Required Dependencies

This document outlines the infrastructure dependencies required for KServe installation based on your deployment mode.

Knative Mode Dependencies

Knative mode provides serverless deployment with automatic scaling and traffic management.

Required Components

Component	Version	Purpose
cert-manager	v1.17.0	TLS certificate management for webhooks
Istio	1.27.1	Service mesh and ingress gateway
istio-ingress-class	-	Istio IngressClass configuration
Knative Operator	v1.21.1	Serverless platform operator
Knative Serving	1.21.1	Serverless serving runtime

Required CLI Tools

• helm - Kubernetes package manager
• kustomize - Kubernetes configuration management
• yq - YAML processor
• kubectl - Kubernetes CLI

Cloning the Repository

Most installation methods require cloning the KServe repository to access installation scripts and Kustomize configurations.

git clone https://github.com/kserve/kserve.git
cd kserve

tip

You only need to clone the repository once. All installation guides in this section assume you're in the kserve/ directory.

Installation

Use the pre-generated dependency installation script:

# Install dependencies for Knative mode
curl -fsSL https://github.com/kserve/kserve/releases/download/v0.17.0/kserve-knative-mode-dependency-install.sh | bash

Or install components individually:

# cert-manager
./hack/setup/infra/manage.cert-manager-helm.sh

# Istio (3 components)
./hack/setup/infra/manage.istio-helm.sh

# Istio IngressClass
./hack/setup/infra/manage.istio-ingress-class.sh

# Knative Operator
./hack/setup/infra/knative/manage.knative-operator-helm.sh

Standard Mode Dependencies

Standard mode uses raw Kubernetes deployments without serverless features.

Required Components

Component	Version	Purpose
cert-manager	v1.17.0+	TLS certificate management for webhooks

Required CLI Tools

• helm - Kubernetes package manager
• yq - YAML processor
• kubectl - Kubernetes CLI

Installation

# Install dependencies for Standard mode
 curl -fsSL https://github.com/kserve/kserve/releases/download/v0.17.0/kserve-standard-mode-dependency-install.sh | bash

Or install cert-manager directly:

./hack/setup/infra/manage.cert-manager-helm.sh

LLMIsvc Dependencies

LLMIsvc mode is optimized for large language model serving with Gateway API integration.

Required Components

Component	Purpose
External LB	Load balancer for Kind/Minikube
cert-manager	TLS certificate management
Gateway API Extension CRDs	Inference-specific Gateway API extensions
Gateway API CRDs	Core Gateway API resources
Envoy Gateway	Gateway API implementation
Envoy AI Gateway	AI-specific gateway extensions
Gateway API GatewayClass	Gateway class configuration
Gateway API Gateway	Gateway resource instances
LWS Operator	LeaderWorkerSet for multi-node serving

Required CLI Tools

• helm - Kubernetes package manager
• yq - YAML processor
• kubectl - Kubernetes CLI

Installation

# Install dependencies for LLMIsvc mode
curl -fsSL https://github.com/kserve/kserve/releases/download/v0.17.0/llmisvc-dependency-install.sh | bash

Or install components individually:

# External load balancer (platform-specific)
./hack/setup/infra/external-lb/manage.external-lb.sh

# cert-manager
./hack/setup/infra/manage.cert-manager-helm.sh

# Gateway API Extension CRDs
./hack/setup/infra/gateway-api/manage.gateway-api-extension-crd.sh

# Gateway API CRDs
./hack/setup/infra/gateway-api/manage.gateway-api-crd.sh

# Envoy Gateway
./hack/setup/infra/manage.envoy-gateway-helm.sh

# Envoy AI Gateway
./hack/setup/infra/manage.envoy-ai-gateway-helm.sh

# Gateway API GatewayClass
./hack/setup/infra/gateway-api/manage.gateway-api-gwclass.sh

# Gateway API Gateway
./hack/setup/infra/gateway-api/manage.gateway-api-gw.sh

# LWS Operator
./hack/setup/infra/manage.lws-operator.sh

Optional Dependencies

KEDA (Event-Driven Autoscaling)

KEDA enables event-driven autoscaling based on custom metrics and external triggers.

