Getting Started in a Local Environment

How to set up Control Center in a local environment.

Prerequisites
Configure Hosts File
Deploying Control Center
Accessing Control Center
Application Development

This page explains how to set up Control Center in a local environment for development and testing purposes. For use in a production environment, see the Getting Started in a Production Environment guide.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have a Kubernetes cluster running and available on your local machine. You can use tools like Docker Desktop, which has an embedded Kubernetes (see Kubernetes on Docker Desktop), Kind, or Minikube to set up a local cluster. Deciding which to use depends on your project needs.

Important

If you’re using Minikube, you’ll need to ensure that the minikube tunnel is running before deploying Control Center.

You’ll also need to install Helm. It’s a Kubernetes package manager that simplifies application deployment and management. Make sure it’s configured to interact with your cluster.

Configure Hosts File

To access Control Center from your local machine, you’ll need to add a couple of entries to your hosts file. The location of this file depends on the operating system you’re using.

Linux & macOS

When using a Unix based system like Linux or macOS, you’ll need to open the hosts file in the /etc directory, with administrative privileges like so:

sudo nano /etc/hosts

There you’ll have to add the following lines at the end of the file:

127.0.0.1   control.local
127.0.0.1   auth.local

Windows

If you’re using a Windows system, you’ll instead need to start Notepad as an administrator. With it, open the hosts file, which is usually located at C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts. Be careful when modifying system files while logged in as administrator, to avoid problems.

Add the following lines to the end of that file:

127.0.0.1   control.local
127.0.0.1   auth.local

Deploying Control Center

When you’re ready, deploy Control Center. You can do this by entering the following from the command-line:

helm install control-center oci://docker.io/vaadin/control-center \
    -n control-center --create-namespace \
    --set domain=local \
    --set user.email=example@foo.com \
    --wait

Replace the email address with your own. This is used to create the initial user account in Control Center.

Note	The installation of Control Center can be customized by modifying the Helm command. See the Configure Installation page for more details.

Accessing Control Center

Once deployed, copy the temporary password for the initial user. Execute the following to retrieve it:

kubectl -n control-center get secret control-center-user -o go-template="{{ .data.password | base64decode | println }}"

You can access Control Center through the web browser at http://control.local.

Logging In

When you first access Control Center, you’ll be prompted to log in. Use the email address you provided during deployment and the temporary password you retrieved earlier.

You’ll then be prompted to change your password, and to provide a first and last name.

Accessing the Dashboard

Upon successful authentication, you’ll be taken to the Control Center dashboard, as shown in the screenshot here:

At this point, the dashboard should notify you that no applications are available. This is because none are deployed yet.

To start deploying your Vaadin applications and take full advantage of Control Center’s features, proceed to the Application Deployment documentation page.

Application Development

To develop applications locally, you can use the Local Development Mode. It allows you to run your application locally and interact with the cluster as if it were running inside it.

Docs