Skip to content

Update a cluster

Updated 1 min read

To change a running cluster, edit your config and re-run nic deploy. nic is declarative: it compares your config against the cluster's current state and applies only the difference. These steps are the same across all providers; see your provider's page for provider-specific fields.

Apply a change

Section titled “Apply a change”

Most changes, such as scaling a node group, adding a node group, or changing tags, update the cluster without recreating it. Preview the change first, then apply it:

Terminal window
nic deploy -f <config-file> --dry-run    # show what would change; nothing is modified
nic deploy -f <config-file>              # apply it

Immutable fields

Section titled “Immutable fields”

Some fields (cluster identity, network foundation) can't be changed on a running cluster. Changing one requires destroying and recreating it. The exact fields are provider-specific: see your provider's page.

Reconcile drift

Section titled “Reconcile drift”

If something is changed outside nic (for example, in your cloud provider's console), the cluster drifts from your config. To reconcile:

  • Preview: nic deploy --dry-run shows which resources drifted and how nic will fix them.
  • Apply: nic deploy updates them back to your config.