When to use:

• Need autoscaling based on custom metrics
• Want event-driven workload triggers
• Require integration with external event sources

Components:

Component	Purpose
KEDA	Kubernetes Event-Driven Autoscaling
KEDA OTEL Addon	OpenTelemetry metrics integration
OpenTelemetry Operator	Observability and tracing

Installation:

# Install KEDA and dependencies
curl -fsSL https://github.com/kserve/kserve/releases/download/v0.17.0/keda-dependency-install.sh | bash

Or individually:

# OpenTelemetry Operator
./hack/setup/infra/manage.opentelemetry-helm.sh

# KEDA
./hack/setup/infra/manage.keda-helm.sh

# KEDA OTEL Addon
./hack/setup/infra/manage.keda-otel-addon-helm.sh

Custom Dependency Scripts

You can create custom installation scripts for specific dependency combinations.

Using Make Target

The easiest way to regenerate all quick-install scripts:

# Generate all quick-install scripts
make generate-quick-install-scripts

This processes all definition files in hack/setup/quick-install/definitions/ and creates standalone installation scripts.

Generating from Specific Definition

Generate a script from a specific definition file:

python hack/setup/scripts/install-script-generator/generator.py \
  hack/setup/quick-install/definitions/kserve-knative/kserve-knative-mode-dependency-install.definition

Creating Custom Definitions

Create your own dependency combination by writing a YAML definition file:

# my-custom-dependencies.definition
DESCRIPTION: Custom KServe dependencies for my environment
RELEASE: true

# Required CLI tools
TOOLS:
  - helm
  - kustomize
  - yq

# Optional: Include existing definitions
INCLUDE_DEFINITIONS:
  - ./kserve-standard-mode-dependency-install.definition

# Optional: Set global environment variables
GLOBAL_ENV:
  ISTIO_VERSION: "1.27.1"

# Components to install
COMPONENTS:
  - name: cert-manager
  - name: istio
    env:
      ISTIOD_EXTRA_ARGS: "--set resources.limits.cpu=500m"
  - name: keda

Generate the script:

mkdir /tmp/test
python hack/setup/scripts/install-script-generator/generator.py \
  my-custom-dependencies.definition \
  /tmp/test/

Run the generated script:

# Install
/tmp/test//my-custom-dependencies-helm.sh

# Uninstall
/tmp/test/my-custom-dependencies-helm.sh --uninstall

Definition File Structure

Required Fields:

• DESCRIPTION: Human-readable description
• COMPONENTS: List of components to install

Optional Fields:

• TOOLS: Required CLI tools to verify
• INCLUDE_DEFINITIONS: Import other definition files
• GLOBAL_ENV: Environment variables for all components

Component Structure:

COMPONENTS:
  - name: component-name         # Matches script in hack/setup/infra/
    env:                         # Optional environment variables
      VAR1: value1
      VAR2: value2

Composition with INCLUDE_DEFINITIONS:

• Include other definition files to build on existing combinations
• Last-wins strategy: Later components override earlier ones
• Circular dependency detection prevents infinite loops

Dependency Matrix

Quick reference for deployment modes:

Dependency	Knative Mode	Standard Mode	LLMIsvc Mode
cert-manager	✅ Required	✅ Required	✅ Required
Istio	✅ Required	❌ Not needed	❌ Not needed
Knative	✅ Required	❌ Not needed	❌ Not needed
Envoy Gateway	❌ Not needed	❌ Not needed	✅ Required
Gateway API	❌ Not needed	❌ Not needed	✅ Required
LWS Operator	❌ Not needed	❌ Not needed	✅ Required
KEDA	⚙️ Optional	⚙️ Optional	⚙️ Optional
External LB	⚙️ Optional	⚙️ Optional	✅ Required (local)

Next Steps

After installing dependencies, proceed to install KServe components:

• Install KServe Controller
• Install LLMIsvc Controller
• Install LocalModel Controller