Outline Chart Usage Guide

Outline is a modern team knowledge base and wiki. This chart lets you deploy Outline on Kubernetes for collaborative documentation and knowledge sharing.

• Official Website: https://www.getoutline.com
• GitHub Repository: https://github.com/outline/outline
• Documentation: https://docs.getoutline.com/s/guide
• ArtifactHub: Outline Helm Chart

Why use this chart?

• Deploy Outline for your team or organization on Kubernetes
• Community-maintained and up-to-date
• Modern, user-friendly wiki platform
• Support for multiple authentication providers
• Flexible storage options (local and S3)
• Built-in PostgreSQL and Redis support

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Kubernetes cluster (v1.23+)
• Helm 3.x
• Ingress controller (optional, for external access)
• Storage class (for persistent storage)

Installation

1. Add the Helm repository:

   helm repo add community-charts https://community-charts.github.io/helm-charts
   helm repo update

2. Install Outline:

   helm install my-outline community-charts/outline -n <your-namespace>

3. Check the deployment:

   kubectl get pods -l app.kubernetes.io/name=outline
   kubectl get svc -l app.kubernetes.io/name=outline

Basic Configuration

Minimal Configuration

Create a values.yaml file with basic settings:

# Basic deployment
replicaCount: 1

# Enable built-in PostgreSQL
postgresql:
  enabled: true
  auth:
    username: outline
    password: strongpassword
    database: outline
  primary:
    persistence:
      enabled: true
      size: 8Gi

# Enable built-in Redis
redis:
  enabled: true
  auth:
    enabled: true
  master:
    persistence:
      enabled: true
      size: 8Gi

# Local file storage
fileStorage:
  mode: local
  local:
    persistence:
      enabled: true
      size: 8Gi

# Ingress for external access
ingress:
  enabled: true
  className: nginx
  hosts:
    - host: outline.yourdomain.com
      paths:
        - path: /
          pathType: ImplementationSpecific

Install with Custom Values

helm install my-outline community-charts/outline \
  -f values.yaml \
  -n <your-namespace>

First-Time Setup

1. Access the Application

After installation, access Outline through your configured ingress or port-forward:

# Port-forward for local access
kubectl port-forward svc/my-outline 3000:3000

Then visit http://localhost:3000 in your browser.

2. Create Your First User

On first access, you'll be prompted to create an admin user:

1. Enter your email address
2. Choose a password
3. Complete the setup process

3. Configure Authentication

Outline supports multiple authentication methods. Configure them in your values.yaml:

auth:
  google:
    enabled: true
    clientId: "your-google-client-id"
    clientSecret: "your-google-client-secret"

  github:
    enabled: true
    clientId: "your-github-client-id"
    clientSecret: "your-github-client-secret"

4. Set Up Email Notifications

Configure SMTP for user invitations and notifications:

smtp:
  host: "smtp.gmail.com"
  port: 587
  username: "your-email@gmail.com"
  password: "your-app-password"
  fromEmail: "outline@yourdomain.com"
  replyEmail: "no-reply@yourdomain.com"
  secure: true

Common Operations

Upgrading Outline

# Update the repository
helm repo update

# Upgrade the release
helm upgrade my-outline community-charts/outline -n <your-namespace>

Scaling the Application

# Scale to multiple replicas
helm upgrade my-outline community-charts/outline \
  --set replicaCount=3 \
  -n <your-namespace>

Backup and Restore

Database Backup

# Backup PostgreSQL
kubectl exec -it my-outline-postgresql-0 -- pg_dump -U outline outline > outline-backup.sql

File Storage Backup

# Backup local files
kubectl exec -it <outline-pod> -- tar czf /tmp/outline-data.tar.gz /var/lib/outline/data
kubectl cp <outline-pod>:/tmp/outline-data.tar.gz ./outline-data-backup.tar.gz

