kustomize VS ytt

kustomize: brew install kustomize

It's a built in feature of kustomize https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kustomize/blob/master/api/types/helmchartargs.go

I think the combination of Kustomize and helm works in my experience. For advanced use cases, you can also see KRM functions in Kustomize.

See for instance a related issue: https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kustomize/issues/3866

Using a strategic merge is the safest way so you avoid the index fragility.

Rendering out the manifests is something I have been pushing for. Not having to understand how every templating tool works and what actually is being changed is key. Though, it gets complicated when you use helm (or any templating/patching tool) that produces many variants. You also lose any release/deployment time hooks that are provided (helm hooks or recently "patched" kustomize env variables).

https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kustomize/blob/master/examples/chart.md (edit: oh I see the other commenter also included this link, oops)

Kustomize is an open-source project that “lets you customize raw, template-free YAML files for multiple purposes, leaving the original YAML untouched and usable as is.” It’s now the most popular tool for customizing Kubernetes manifests reasonably, and it’s even built directly into the Kubernetes CLI since K8s v1.14.

YTT - YTT is a templating tool that understands YAML structure. It helps you easily configure complex software via reusable templates and user provided values using the Starlark language.

Adding https://carvel.dev/ytt/ to the list. I was happy using this tool as IMO it mixes good things from Helm and Kustomize, however the syntax is ugly and repelling my colleagues to have a closer look.

> Templating yaml is a terrible, terrible idea

I've had a good time using ytt: https://carvel.dev/ytt/. It implements language-aware templating, which is IMO the only reasonable way to do it.

`ytt` is part of the Carvel toolchain. https://carvel.dev/ytt/

I agree with you on `you will want to see just plain texts instead of a bunch of templating token with hidden logic.` Which is why I think https://carvel.dev/ytt/ would be great. We could generate these templates in pipelines, or we could just make it easier to maintain what we have.

For more advanced configuration management you might be interested in ytt ( https://carvel.dev/ytt/ ) which is a "yaml-aware" templating tool. it lets you do "patches" via an overlay mechanism to add or remove specific yaml blocks, and it also lets you use a simplified python dialect for more complicated logic. With ytt you would put your DNS IP into a "data values" file and then run ytt to render it into the configs before handing them off to the deployment tool. e.g. `ytt -f | kubectl apply`

I said this above as well: ytt (https://carvel.dev/ytt/) lets you embed starlark into valid yaml, among other cute tricks for managing biz-logic in configs.

Manifests are generated with ytt (https://carvel.dev/ytt/).

This is why you should consider https://carvel.dev/ytt/