Linkerd Has a Free API — The Lightweight Service Mesh for Kubernetes

Linkerd is the lightest service mesh for Kubernetes — 10x less resource usage than Istio. It provides automatic mTLS, observability, and reliability features with minimal complexity. Free, open source, CNCF graduated. The first service mesh, invented at Buoyant. Why Use Linkerd? Ultra-lightweight — ~10MB per proxy, minimal CPU/memory overhead Simple — installs in 60 seconds, no complex config Automatic mTLS — zero-config mutual TLS between all services Golden metrics — success rate, latency, throughput per service Retries & timeouts — automatic retry on failure Quick Setup 1. Install curl --proto '=https' -sL https://run.linkerd.io/install | sh linkerd install --crds | kubectl apply -f - linkerd install | kubectl apply -f - linkerd check 2. Inject Sidecar # Inject into existing deployment kubectl get deploy my-app -o yaml | linkerd inject - | kubectl apply -f - # Or annotate namespace for auto-injection kubectl annotate namespace default linkerd.io/inject = enabled 3. Dashboard linkerd