Build NGINX Ingress Controller
This document describes how to build an F5 NGINX Ingress Controller image from source code and upload it to a private Docker registry.
It also includes information on the Makefile targets and variables.
Pre-built image alternatives
If you do not need to build a custom image, see the pre-built image options at the end of this guide.
Before you start
To get started, you need the following software installed on your machine:
- Docker v19.03 or higher
- GNU Make
- git
- OpenSSL, optionally, if you would like to generate a self-signed certificate and a key for the default server.
- For NGINX Plus users, download the certificate (nginx-repo.crt) and key (nginx-repo.key) from MyF5.
Although NGINX Ingress Controller is written in Golang, you don’t need to have Golang installed. You can download the precompiled binary file or build NGINX Ingress Controller in a Docker container.
Prepare the environment
Get your system ready for building and pushing the NGINX Ingress Controller image.
-
Sign in to your private registry. Replace
<my-docker-registry>
with the path to your own private registry.docker login <my-docker-registry>
-
Clone the NGINX Ingress Controller GitHub repository. Replace
<version_number>
with the version of NGINX Ingress Controller you want.git clone https://github.com/nginxinc/kubernetes-ingress.git --branch <version_number> cd kubernetes-ingress
For instance if you want to clone version v3.7.2, the commands to run would be:
git clone https://github.com/nginxinc/kubernetes-ingress.git --branch v3.7.2 cd kubernetes-ingress
Build the NGINX Ingress Controller image
After setting up your environment, follow these steps to build the NGINX Ingress Controller image.
Note:
If you have a local Golang environment and want to build the binary yourself, removeTARGET=download
from the make commands. If you don’t have Golang but still want to build the binary, useTARGET=container
.
For NGINX
-
Build the image. Replace
<my-docker-registry>
with your private registry’s path.-
For a Debian-based image:
make debian-image PREFIX=<my-docker-registry>/nginx-ingress TARGET=download
-
For an Alpine-based image:
make alpine-image PREFIX=<my-docker-registry>/nginx-ingress TARGET=download
What to expect: The image is built and tagged with a version number, which is derived from the
VERSION
variable in the Makefile. This version number is used for tracking and deployment purposes. -
For NGINX Plus
-
Place your NGINX Plus license files (nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key) in the project’s root folder. To verify they’re in place, run:
ls nginx-repo.*
You should see:
nginx-repo.crt nginx-repo.key
-
Build the image. Replace
<my-docker-registry>
with your private registry’s path.make debian-image-plus PREFIX=<my-docker-registry>/nginx-plus-ingress TARGET=download
What to expect: The image is built and tagged with a version number, which is derived from the
VERSION
variable in the Makefile. This version number is used for tracking and deployment purposes.
Note:
If a patch for NGINX Plus is released, make sure to rebuild your image to get the latest version. If your system is caching the Docker layers and not updating the packages, addDOCKER_BUILD_OPTIONS="--pull --no-cache"
to the make command.
Push the image to your private registry
Once you’ve successfully built the NGINX or NGINX Plus Ingress Controller image, the next step is to upload it to your private Docker registry. This makes the image available for deployment to your Kubernetes cluster.
For NGINX
-
Upload the NGINX image. If you’re using a custom tag, append
TAG=your-tag
to the command. Replace<my-docker-registry>
with your private registry’s path.make push PREFIX=<my-docker-registry>/nginx-ingress
For NGINX Plus
-
Upload the NGINX Plus image. Like with the NGINX image, if you’re using a custom tag, add
TAG=your-tag
to the end of the command. Replace<my-docker-registry>
with your private registry’s path.make push PREFIX=<my-docker-registry>/nginx-plus-ingress
Makefile details
This section provides comprehensive information on the targets and variables available in the Makefile. These targets and variables allow you to customize how you build, tag, and push your NGINX or NGINX Plus images.
Key Makefile targets
Tip:
To view available Makefile targets, runmake
with no target or typemake help
.
Key targets include:
Target |
Description |
---|---|
build | Creates the NGINX Ingress Controller binary with your local Go environment. |
alpine-image | Builds an Alpine-based image with NGINX. |
alpine-image-plus | Builds an Alpine-based image with NGINX Plus. |
alpine-image-plus-fips | Builds an Alpine-based image with NGINX Plus and FIPS. |
alpine-image-nap-v5-plus-fips | Builds an Alpine-based image with NGINX Plus, the NGINX App Protect WAF v5 module and FIPS. |
debian-image | Builds a Debian-based image with NGINX. |
debian-image-plus | Builds a Debian-based image with NGINX Plus. |
debian-image-nap-plus | Builds a Debian-based image with NGINX Plus and the NGINX App Protect WAF module. |
debian-image-nap-v5-plus | Builds a Debian-based image with NGINX Plus and the NGINX App Protect WAF v5 module. |
debian-image-dos-plus | Builds a Debian-based image with NGINX Plus and the NGINX App Protect DoS module. |
debian-image-nap-dos-plus | Builds a Debian-based image with NGINX Plus, NGINX App Protect WAF and NGINX App Protect DoS modules. |
ubi-image | Builds a UBI-based image with NGINX for OpenShift clusters. |
ubi-image-plus | Builds a UBI-based image with NGINX Plus for OpenShift clusters. |
ubi-image-nap-plus | Builds a UBI-based image with NGINX Plus and the NGINX App Protect WAF module for OpenShift clusters. |
ubi-image-nap-v5-plus | Builds a UBI-based image with NGINX Plus and the NGINX App Protect WAF v5 module for OpenShift clusters. |
ubi-image-dos-plus | Builds a UBI-based image with NGINX Plus and the NGINX App Protect DoS module for OpenShift clusters. |
ubi-image-nap-dos-plus | Builds a UBI-based image with NGINX Plus, NGINX App Protect WAF and the NGINX App Protect DoS module for OpenShift clusters. Important: Save your RHEL organization and activation keys in a file named rhel_license at the project root. For instance: RHEL_ORGANIZATION=1111111 |
Additional useful targets
A few other useful targets:
Target |
Description |
---|---|
push | Pushes the built image to the Docker registry. Configures with PREFIX and TAG . |
all | Runs test , lint , verify-codegen , update-crds , and debian-image . Stops and reports an error if any of these targets fail. |
test | Runs unit tests. |
Makefile variables you can customize
The Makefile includes several key variables. You have the option to either modify these variables directly in the Makefile or override them when you run the make
command.
Variable |
Description |
---|---|
ARCH | Defines the architecture for the image and binary. The default is amd64 , but you can also choose from arm64 , arm , ppc64le , and s390x . |
PREFIX | Gives the image its name. The default is nginx/nginx-ingress . |
TAG | Adds a tag to the image. This is often the version of NGINX Ingress Controller. |
DOCKER_BUILD_OPTIONS | Allows for additional options during the docker build process, like --pull . |
TARGET | Determines the build environment. NGINX Ingress Controller compiles locally in a Golang environment by default. Ensure the NGINX Ingress Controller repo resides in your Alternatively, you can set |
Alternatives to building your own image
If you prefer not to build your own NGINX Ingress Controller image, you can use pre-built images. Here are your options:
NGINX Ingress Controller: Download the image nginx/nginx-ingress
from DockerHub or GitHub.
NGINX Plus Ingress Controller: You have two options for this:
- Download the image using your NGINX Ingress Controller subscription certificate and key. View the Get NGINX Ingress Controller from the F5 Registry topic.
- Use your NGINX Ingress Controller subscription JWT token to get the image. View the Get the NGINX Ingress Controller image with JWT topic.