Make sure your remote hosts are ready for Edgelet installation via potctl!

Go to Prepare your Remote Hosts to find out how to prepare Edgelet node hosts for installation.

Setup Edgelet nodes

The edge of an Edge Compute Network (ECN) is made of Edgelet nodes. Controllers can run anywhere, including cloud infrastructure. Edgelet nodes run on standalone hosts at the edge.

Platform train v3.8.0 requires Edgelet v1.0.0. For manual installs outside potctl, see Edgelet Installation.

Deploy Edgelet nodes on remote hosts

Create agent.yaml:

---
apiVersion: datasance.com/v3
kind: Agent
metadata:
name: zebra-1
spec:
host: 38.101.23.10
ssh:
  user: foo
  keyFile: ~/.ssh/id_rsa
package:
  version: 1.0.0
config:
  arch: amd64
  deploymentType: native
  containerEngine: edgelet

Edit host, ssh.user, and ssh.keyFile for your remote host.

When you omit scripts, potctl runs the embedded Edgelet bootstrap bundle on the host over SSH, writes config.yaml, then runs edgelet config and edgelet provision. Remote hosts need passwordless sudo (see Prepare your Remote Hosts).

Deploy:

potctl deploy -f agent.yaml

Verify the deployment

potctl get agents

potctl describe agent zebra-1

Deploy Edgelet as a container

Set deploymentType: container and pin the Edgelet image:

---
apiVersion: datasance.com/v3
kind: Agent
metadata:
name: edge-1
spec:
host: 38.101.23.10
ssh:
  user: foo
  keyFile: ~/.ssh/id_rsa
package:
  container:
    image: ghcr.io/datasance/edgelet:1.0.0
config:
  arch: amd64
  deploymentType: container
  containerEngine: docker

When containerEngine is docker or podman, the bootstrap installs or configures that engine on the host. When containerEngine is edgelet (linux native default), the deps step is a no-op.

Default bootstrap (no custom scripts)

potctl installs Edgelet through embedded shell layers staged under /tmp/edgelet-scripts on the target host, then Go-side configuration and provisioning. The CLI does not call the upstream Edgelet monolith install.sh directly at runtime.

Phase	What runs
Bootstrap	Stage scripts, pre-install (prereqs, detect init, deps, install), materialize config.yaml, post-install (init units, start, wait, bundled)
Provision	edgelet config, optional CA install, edgelet provision

Pre-install order:

check_prereqs → detect_init → deps → install [→ install_wasm_runtimes if WASM scope allows]

Post-install order:

install_init_units → start_edgelet → configure_container_edgelet → wait_edgelet_ready → bundled

Defaults when omitted: deploymentType: native, containerEngine: edgelet on linux. For Wasm handlers, set package.wasm on the Agent (linux native only). See Wasm runtime.

Customize Edgelet installation

potctl can install Edgelet on many Linux distributions out of the box. To support other host environments, supply custom installation scripts for Edgelet and its dependencies.

What you can override in YAML

Only three layers are overridable under spec.scripts:

YAML key	Layer	Empty entrypoint	Set entrypoint
scripts.deps	Dependencies (docker/podman)	Embedded install_deps.sh runs	Your script from scripts.dir runs; embedded deps are not added
scripts.install	Edgelet binary or container prep	Embedded install.sh or install_container.sh runs	Your script runs; embedded install bundle and lib/*.sh are not staged
scripts.uninstall	Teardown on delete	Embedded uninstall.sh runs	Your script runs; embedded uninstall is not added

Prerequisites (check_prereqs.sh) is always embedded and always runs on remote hosts. Post-install layers (install_init_units.sh, start_edgelet.sh, wait_edgelet_ready.sh, bundled.sh, and others) always run with fixed script names. You cannot point them at alternate entrypoints in YAML.

scripts.dir is a directory on the operator machine. potctl reads files locally, then stages them to /tmp/edgelet-scripts on the target host.

Custom install behavior

When you set scripts.install.entrypoint, the CLI sets custom install mode:

• potctl does not inject package.version or package.container.image into install args. Pass --version= or --image= in scripts.install.args.
• Embedded install.sh, install_container.sh, and lib/*.sh are not staged. Your scripts.dir must contain every script the bootstrap sequence still invokes (detect init, post-install layers, and any libs your install script sources).
• Airgap binary transfer still works. Include --airgap and --bin-path= in scripts.install.args when needed.

