---
title: Getting Started with the Datadog Operator
description: >-
  Deploy the Datadog Agent in Kubernetes using the Datadog Operator. Install
  with Helm, configure Agent settings, and enable metrics, logs, and APM
  collection.
breadcrumbs: >-
  Docs > Getting Started > Getting Started with Containers > Getting Started
  with the Datadog Operator
---

# Getting Started with the Datadog Operator

The [Datadog Operator](https://docs.datadoghq.com/containers/datadog_operator) is an open source [Kubernetes Operator](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/extend-kubernetes/operator/) that enables you to deploy and configure the Datadog Agent in a Kubernetes environment. This guide describes how to use the Operator to deploy the Datadog Agent.

## Prerequisites{% #prerequisites %}

- Kubernetes v1.20.X+
- [Helm](https://helm.sh/) for deploying the Datadog Operator
- The Kubernetes command-line tool, [kubectl](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/install-kubectl/), for installing the Datadog Agent

## Installation and deployment{% #installation-and-deployment %}

1. Install the Datadog Operator with Helm:

   ```bash
   helm repo add datadog https://helm.datadoghq.com
   helm install my-datadog-operator datadog/datadog-operator
   ```

1. Create a Kubernetes secret with your API key:

   ```bash
   kubectl create secret generic datadog-secret --from-literal api-key=<DATADOG_API_KEY>
   ```

Replace `<DATADOG_API_KEY>` with your [Datadog API key](https://app.datadoghq.com/organization-settings/api-keys).

**Note**: Add an application key for autoscaling using the external metrics server by adding `--from-literal app-key=<DATADOG_APP_KEY>`

1. Create a `datadog-agent.yaml` file with the spec of your `DatadogAgent` deployment configuration. The following sample configuration enables metrics, logs, and APM:

   ```yaml
   apiVersion: datadoghq.com/v2alpha1
   kind: DatadogAgent
   metadata:
     name: datadog
   spec:
     global:
       site: datadoghq.com
       credentials:
         apiSecret:
           secretName: datadog-secret
           keyName: api-key
     features:
       apm:
         enabled: true
       logCollection:
         enabled: true
   ```

**Note**: Make sure to set `site` to the Datadog site you are using (for instance, `datadoghq.eu`).

For all configuration options, see the [Operator configuration spec](https://github.com/DataDog/datadog-operator/blob/main/docs/configuration.v2alpha1.md).

1. Deploy the Datadog Agent:

   ```bash
   kubectl apply -f /path/to/your/datadog-agent.yaml
   ```

### Running Agents in a single container{% #running-agents-in-a-single-container %}

{% alert level="danger" %}
Available in Operator v1.4.0 or later
{% /alert %}

By default, the Datadog Operator creates an Agent DaemonSet with pods running multiple Agent containers. Datadog Operator v1.4.0 introduces a configuration which allows users to run Agents in a single container. In order to avoid elevating privileges for all Agents in the single container, this feature is only applicable when `system-probe` or `security-agent` is not required. For more details, see [Running as an unprivileged user](https://docs.datadoghq.com/data_security/agent/#running-as-an-unprivileged-user) on the Agent Data Security page.

To enable this feature add `global.containerStrategy: single` to the `DatadogAgent` manifest:



```yaml
  apiVersion: datadoghq.com/v2alpha1
  kind: DatadogAgent
  metadata:
    name: datadog
  spec:
    global:
      containerStrategy: single
      credentials:
        apiSecret:
          secretName: datadog-secret
          keyName: api-key
    features:
      apm:
        enabled: true
      logCollection:
        enabled: true
```
With the above configuration, Agent pods run as single containers with three Agent processes. The default for `global.containerStrategy` is `optimized` and runs each Agent process in a separate container.


**Note**: Running multiple Agent processes in a single container is discouraged in orchestrated environments such as Kubernetes. Pods running multiple processes need their lifecycles to be managed by a process manager, which is not directly controllable by Kubernetes and potentially leads to inconsistencies or conflicts in the container lifecycle management.

## Validation{% #validation %}

Use `kubectl get daemonset` and `kubectl get pod -owide` to validate your installation.

In a cluster with two worker Nodes, you should see Agent Pods created on each Node:

```bash
$ kubectl get daemonset
NAME            DESIRED   CURRENT   READY   UP-TO-DATE   AVAILABLE   NODE SELECTOR   AGE
datadog-agent   2         2         2       2            2           <none>          5m30s

$ kubectl get pod -owide
NAME                                         READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE     IP            NODE
agent-datadog-operator-d897fc9b-7wbsf        1/1     Running   0          1h      10.244.2.11   kind-worker
datadog-agent-k26tp                          1/1     Running   0          5m59s   10.244.2.13   kind-worker
datadog-agent-zcxx7                          1/1     Running   0          5m59s   10.244.1.7    kind-worker2
```

## Cleanup{% #cleanup %}

The following commands delete all Kubernetes resources created in this guide:

```bash
kubectl delete datadogagent datadog
helm delete my-datadog-operator
```

## Further Reading{% #further-reading %}

- [Datadog Operator](https://docs.datadoghq.com/containers/datadog_operator)
- [Datadog Operator: Advanced Installation](https://github.com/DataDog/datadog-operator/blob/main/docs/installation.md)
- [Datadog Operator: Configuration](https://github.com/DataDog/datadog-operator/blob/main/docs/configuration.v2alpha1.md)