deploy

Deploying AnySentry + a3s-observer on Kubernetes

Real end-to-end: a3s-observer (eBPF, observe-only) on every node → forwards kernel events to AnySentry → embedded a3s-sentry judges them → the dashboard shows real risk.

 kernel events (every node)
   a3s-observer-collector ──NDJSON──▶ observer-forward.js ──POST /security-center/ingest──▶ AnySentry
                                                                               │
                                                  @a3s-lab/sentry.evaluate() ◀──┘
                                                                               │
                                                          dashboard (Service :29653)

These manifests are a generic, self-contained example. They deploy into the anysentry namespace and bundle a single-node ClickHouse for durable storage; nothing is tied to a specific cluster.

Prerequisites

• A Kubernetes cluster with a default StorageClass (the bundled ClickHouse PVC uses it).
• amd64 nodes — @a3s-lab/sentry bundles a linux-x64-gnu binary requiring GLIBC_2.39, so the AnySentry runtime image is ubuntu:24.04 (there is no linux-arm64 build).
• kubectl configured for your cluster.
• For the observer step only: a container registry you can push to (or use the public images).

One-command install

The repo includes deploy/install.sh for the integrated middleware stack:

deploy/install.sh docker

ANYSENTRY_INSTALL_MODE=kubernetes \
CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD="$(openssl rand -hex 16)" \
deploy/install.sh

Docker mode builds and starts AnySentry + ClickHouse with compose. Kubernetes mode creates the namespace, creates the ClickHouse Secret, applies deploy/anysentry.yaml, applies the observe-only a3s-observer DaemonSet, optionally applies Ingress with ANYSENTRY_APPLY_INGRESS=1, and waits for the AnySentry, ClickHouse, and observer rollouts. The AnySentry image bundles @a3s-lab/sentry; the observer DaemonSet runs only a3s-observer-collector plus the AnySentry forwarder.

1. AnySentry image

Use the public image ghcr.io/a3s-lab/anysentry:latest (referenced by deploy/anysentry.yaml), or build and push your own from the repo root:

docker build -t <your-registry>/anysentry:latest .
docker push    <your-registry>/anysentry:latest
# then set the `image:` in deploy/anysentry.yaml to your tag

The repo-root Dockerfile produces a standalone image with pnpm (corepack) — no extra steps.

2. Create the namespace and ClickHouse credentials

The manifest reads ClickHouse credentials from a Secret named anysentry-clickhouse. Create it before applying (choose your own password):

kubectl create namespace anysentry
kubectl -n anysentry create secret generic anysentry-clickhouse \
  --from-literal=CLICKHOUSE_USER=anysentry \
  --from-literal=CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD='change-me'

3. Deploy AnySentry (+ bundled ClickHouse)

kubectl -n anysentry apply -f deploy/anysentry.yaml
kubectl -n anysentry rollout status deploy/clickhouse
kubectl -n anysentry rollout status deploy/anysentry

Reach the dashboard:

kubectl -n anysentry port-forward svc/anysentry 29653:29653
# browse http://localhost:29653

To expose it outside the cluster instead, edit and apply deploy/ingress.yaml (set ingressClassName + a host for your Ingress controller).

Optional management API auth

Set ANYSENTRY_ADMIN_TOKEN to require an operator token for control-plane writes such as Source management, policy saves, Maintenance windows, Notifications, Objectives, and Incident / Alert / Remediation updates. Keep it in a Kubernetes Secret and inject it into the AnySentry Deployment, for example:

kubectl -n anysentry create secret generic anysentry-admin \
  --from-literal=ANYSENTRY_ADMIN_TOKEN='<long-random-token>'

Then add an env entry with valueFrom.secretKeyRef to the AnySentry container. Read APIs and producer paths (/security-center/ingest, Collector heartbeat, Source check-in) remain on Source identity and Source ingest tokens.

Using an external ClickHouse

To use your own ClickHouse instead of the bundled one, delete the ClickHouse Deployment, Service, and PersistentVolumeClaim from deploy/anysentry.yaml, then set CLICKHOUSE_URL on the AnySentry Deployment to your server, e.g. http://my-clickhouse.db.svc.cluster.local:8123. Keep CLICKHOUSE_DB, CLICKHOUSE_USER, and CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD pointing at credentials that server accepts. If CLICKHOUSE_URL is unset entirely, AnySentry runs in-memory only (no durability across restarts).

4. Forward observer events (optional but recommended)

Build the forwarder image (public a3s-observer + the node forwarder from scripts/observer-forward.js) and push it to your registry:

docker build -f deploy/observer-forwarder.Dockerfile -t <your-registry>/anysentry-observer:latest .
docker push <your-registry>/anysentry-observer:latest

Set the image: in deploy/observer.yaml to that tag (or use the published ghcr.io/a3s-lab/anysentry-observer:latest if available), then:

kubectl -n anysentry apply -f deploy/observer.yaml
kubectl -n anysentry get pods -l app=a3s-observer -o wide

Events appear on the dashboard within seconds as workloads on the nodes run tools, make egress, touch files, or escalate privileges.

The DaemonSet sets A3S_OBSERVER_COLLECTOR_ID and A3S_NODE_NAME from Kubernetes spec.nodeName, so every node appears as a stable Collector. The bundled forwarder also emits source-aware heartbeats every ANYSENTRY_HEARTBEAT_SECS seconds; with no explicit ANYSENTRY_SOURCE_ID, AnySentry discovers one observer Source per node/collector automatically.

Safety

• Observe-only. Only a3s-observer-collector runs — never a3s-observer-enforce / -fileguard. Tracepoints are passive and cannot block a process, so a misjudgment can't break any workload. (Enforcement is a separate, opt-in deployment.)
• A3S_OBSERVER_SSL / A3S_OBSERVER_FILES are on by default for full signal; set them to 0 to drop plaintext capture and the high-volume file-write stream for a smaller footprint.
• Additive: the manifests only add the anysentry namespace and its objects; nothing touches kubelet/containerd or existing workloads.

Demo without observer

Set ANYSENTRY_SYNTHETIC_FEED=on on the AnySentry Deployment to drive the dashboard with a synthetic event mix (sentry still really judges it). Unset = real ingested events only.