Run QuestDB on Kubernetes

You can deploy QuestDB in a Kubernetes cluster using a StatefulSet and a persistent volume. We distribute QuestDB via Helm on ArtifactHub.

Prerequisites

• Helm
• Kubernetes CLI
• minikube

Get the QuestDB Helm chart

Using the Helm client, add the official Helm chart repository:

helm repo add questdb https://helm.questdb.io/

Update the Helm index:

helm repo update

Run QuestDB

Start a local cluster using minikube:

minikube start

Then install the chart:

helm install my-questdb questdb/questdb

Finally, use the Kubernetes CLI to get the pod name:

kubectl get pods

Result:

Querying QuestDB locally

In order to run queries against your local instance of QuestDB, you can use port forwarding:

kubectl port-forward my-questdb-0 9000

The following ports may also be used:

• 9000: REST API and Web Console
• 8812: Postgres
• 9009: InfluxDB line protocol

Customizing the deployment

The QuestDB Helm chart supports a variety of configuration options. Run the following to view all of them and any preconfigured defaults:

helm show values questdb/questdb

Using Kubernetes secrets

QuestDB supports reading sensitive configuration values directly from mounted secret files using the _FILE suffix convention. This eliminates the need for shell scripts or init containers to inject secrets as environment variables.

For example, to configure the PostgreSQL wire protocol password from a Kubernetes secret:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: questdb-secrets
type: Opaque
data:
  pg-password: bXktc2VjcmV0LXBhc3N3b3Jk  # base64 encoded

---
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: StatefulSet
metadata:
  name: questdb
spec:
  serviceName: questdb
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: questdb
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: questdb
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: questdb
          image: questdb/questdb:latest
          env:
            - name: QDB_PG_PASSWORD_FILE
              value: /run/secrets/pg-password
          volumeMounts:
            - name: secrets
              mountPath: /run/secrets
              readOnly: true
      volumes:
        - name: secrets
          secret:
            secretName: questdb-secrets
            items:
              - key: pg-password
                path: pg-password

:::note

This example focuses on secret mounting and omits the volumeClaimTemplates needed for persistent storage. For production deployments, use the QuestDB Helm chart which handles storage configuration automatically.

:::

For the full list of supported properties, see Secrets from files in the configuration reference.