Core Concepts

These are some core concepts in Kluctl.

Kluctl project

The kluctl project defines targets. It is defined via the .kluctl.yaml configuration file.

Targets

A target defines a target cluster and a set of deployment arguments. Multiple targets can use the same cluster. Targets allow implementing multi-cluster, multi-environment, multi-customer, … deployments.

Deployments

A deployment defines which Kustomize deployments and which sub-deployments to deploy. It also controls the order of deployments.

Deployments may be configured through deployment arguments, which are typically provided via the targets but might also be provided through the CLI.

Variables

Variables are the main source of configuration. They are either loaded yaml files or directly defined inside deployments. Each variables file that is loaded has access to all the variables which were defined before, allowing complex composition of configuration.

After being loaded, variables are usable through the templating engine at all nearly all places.

Templating

All configuration files (including .kluctl.yaml and deployment.yaml) and all Kubernetes manifests involved are processed through a templating engine. The templating engine allows simple variable substitution and also complex control structures (if/else, for loops, …).

Unified CLI

The CLI of kluctl is designed to be unified/consistent as much as possible. Most commands are centered around targets and thus require you to specify the target name (via -t <target>). If you remember how one command works, it’s easy to figure out how the others work. Output from all targets based commands is also unified, allowing you to easily see what will and what did happen.