When you override only scripts.deps.entrypoint, the full embedded install bundle and post-install scripts still run.

Example: custom deps only

Use this pattern for a corporate docker mirror or custom engine setup. Embedded install and post-install scripts still run.

---
apiVersion: datasance.com/v3
kind: Agent
metadata:
name: meerkat-1
spec:
host: 34.82.205.186
ssh:
  user: bob
  keyFile: ~/.ssh/id_rsa
package:
  version: 1.0.0
config:
  arch: amd64
  deploymentType: native
  containerEngine: docker
scripts:
  dir: assets/edgelet
  deps:
    entrypoint: install_deps.sh
    args:
      - docker
      - native

Place your custom install_deps.sh in assets/edgelet.

Example: all three layers overridden

When you set entrypoints for deps, install, and uninstall, scripts.dir must contain every script the bootstrap sequence invokes, not just the three entrypoints.

---
apiVersion: datasance.com/v3
kind: Agent
metadata:
name: meerkat-2
spec:
host: 34.82.205.186
ssh:
  user: bob
  keyFile: ~/.ssh/id_rsa
package:
  version: 1.0.0
config:
  arch: amd64
  deploymentType: native
  containerEngine: edgelet
scripts:
  dir: assets/edgelet
  deps:
    entrypoint: install_deps.sh
  install:
    entrypoint: install.sh
    args:
      - "--version=1.0.0"
      - "--skip-config"
      - "--skip-start"
  uninstall:
    entrypoint: uninstall.sh
    args:
      - "--remove-data"

Example script layout (minimum when install is custom):

$ ls assets/edgelet
check_prereqs.sh      # optional in dir; CLI always embeds this
detect_init.sh
install_deps.sh
install.sh
install_init_units.sh
start_edgelet.sh
configure_container_edgelet.sh
wait_edgelet_ready.sh
bundled.sh
uninstall.sh
lib/

Default embedded install.sh always receives --skip-config and --skip-start because Go writes config and start_edgelet.sh owns the start layer. Use the same flags when you override install.

Example: airgap with custom install args

Set airgap: true on the Agent. potctl transfers the binary to the host before bootstrap. With a custom install entrypoint, pass airgap flags explicitly:

---
apiVersion: datasance.com/v3
kind: Agent
metadata:
name: airgap-1
spec:
host: 10.0.0.5
ssh:
  user: ubuntu
  keyFile: ~/.ssh/id_rsa
airgap: true
package:
  version: 1.0.0
config:
  arch: amd64
  deploymentType: native
  containerEngine: edgelet
scripts:
  dir: ./scripts
  install:
    entrypoint: install.sh
    args:
      - "--airgap"
      - "--bin-path=/tmp/edgelet-linux-amd64"
      - "--version=1.0.0"
      - "--skip-config"
      - "--skip-start"

Example: control plane system agent scripts

Edgelet on a remote Control Plane host uses the same bootstrap during CP deploy. Declare scripts under controllers[].systemAgent.scripts:

---
apiVersion: datasance.com/v3
kind: ControlPlane
metadata:
name: cp-1
spec:
controllers:
  - name: cp-host-1
    host: 10.0.0.10
    ssh:
      user: ubuntu
      keyFile: ~/.ssh/id_rsa
    systemAgent:
      config:
        arch: amd64
        deploymentType: native
        containerEngine: edgelet
      scripts:
        dir: ./cp-scripts

Bootstrap runs when the Control Plane host is prepared. Provision runs later when the system agent registers.

Troubleshooting custom scripts

Symptom	Likely cause	Action
Post-install script not found	Custom install set; embedded post-install scripts not staged	Add missing scripts to scripts.dir
Version or image ignored	Custom install entrypoint set	Pass --version= or --image= in scripts.install.args
Remote deploy fails at prereqs	Passwordless sudo missing	Fix sudoers for the SSH user
install_deps exits immediately	containerEngine: edgelet	Expected no-op; not an error
WASM step skipped	Scope gate (linux native only)	See Wasm runtime

Check out the Agent YAML specification for all fields.

Where to go from here?

Manage provisioned nodes in Edgelet node management (configuration, attach, pruning, upgrade).

Deploy microservices next: Quick Start With Local Deployment or Microservice Management.

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