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kustomize

Included in pluginci-cdView on GitHub ↗

Files

SKILL.mdagentsreferences

Install

Install the containing plugin
/plugin install ci-cd@llm-skills
Invoke this skill after installation
/ci-cd:kustomize
Download kustomize-skill.zip
This skill is bundled inside ci-cd. Install the plugin once, then Claude Code can use any of its included skills. Browse the full plugin repository at github.com/alisonaquinas/llm-ci-dev.

SKILL.md

name: kustomize description: Customize Kubernetes manifests with overlay and base patterns using Kustomize. Use when tasks mention kustomize, Kustomization files, kubectl apply -k, overlay/base patterns, or kustomization.yaml.

kustomize

Use this skill to keep Kubernetes manifest customization structured, overlay-based, and free of template duplication.

Intent Router

RequestReferenceLoad When
Install kustomize standalone or kubectl built-inreferences/install-and-setup.mdUser needs to install kustomize or verify version
kustomize build, edit, kubectl apply -k commandsreferences/command-cookbook.mdUser needs day-to-day kustomize operations
kustomization.yaml anatomy, generators, patchesreferences/kustomization-structure.mdUser wants to understand or author kustomization.yaml
base/overlay layout, environment overlays, GitOpsreferences/overlays-and-bases.mdUser asks about multi-environment patterns or GitOps integration

Quick Start

# Preview rendered output
kustomize build ./overlays/production

# Apply directly with kubectl
kubectl apply -k ./overlays/production

# Diff what will change
kubectl diff -k ./overlays/production

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

Core Command Tracks

  • Build: kustomize build <dir> — render all resources to stdout
  • Apply: kubectl apply -k <dir> — build and apply in one step
  • Diff: kubectl diff -k <dir> — preview changes against live cluster
  • Edit: kustomize edit set image/namespace/nameprefix — modify kustomization.yaml programmatically
  • Inspect: kustomize cfg tree <dir> — visualize resource tree

Safety Guardrails

  • Always run kustomize build or kubectl diff -k to inspect rendered output before applying to production.
  • Verify the correct overlay path before running kubectl apply -k; applying the wrong overlay can affect the wrong environment.
  • Review patches carefully — strategic merge patches can silently remove fields if not written correctly.
  • Do not commit secretGenerator literals directly; use .env files excluded from version control or reference external secret managers.
  • Test changes in a lower environment overlay before promoting to production overlays.
  • Use namePrefix and namespace fields in overlays to prevent accidental cross-environment resource collisions.

Workflow

  1. Identify the target overlay: ls overlays/.
  2. Preview rendered manifests: kustomize build ./overlays/<env>.
  3. Diff against live cluster: kubectl diff -k ./overlays/<env>.
  4. Apply: kubectl apply -k ./overlays/<env>.
  5. Verify rollout: kubectl rollout status deployment/<name> -n <namespace>.
# Troubleshoot rendered output: build and count resources, then search for a specific resource
kustomize build ./overlays/production | grep "^kind:"
kustomize build ./overlays/production | kubectl apply --dry-run=client -f -

Related Skills

  • kubectl — apply and manage resources built by kustomize
  • helm — chart-based alternative to kustomize for packaging applications
  • docker — build container images referenced in kustomize image overrides

References

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