kustomize

name	kustomize
description	Customize Kubernetes manifests without templating using Kustomize. Create base configurations with environment overlays, manage configuration variants, and patch resources declaratively. Use when managing Kubernetes configurations across multiple environments without Helm.
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"devops-skills","version":"1.0"}

Kustomize

Customize Kubernetes resources declaratively without templating.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Managing Kubernetes configs across environments
• Patching existing manifests without modification
• Creating configuration variants from bases
• Customizing third-party manifests
• Preferring declarative over templating approach

Prerequisites

• kubectl 1.14+ (includes kustomize)
• Or standalone kustomize CLI
• Basic Kubernetes manifest knowledge

Directory Structure

myapp/
├── base/
│   ├── kustomization.yaml
│   ├── deployment.yaml
│   ├── service.yaml
│   └── configmap.yaml
└── overlays/
    ├── development/
    │   ├── kustomization.yaml
    │   └── replica-patch.yaml
    ├── staging/
    │   ├── kustomization.yaml
    │   └── namespace.yaml
    └── production/
        ├── kustomization.yaml
        ├── replica-patch.yaml
        └── resource-patch.yaml

Base Configuration

kustomization.yaml

# base/kustomization.yaml
apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: Kustomization

resources:
  - deployment.yaml
  - service.yaml
  - configmap.yaml

commonLabels:
  app: myapp
  
commonAnnotations:
  managed-by: kustomize

Base Resources

# base/deployment.yaml
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: myapp
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: myapp
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: myapp
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: myapp
        image: myapp:latest
        ports:
        - containerPort: 8080
        resources:
          requests:
            memory: "64Mi"
            cpu: "100m"
          limits:
            memory: "128Mi"
            cpu: "200m"

Overlays

Development Overlay

# overlays/development/kustomization.yaml
apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: Kustomization

resources:
  - ../../base

namespace: myapp-dev

namePrefix: dev-

commonLabels:
  environment: development

images:
  - name: myapp
    newTag: dev-latest

Production Overlay

# overlays/production/kustomization.yaml
apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: Kustomization

resources:
  - ../../base

namespace: myapp-prod

namePrefix: prod-

commonLabels:
  environment: production

replicas:
  - name: myapp
    count: 5

images:
  - name: myapp
    newName: registry.example.com/myapp
    newTag: v2.0.0

patches:
  - path: resource-patch.yaml

Patching

Strategic Merge Patch

# overlays/production/resource-patch.yaml
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: myapp
spec:
  template:
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: myapp
        resources:
          requests:
            memory: "256Mi"
            cpu: "500m"
          limits:
            memory: "512Mi"
            cpu: "1000m"

JSON Patch

# kustomization.yaml
patches:
  - target:
      kind: Deployment
      name: myapp
    patch: |-
      - op: replace
        path: /spec/replicas
        value: 5
      - op: add
        path: /spec/template/spec/containers/0/env
        value:
          - name: LOG_LEVEL
            value: info

Inline Patches

# kustomization.yaml
patches:
  - patch: |-
      apiVersion: apps/v1
      kind: Deployment
      metadata:
        name: myapp
      spec:
        replicas: 3
    target:
      kind: Deployment
      name: myapp

Configuration Generation

ConfigMap Generator

# kustomization.yaml
configMapGenerator:
  - name: myapp-config
    literals:
      - APP_ENV=production
      - LOG_LEVEL=info
    files:
      - config.yaml
    envs:
      - config.env
    options:
      disableNameSuffixHash: false

Secret Generator

# kustomization.yaml
secretGenerator:
  - name: myapp-secrets
    literals:
      - api-key=secret123
    files:
      - tls.crt
      - tls.key
    type: kubernetes.io/tls

Image Transformations

# kustomization.yaml
images:
  # Change tag
  - name: myapp
    newTag: v2.0.0
  
  # Change registry
  - name: myapp
    newName: registry.example.com/myapp
    newTag: v2.0.0
  
  # Use digest
  - name: myapp
    digest: sha256:abc123...

Resource Transformations

Name Prefix/Suffix

# kustomization.yaml
namePrefix: prod-
nameSuffix: -v2

Namespace

# kustomization.yaml
namespace: production

Labels and Annotations

# kustomization.yaml
commonLabels:
  app.kubernetes.io/name: myapp
  app.kubernetes.io/environment: production

commonAnnotations:
  example.com/owner: team-a

Replicas

# kustomization.yaml
replicas:
  - name: myapp
    count: 5
  - name: worker
    count: 3

Components

# components/monitoring/kustomization.yaml
apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1alpha1
kind: Component

resources:
  - servicemonitor.yaml

patches:
  - patch: |-
      apiVersion: apps/v1
      kind: Deployment
      metadata:
        name: myapp
      spec:
        template:
          metadata:
            annotations:
              prometheus.io/scrape: "true"
              prometheus.io/port: "8080"

# overlays/production/kustomization.yaml
components:
  - ../../components/monitoring

Remote Resources

# kustomization.yaml
resources:
  # Remote Git repository
  - https://github.com/org/manifests//base?ref=v1.0.0
  
  # Remote URL
  - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/org/repo/main/deployment.yaml

Commands

# Build and view output
kubectl kustomize overlays/production

# Apply to cluster
kubectl apply -k overlays/production

# Delete resources
kubectl delete -k overlays/production

# View diff
kubectl diff -k overlays/production

# Build with standalone kustomize
kustomize build overlays/production

# Build and apply
kustomize build overlays/production | kubectl apply -f -

Helm Chart Integration

# kustomization.yaml
helmCharts:
  - name: prometheus
    repo: https://prometheus-community.github.io/helm-charts
    version: 25.0.0
    releaseName: prometheus
    namespace: monitoring
    valuesFile: values.yaml
    includeCRDs: true

Variable Substitution

# kustomization.yaml
apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: Kustomization

resources:
  - deployment.yaml

replacements:
  - source:
      kind: ConfigMap
      name: myapp-config
      fieldPath: data.APP_VERSION
    targets:
      - select:
          kind: Deployment
          name: myapp
        fieldPaths:
          - spec.template.spec.containers.[name=myapp].image
        options:
          delimiter: ':'
          index: 1

Common Issues

Issue: Name Hash Conflicts

Problem: Resources not updating when ConfigMap changes Solution: Enable name suffix hash (default) or use replacement

Issue: Patch Not Applying

Problem: Strategic merge patch doesn't work Solution: Verify resource names match, use JSON patch for complex changes

Issue: Remote Resource Fails

Problem: Cannot fetch remote resources Solution: Check URL, verify ref/tag exists, ensure network access

Issue: Label Selector Mismatch

Problem: commonLabels breaks selectors Solution: Use includeSelectors: false or exclude specific resources

commonLabels:
  app: myapp
configurations:
  - labelExclusions.yaml

Best Practices

• Keep base manifests environment-agnostic
• Use overlays for environment-specific config
• Prefer strategic merge patches for simple changes
• Use components for optional features
• Pin remote resource versions
• Enable ConfigMap/Secret hash suffixes
• Document overlay structure in README
• Test builds before applying

Related Skills

• kubernetes-ops - K8s fundamentals
• helm-charts - Helm alternative
• argocd-gitops - GitOps deployment