Ark Setup

This skill helps you set up and install the Ark platform from source using the ark-cli.

When to use this skill

Use this skill when:

• User wants to install or set up Ark
• User needs to deploy Ark to their local cluster
• User asks about getting Ark running
• User needs to troubleshoot Ark installation issues

Prerequisites

1. Docker-in-Docker (DinD) - Required for Kind to create clusters inside this container
2. kubectl - Kubernetes CLI
3. Helm - For installing Ark components
4. Node.js - For building the ark-cli tool

Step 0: Verify Docker-in-Docker is available

CRITICAL: You MUST verify Docker is accessible before attempting to create a Kind cluster.

docker info

If this command fails, STOP IMMEDIATELY. Do not attempt to create a Kind cluster. Report to the user:

"Cannot proceed: Docker is not available. Kind requires Docker-in-Docker (DinD) to create clusters inside this container. The container must be started with the ark profile (devspace dev -p ark) which adds the DinD sidecar."

If Docker is available, proceed to the next step.

Step 1: Clone the Ark repository

First, ensure you have cloned the Ark repository. If the user provided an org/repo, use that. Otherwise, use the default:

git clone git@github.com:mckinsey/agents-at-scale-ark.git
cd agents-at-scale-ark

If working on a pull request, checkout the PR branch:

git fetch origin pull/<PR_NUMBER>/head:pr-<PR_NUMBER>
git checkout pr-<PR_NUMBER>

Step 2: Set up Kubernetes cluster

Step 2a: Clean up existing clusters

CRITICAL: Always delete existing Kind clusters first to avoid conflicts and resource exhaustion.

# Delete any existing ark-cluster
kind delete cluster --name ark-cluster 2>/dev/null || true

# Verify no ark-cluster exists
kind get clusters

Step 2b: Create cluster and configure kubeconfig

# Create Kind cluster
kind create cluster --name ark-cluster

# REQUIRED: Get the control plane container's IP address
CONTROL_PLANE_IP=$(docker inspect -f '{{range.NetworkSettings.Networks}}{{.IPAddress}}{{end}}' ark-cluster-control-plane)

# Export kubeconfig and replace hostname with IP
mkdir -p ~/.kube
kind get kubeconfig --name ark-cluster --internal | sed "s/ark-cluster-control-plane/$CONTROL_PLANE_IP/g" > ~/.kube/config

# Verify connection works
kubectl cluster-info

Why IP address is required: This agent runs inside Docker. The default 127.0.0.1 doesn't work across containers, and the --internal hostname may not be resolvable. Using the actual container IP ensures connectivity.

Step 3: Build the ark-cli from source

Build the CLI from the cloned repository. This ensures you use the version matching the code being tested:

cd agents-at-scale-ark
npm install
cd tools/ark-cli
npm install
npm run build

Step 4: Install Ark using ark-cli

Use the built CLI to install Ark. Use direct node execution for reliability:

# From the tools/ark-cli directory
node dist/index.js install --yes --wait-for-ready 5m

Or if you're in the repo root:

node tools/ark-cli/dist/index.js install --yes --wait-for-ready 5m

The --yes flag auto-confirms prompts, and --wait-for-ready waits for services to be ready.

Step 5: Verify installation

Check installation status:

node tools/ark-cli/dist/index.js status

Or use kubectl:

kubectl get pods -n ark
kubectl get pods -n ark-system
kubectl get services -n ark

Wait until all pods show as Running and services are ready.

Troubleshooting

Docker not available / Kind fails to create cluster

If docker info fails or kind create cluster fails with Docker errors:

STOP. This container does not have Docker-in-Docker (DinD) configured. Report to the user:

"Cannot create Kind cluster: Docker is not available. The container must be started with the ark profile (devspace dev -p ark)."

Check pod status

kubectl get pods -A -o wide | grep -E '(ark|cert-manager)'
kubectl describe pod -n ark <pod-name>

View logs

kubectl logs -n ark deployment/ark-api
kubectl logs -n ark-system deployment/ark-controller

Kubeconfig issues with Kind

If kubectl/helm can't reach the cluster API server (connection refused or hostname not found):

# Get the control plane IP and reconfigure kubeconfig
CONTROL_PLANE_IP=$(docker inspect -f '{{range.NetworkSettings.Networks}}{{.IPAddress}}{{end}}' ark-cluster-control-plane)
kind get kubeconfig --name ark-cluster --internal | sed "s/ark-cluster-control-plane/$CONTROL_PLANE_IP/g" > ~/.kube/config

# Verify the server address is an IP, not 127.0.0.1 or a hostname
kubectl config view --minify | grep server
# Should show: server: https://172.x.x.x:6443

Working with Ark

Once Ark is running:

kubectl apply -f samples/agents/my-agent.yaml

kubectl get agents
kubectl get queries
kubectl get teams

kubectl describe agent <agent-name>

Phoenix Telemetry

Install Phoenix for OpenTelemetry tracing:

node tools/ark-cli/dist/index.js install marketplace/services/phoenix

Access dashboard:

kubectl port-forward -n phoenix svc/phoenix-svc 6006:6006
# Open http://localhost:6006

Important

DO NOT use scripts/quickstart.sh - it is deprecated. Always use ark-cli as described above.

DO NOT use npm install -g @agents-at-scale/ark - always build ark-cli from source to match the PR code being tested.