Install Llama Stack

This document describes how to install and deploy Llama Stack Server on Kubernetes using the Llama Stack Operator.

Upload Operator

Download the Llama Stack Operator installation file (e.g., llama-stack-operator.alpha.ALL.xxxx.tgz).

Use the violet command to publish to the platform repository:

violet push --platform-address=platform-access-address --platform-username=platform-admin --platform-password=platform-admin-password llama-stack-operator.alpha.ALL.xxxx.tgz

Install Operator

  1. Go to the Administrator view in the Alauda Container Platform.

  2. In the left navigation, select Marketplace / Operator Hub.

  3. In the right panel, find Alauda build of Llama Stack and click Install.

  4. Keep all parameters as default and complete the installation.

Deploy Llama Stack Server

After the operator is installed, deploy Llama Stack Server by creating a LlamaStackDistribution custom resource:

Note: Prepare the following in advance; otherwise the distribution may not become ready:

  • Inference URL: VLLM_URL must point at a vLLM OpenAI-compatible HTTP base URL (for example an in-cluster vLLM or KServe InferenceService) that serves the target model.
  • Secret (optional): VLLM_API_TOKEN is only needed when the vLLM endpoint requires authentication. If vLLM has no auth, do not set it. When required, create a Secret in the same namespace and reference it from containerSpec.env (see the commented example in the manifest below).
  • Storage Class: Ensure the default Storage Class exists in the cluster; otherwise the PVC cannot be bound and the resource will not become ready.
apiVersion: llamastack.io/v1alpha1
kind: LlamaStackDistribution
metadata:
  annotations:
    cpaas.io/display-name: ""
  name: demo
  namespace: default
spec:
  network:
    exposeRoute: false                             # Whether to expose the route externally
  replicas: 1                                      # Number of server replicas
  server:
    containerSpec:
      name: llama-stack
      port: 8321
      env:
        - name: VLLM_URL
          value: "http://vllm-predictor.default.svc.cluster.local/v1"   # vLLM OpenAI-compatible base URL
        - name: VLLM_MAX_TOKENS
          value: "8192"                            # Maximum output tokens

        # Optional: VLLM_API_TOKEN — add only when the vLLM endpoint requires authentication.
        # If vLLM is deployed without auth, omit the entire block below (do not set VLLM_API_TOKEN).
        # Example after creating: kubectl create secret generic vllm-api-token -n default --from-literal=token=<TOKEN>
        # - name: VLLM_API_TOKEN
        #   valueFrom:
        #     secretKeyRef:
        #       key: token
        #       name: vllm-api-token

    distribution:
      name: starter                                # Distribution name (options: starter, postgres-demo, meta-reference-gpu)
    storage:
      mountPath: /home/lls/.lls
      size: 1Gi                                    # Requires the "default" Storage Class to be configured beforehand

After deployment, the Llama Stack Server will be available within the cluster. The access URL is displayed in status.serviceURL, for example:

status:
  phase: Ready
  serviceURL: http://demo-service.default.svc.cluster.local:8321

Tool calling with vLLM on KServe

The following applies to the vLLM predictor on KServe, not to the LlamaStackDistribution manifest. For agent flows that use tools (client-side tools or MCP), the vLLM process must expose tool-call support. Add predictor container args as required by upstream vLLM, for example:

args:
  - --enable-auto-tool-choice
  - --tool-call-parser
  - hermes

Choose --tool-call-parser (and any related flags) according to the served model and the vLLM documentation for that model family.