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antigravityAI & Agents
mtls-configuration
Configure mutual TLS (mTLS) for zero-trust service-to-service communication. Use when implementing zero-trust networking, certificate management, or securing internal service communication.
Documentation
mTLS Configuration
Comprehensive guide to implementing mutual TLS for zero-trust service mesh communication.
Do not use this skill when
- The task is unrelated to mtls configuration
- You need a different domain or tool outside this scope
Instructions
- Clarify goals, constraints, and required inputs.
- Apply relevant best practices and validate outcomes.
- Provide actionable steps and verification.
- If detailed examples are required, open
resources/implementation-playbook.md.
Use this skill when
- Implementing zero-trust networking
- Securing service-to-service communication
- Certificate rotation and management
- Debugging TLS handshake issues
- Compliance requirements (PCI-DSS, HIPAA)
- Multi-cluster secure communication
Core Concepts
1. mTLS Flow
┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐
│ Service │ │ Service │
│ A │ │ B │
└────┬────┘ └────┬────┘
│ │
┌────┴────┐ TLS Handshake ┌────┴────┐
│ Proxy │◄───────────────────────────►│ Proxy │
│(Sidecar)│ 1. ClientHello │(Sidecar)│
│ │ 2. ServerHello + Cert │ │
│ │ 3. Client Cert │ │
│ │ 4. Verify Both Certs │ │
│ │ 5. Encrypted Channel │ │
└─────────┘ └─────────┘
2. Certificate Hierarchy
Root CA (Self-signed, long-lived)
│
├── Intermediate CA (Cluster-level)
│ │
│ ├── Workload Cert (Service A)
│ └── Workload Cert (Service B)
│
└── Intermediate CA (Multi-cluster)
│
└── Cross-cluster certs
Templates
Template 1: Istio mTLS (Strict Mode)
# Enable strict mTLS mesh-wide
apiVersion: security.istio.io/v1beta1
kind: PeerAuthentication
metadata:
name: default
namespace: istio-system
spec:
mtls:
mode: STRICT
---
# Namespace-level override (permissive for migration)
apiVersion: security.istio.io/v1beta1
kind: PeerAuthentication
metadata:
name: default
namespace: legacy-namespace
spec:
mtls:
mode: PERMISSIVE
---
# Workload-specific policy
apiVersion: security.istio.io/v1beta1
kind: PeerAuthentication
metadata:
name: payment-service
namespace: production
spec:
selector:
matchLabels:
app: payment-service
mtls:
mode: STRICT
portLevelMtls:
8080:
mode: STRICT
9090:
mode: DISABLE # Metrics port, no mTLS
Template 2: Istio Destination Rule for mTLS
apiVersion: networking.istio.io/v1beta1
kind: DestinationRule
metadata:
name: default
namespace: istio-system
spec:
host: "*.local"
trafficPolicy:
tls:
mode: ISTIO_MUTUAL
---
# TLS to external service
apiVersion: networking.istio.io/v1beta1
kind: DestinationRule
metadata:
name: external-api
spec:
host: api.external.com
trafficPolicy:
tls:
mode: SIMPLE
caCertificates: /etc/certs/external-ca.pem
---
# Mutual TLS to external service
apiVersion: networking.istio.io/v1beta1
kind: DestinationRule
metadata:
name: partner-api
spec:
host: api.partner.com
trafficPolicy:
tls:
mode: MUTUAL
clientCertificate: /etc/certs/client.pem
privateKey: /etc/certs/client-key.pem
caCertificates: /etc/certs/partner-ca.pem
Template 3: Cert-Manager with Istio
# Install cert-manager issuer for Istio
apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1
kind: ClusterIssuer
metadata:
name: istio-ca
spec:
ca:
secretName: istio-ca-secret
---
# Create Istio CA secret
apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
name: istio-ca-secret
namespace: cert-manager
type: kubernetes.io/tls
data:
tls.crt: <base64-encoded-ca-cert>
tls.key: <base64-encoded-ca-key>
---
# Certificate for workload
apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1
kind: Certificate
metadata:
name: my-service-cert
namespace: my-namespace
spec:
secretName: my-service-tls
duration: 24h
renewBefore: 8h
issuerRef:
name: istio-ca
kind: ClusterIssuer
commonName: my-service.my-namespace.svc.cluster.local
dnsNames:
- my-service
- my-service.my-namespace
- my-service.my-namespace.svc
- my-service.my-namespace.svc.cluster.local
usages:
- server auth
- client auth
Template 4: SPIFFE/SPIRE Integration
# SPIRE Server configuration
apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
name: spire-server
namespace: spire
data:
server.conf: |
server {
bind_address = "0.0.0.0"
bind_port = "8081"
trust_domain = "example.org"
data_dir = "/run/spire/data"
log_level = "INFO"
ca_ttl = "168h"
default_x509_svid_ttl = "1h"
}
plugins {
DataStore "sql" {
plugin_data {
database_type = "sqlite3"
connection_string = "/run/spire/data/datastore.sqlite3"
}
}
NodeAttestor "k8s_psat" {
Quick Info
- Source
- antigravity
- Category
- AI & Agents
- Repository
- View Repo
- Scraped At
- Jan 29, 2026
Tags
nodeapiaiagenttemplateimagesecuritykubernetescro
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