Kubernetes Deployment

Deploy NocoDB on Kubernetes using Helm charts

Deploy NocoDB on Kubernetes clusters using the official Helm chart. This guide covers installation, configuration, and production best practices.

Prerequisites

• Kubernetes cluster (v1.19+)
• Helm 3.x installed
• kubectl configured to access your cluster
• (Optional) Ingress controller for external access

Quick Start

Add Helm Repository

First, clone the NocoDB repository to access the Helm chart:

git clone https://github.com/nocodb/nocodb.git
cd nocodb/charts/nocodb

Install with Default Configuration

Install NocoDB with SQLite (development only):

helm install nocodb . \
  --set extraSecretEnvs.NC_AUTH_JWT_SECRET="your-secret-key"

The default configuration uses ephemeral storage. For production, configure persistent storage and an external database.

Production Configuration

values.yaml Overview

The Helm chart supports extensive configuration through values.yaml:

replicaCount: 1

image:
  repository: nocodb/nocodb
  pullPolicy: IfNotPresent
  tag: ""  # Defaults to chart appVersion (0.100.2)

service:
  type: ClusterIP
  port: 8080

storage:
  enabled: true
  size: 3Gi
  storageClassName: ""

extraEnvs:
  NC_PUBLIC_URL: https://nocodb.local.org

extraSecretEnvs:
  NC_AUTH_JWT_SECRET: secretString
  NC_DB: "mysql2://mysql:3306?u=nocodb&p=secretPass&d=nocodb"

Deploy with PostgreSQL

Create a custom values.yaml file:

values-production.yaml

replicaCount: 2

image:
  repository: nocodb/nocodb
  tag: "latest"

service:
  type: ClusterIP
  port: 8080

storage:
  enabled: true
  size: 10Gi
  storageClassName: "standard"  # Use your storage class

extraEnvs:
  NC_PUBLIC_URL: https://nocodb.example.com
  NC_DISABLE_TELE: "true"

extraSecretEnvs:
  NC_AUTH_JWT_SECRET: "your-very-secure-jwt-secret"
  NC_DB: "pg://postgres.default.svc.cluster.local:5432?u=nocodb&p=secretPass&d=nocodb"

resources:
  limits:
    cpu: 1000m
    memory: 1024Mi
  requests:
    cpu: 500m
    memory: 512Mi

ingress:
  enabled: true
  annotations:
    kubernetes.io/ingress.class: nginx
    cert-manager.io/cluster-issuer: letsencrypt-prod
  hosts:
    - host: nocodb.example.com
      paths:
        - path: /
          pathType: Prefix
  tls:
    - secretName: nocodb-tls
      hosts:
        - nocodb.example.com

autoscaling:
  enabled: true
  minReplicas: 2
  maxReplicas: 10
  targetCPUUtilizationPercentage: 80

Deploy with Built-in PostgreSQL

The chart includes optional PostgreSQL and MySQL dependencies:

postgresql:
  enabled: true
  auth:
    database: nocodb
    username: nocodb
    password: secretPass
  persistence:
    size: 8Gi

extraSecretEnvs:
  NC_AUTH_JWT_SECRET: "your-jwt-secret"
  NC_DB: "pg://nocodb-postgresql:5432?u=nocodb&p=secretPass&d=nocodb"

Install:

helm install nocodb . \
  --set postgresql.enabled=true \
  --set postgresql.auth.password=secretPass \
  --set extraSecretEnvs.NC_AUTH_JWT_SECRET="your-jwt-secret" \
  --set extraSecretEnvs.NC_DB="pg://nocodb-postgresql:5432?u=nocodb&p=secretPass&d=nocodb" \
  --namespace nocodb \
  --create-namespace

Deploy with MySQL

mysql:
  enabled: true
  auth:
    database: nocodb
    username: nocodb
    password: secretPass
  persistence:
    enabled: true
    size: 8Gi

extraSecretEnvs:
  NC_AUTH_JWT_SECRET: "your-jwt-secret"
  NC_DB: "mysql2://nocodb-mysql:3306?u=nocodb&p=secretPass&d=nocodb"

