Local requirements

Run ly doctor to check this machine:

ly doctor

Required locally

Docker with Buildx builds service filesystems and OCI images. The Kind and k3d providers also use the Docker daemon through Lampyr’s authenticated bridge. Ubuntu’s docker.io package does not include Buildx; install docker-buildx as well, or use Docker’s own packages.
KVM must be available read/write at /dev/kvm for ly dev, local snapshots, and local Kind/k3d workloads. On most Linux distributions /dev/kvm belongs to the kvm group, so add your user to it.
gh, the GitHub CLI, authenticated with gh auth login, to install a release: the installer downloads it and verifies its GitHub attestations.
kubectl must be available for Kubernetes lifecycle and service operations.

Host Kind and k3d are not required. Each provider packages its own cluster and Docker clients.

On Ubuntu 24.04, for example:

sudo apt-get install -y docker.io docker-buildx gh jq curl
sudo snap install kubectl --classic
sudo usermod -aG docker,kvm "$USER"

Log out and back in so the new groups apply, then run gh auth login and ly doctor.

Kubernetes

You need either:

Docker and KVM for a local Kind or k3d cluster,
a Kubernetes context to an existing cluster.

Nodes must support nested virtualization. See the AKS guide before creating billable resources.

Snapshot compatibility

Hyperlight snapshots are CPU-vendor-specific. Build locally when the target cluster uses the same CPU vendor, or use ly build --context CONTEXT to create the snapshot on the destination cluster.

Building Lampyr itself

See Contributing.