resources:
Once this is complete, you can update your Helm installation in the future by following the instructions in Update Helm Installations above. You can also finish cleaning up the kubernetes resources created by KOTS by running the following:

Last modified on June 8, 2026