Configuration Options

Image Configuration

Parameter	Description	Default
image.repository	NocoDB image repository	nocodb/nocodb
image.tag	Image tag (overrides appVersion)	""
image.pullPolicy	Image pull policy	IfNotPresent

Storage Configuration

Parameter	Description	Default
storage.enabled	Enable persistent storage	true
storage.size	PVC size	3Gi
storage.storageClassName	Storage class name	""

If storage.enabled is false, configure S3-compatible storage using environment variables (NC_S3_BUCKET_NAME, etc.) to avoid data loss.

Service Configuration

Parameter	Description	Default
service.type	Kubernetes service type	ClusterIP
service.port	Service port	8080

Ingress Configuration

Parameter	Description	Default
ingress.enabled	Enable ingress	false
ingress.annotations	Ingress annotations	{}
ingress.hosts	Ingress hosts	See values.yaml
ingress.tls	TLS configuration	[]

Autoscaling

Parameter	Description	Default
autoscaling.enabled	Enable HPA	false
autoscaling.minReplicas	Minimum replicas	1
autoscaling.maxReplicas	Maximum replicas	100
autoscaling.targetCPUUtilizationPercentage	Target CPU %	80

Managing the Deployment

Verify Installation

# Check pod status
kubectl get pods -n nocodb

# View logs
kubectl logs -n nocodb deployment/nocodb -f

# Check services
kubectl get svc -n nocodb

Upgrade

helm upgrade nocodb . \
  -f values-production.yaml \
  --namespace nocodb

Rollback

# List releases
helm history nocodb -n nocodb

# Rollback to previous version
helm rollback nocodb -n nocodb

Uninstall

helm uninstall nocodb -n nocodb

Uninstalling does not delete PersistentVolumeClaims. Delete them manually if needed:

kubectl delete pvc -n nocodb -l app.kubernetes.io/name=nocodb

Production Best Practices

Use External Databases

For production, use managed database services:

extraSecretEnvs:
  NC_DB: "pg://your-rds-endpoint:5432?u=nocodb&p=secretPass&d=nocodb&ssl=true"

Configure Resource Limits

Always set resource requests and limits:

resources:
  limits:
    cpu: 2000m
    memory: 2Gi
  requests:
    cpu: 1000m
    memory: 1Gi

Enable Horizontal Pod Autoscaling

autoscaling:
  enabled: true
  minReplicas: 3
  maxReplicas: 20
  targetCPUUtilizationPercentage: 70

Use Secrets for Sensitive Data

Store secrets in Kubernetes Secrets or external secret managers:

kubectl create secret generic nocodb-secrets \
  --from-literal=NC_AUTH_JWT_SECRET=your-secret \
  --from-literal=NC_DB=pg://... \
  -n nocodb

Reference in values.yaml:

envFrom:
  - secretRef:
      name: nocodb-secrets

Configure Persistence

Use appropriate storage classes for your cloud provider:

• AWS: gp3 or gp2
• GCP: standard-rwo or pd-ssd
• Azure: managed-premium or managed

Monitoring and Logging

View Logs

kubectl logs -n nocodb -l app.kubernetes.io/name=nocodb --tail=100 -f

Access Shell

kubectl exec -it -n nocodb deployment/nocodb -- sh

Port Forward for Testing

kubectl port-forward -n nocodb svc/nocodb 8080:8080

Access at: http://localhost:8080/dashboard

Troubleshooting

Pod Not Starting

kubectl describe pod -n nocodb <pod-name>
kubectl logs -n nocodb <pod-name>

Database Connection Issues

Verify the NC_DB connection string:

kubectl get secret -n nocodb nocodb -o jsonpath='{.data.NC_DB}' | base64 -d

Storage Issues

kubectl get pvc -n nocodb
kubectl describe pvc -n nocodb <pvc-name>

Next Steps

• Configure environment variables
• Set up external database
• Docker deployment options