# How to secure access to Minio on Kubernetes with TLS [![Slack](https://slack.minio.io/slack?type=svg)](https://slack.minio.io)

This document explains how to configure Minio server with TLS certificates on Kubernetes.

## 1. Prerequisites

- Familiarity with [Minio deployment process on Kubernetes](https://docs.minio.io/docs/deploy-minio-on-kubernetes).

- Kubernetes cluster with `kubectl` configured.

- Acquire TLS certificates, either from a CA or [create self-signed certificates](https://docs.minio.io/docs/how-to-secure-access-to-minio-server-with-tls).

## 2. Create Kubernetes secret

[Kubernetes secrets](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/configuration/secret) are intended to hold sensitive information. 
We'll use secrets to hold the TLS certificate and key. To create a secret, update the paths to `private.key` and `public.crt` 
below.

Then type

```sh
kubectl create secret generic tls-ssl-minio --from-file=path/to/private.key --from-file=path/to/public.crt
```

Cross check if the secret is created successfully using 

```sh
kubectl get secrets
```

You should see a secret named `tls-ssl-minio`.

## 3. Update deployment yaml file

Whether you are planning to use Kubernetes StatefulSet or Kubernetes Deployment, the steps remain the same.

If you're using certificates provided by a CA, add the below section in your yaml file under `spec.volumes[]`

```yaml
    volumes:
      - name: secret-volume
        secret:
          secretName: tls-ssl-minio
          items:
          - key: public.crt
            path: .minio/certs/public.crt
          - key: private.key
            path: .minio/certs/private.key
```

In case you are using a self signed certificate, Minio server will not trust it by default. To add the certificate as a 
trusted certificate, add the `public.crt` to the `.minio/certs/CAs` directory as well. This can be done by

```yaml
    volumes:
      - name: secret-volume
        secret:
          secretName: tls-ssl-minio
          items:
          - key: public.crt
            path: .minio/certs/public.crt
          - key: private.key
            path: .minio/certs/private.key
          - key: public.crt
            path: .minio/certs/CAs/public.crt
```

Note that the `secretName` should be same as the secret name created in previous step. Then add the below section under
`spec.containers[].volumeMounts[]`

```yaml
    volumeMounts:
        - name: secret-volume
          mountPath: /<user-running-minio>/
```

Here the name of `volumeMount` should match the name of `volume` created previously. Also `mountPath` is the path of 
Minio server's config directory, (used to store the certificates). By default the location is 
`/user-running-minio/.minio/certs`. Update the `mountPath` to appropriate parent directory for Minio server config 
directory. (Tip: In default Kubernetes configuration this will be `/root`).