Uninstalling Outline

# Uninstall the release
helm uninstall my-outline -n <your-namespace>

# Remove persistent data (optional)
kubectl delete pvc -l app.kubernetes.io/name=outline

Environment Variables

The chart automatically configures these key environment variables:

Variable	Description	Default
NODE_ENV	Node environment	production
PORT	Application port	3000
URL	Application URL	Auto-generated
DATABASE_URL	PostgreSQL connection	Auto-generated
REDIS_URL	Redis connection	Auto-generated
FILE_STORAGE	Storage mode	local
SECRET_KEY	Application secret	Auto-generated
UTILS_SECRET	Utils secret	Auto-generated

Health Checks

Outline provides health check endpoints:

# Check application health
curl http://localhost:3000/_health

# Check via kubectl
kubectl exec -it <pod-name> -- curl -f http://localhost:3000/_health

Monitoring

Basic Monitoring

# Check pod status
kubectl get pods -l app.kubernetes.io/name=outline

# Check resource usage
kubectl top pods -l app.kubernetes.io/name=outline

# Check logs
kubectl logs -f deployment/my-outline

Prometheus Monitoring

Enable Prometheus monitoring:

podAnnotations:
  prometheus.io/scrape: "true"
  prometheus.io/port: "3000"
  prometheus.io/path: "/_health"

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Pod not starting: Check resource limits and database connectivity
2. Cannot access application: Verify ingress configuration and DNS
3. Authentication issues: Check OAuth provider configuration
4. File upload failures: Verify storage configuration and permissions

Debug Commands

# Check pod events
kubectl describe pod <pod-name>

# Check application logs
kubectl logs <pod-name>

# Check environment variables
kubectl exec -it <pod-name> -- env | sort

# Test database connectivity
kubectl exec -it <pod-name> -- psql $DATABASE_URL -c "SELECT 1;"

Enable Debug Logging

logging:
  level: debug
  extraDebug:
    - http
    - router
    - store

Production Considerations

Security

• Use strong passwords for database and Redis
• Enable SSL/TLS for all connections
• Configure proper RBAC
• Use existing secrets for sensitive data

Performance

• Configure appropriate resource limits
• Use SSD storage for database
• Enable connection pooling
• Consider using external databases for high availability

Backup Strategy

• Regular database backups
• File storage backups
• Test restore procedures
• Monitor backup success

Configuration Examples

Development Environment

replicaCount: 1
postgresql:
  enabled: true
  auth:
    username: outline
    password: devpassword
    database: outline
  primary:
    persistence:
      enabled: true
      size: 5Gi
redis:
  enabled: true
  auth:
    enabled: true
  master:
    persistence:
      enabled: true
      size: 5Gi
fileStorage:
  mode: local
  local:
    persistence:
      enabled: true
      size: 5Gi

Production Environment

replicaCount: 1
postgresql:
  enabled: true
  architecture: replication
  auth:
    username: outline
    password: strongpassword
    database: outline
  primary:
    persistence:
      enabled: true
      size: 50Gi
      storageClass: "fast-ssd"
  readReplicas:
    persistence:
      enabled: true
      size: 50Gi
      storageClass: "fast-ssd"
redis:
  enabled: true
  architecture: standalone
  auth:
    enabled: true
  master:
    persistence:
      enabled: true
      size: 8Gi
fileStorage:
  mode: s3
  s3:
    bucket: outline-prod
    region: us-east-1
    existingSecret: "outline-s3-secret"
    forcePathStyle: true
    acl: private
ingress:
  enabled: true
  className: nginx
  annotations:
    cert-manager.io/cluster-issuer: letsencrypt-prod
  hosts:
    - host: outline.yourdomain.com
      paths:
        - path: /
          pathType: ImplementationSpecific
  tls:
    - secretName: outline-tls
      hosts:
        - outline.yourdomain.com

Next Steps

• Learn about configuration options
• Set up authentication methods
• Configure storage options
• Set up database configuration
• Explore advanced configuration options
• Learn about troubleshooting common issues