Generate Kubernetes Manifests

Produce a complete, production-ready set of Kubernetes manifests for one application in one module and write them to disk. Deterministic — every choice below comes from a fixed rule or table, not the model's judgment. The artifacts are the YAML files on disk, not chat output.

Inputs

If modulePath is missing → ask the user. STOP.

Prerequisite: analyze-repo

This skill needs language, framework, ports, detectedDatabases, and detectedEnvVars from the analyze-repo skill. If you don't already have that output for <modulePath> from earlier in this conversation, follow the analyze-repo skill against <modulePath> first, then come back.

Procedure

Step 1 — Resolve defaults

Container port — if ports[0] is set, use it. Otherwise pick from the language default:

Replica count — start from this table, then override if both trafficLevel and criticalityTier are given (lower row wins):

Resources — fixed defaults (requests ≈ 50% of limits):

If the user supplied k8sConfig.resourceDefaults, use those instead.

Probes — pick a probe path:

If you cannot infer a meaningful HTTP endpoint, fall back to a TCP socket probe on containerPort.

In development environment, omit probes entirely (keeps startup simple).

Managed databases — workload identity is required for any DB whose dbType is in:

{ postgres, mysql, mongodb, redis, mssql, cosmosdb }

If detectedDatabases includes any of these → emit a ServiceAccount called <appName>-sa with the Azure Workload Identity annotations (see Step 2). Use this SA in the Deployment.spec.template.spec.serviceAccountName.

If no managed DB is detected → omit the ServiceAccount, the Deployment uses the namespace's default SA.

Step 2 — Build each manifest

Always required: Deployment, Service. Conditional: ConfigMap (any config / database env var), Secret (any secret env var — values must be placeholders, never real secrets), ServiceAccount (managed DB detected), HorizontalPodAutoscaler (production AND trafficLevel ∈ {high, medium}).

Required labels & annotations (on every resource's metadata)

metadata:
  name: <appName>[-suffix]
  namespace: <namespace>
  labels:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: <appName>
    app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: containerization-assist
  # Include the annotation only if the current `containerization-assist`
  # package version is readable from the environment; otherwise omit
  # the entire `annotations:` block. Never hard-code a stale version.
  annotations:
    com.azure.containerizationassist/version: <version>

Do NOT rename the annotation key to containerization-assist/version.

Deployment

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: <appName>
  namespace: <namespace>
  labels:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: <appName>
    app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: containerization-assist
spec:
  replicas: <from Step 1>
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app.kubernetes.io/name: <appName>
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app.kubernetes.io/name: <appName>
        app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: containerization-assist
      # If a managed DB is detected, add this annotations block (matches the ServiceAccount + serviceAccountName below).
      # Otherwise omit the entire `annotations:` key.
      annotations:
        azure.workload.identity/use: "true"
    spec:
      # Include `serviceAccountName` only if a managed DB is detected (matches the workload-identity annotation above).
      serviceAccountName: <appName>-sa
      securityContext:
        runAsNonRoot: true
        runAsUser: 10001
        fsGroup: 10001
        seccompProfile: { type: RuntimeDefault }
      containers:
        - name: <appName>
          image: <image>
          imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
          ports:
            - name: http
              containerPort: <port>
              protocol: TCP
          env:                                  # one entry per env var (see below)
            - name: PORT
              value: "<port>"
          # Include `envFrom` only for the refs whose backing object you emit:
          # `configMapRef` only if a ConfigMap was emitted; `secretRef` only if a Secret was emitted.
          envFrom:
            - configMapRef:
                name: <appName>-config
            - secretRef:
                name: <appName>-secret
          resources:
            requests:
              cpu: <see Step 1>
              memory: <see Step 1>
            limits:
              cpu: <see Step 1>
              memory: <see Step 1>
          securityContext:
            allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
            readOnlyRootFilesystem: true
            capabilities:
              drop: ["ALL"]
          # Include `livenessProbe` and `readinessProbe` only in production. Omit both in development.
          livenessProbe:
            httpGet:
              path: <probe path>
              port: http
            initialDelaySeconds: 30
            periodSeconds: 10
          readinessProbe:
            httpGet:
              path: <probe path>
              port: http
            initialDelaySeconds: 5
            periodSeconds: 5

Env-var emission rules (per entry in detectedEnvVars):

• classification == "config" or "database" with a defaultValue → becomes a key in the ConfigMap. Reference via envFrom.configMapRef.
• classification == "config" or "database" without a defaultValue → becomes a key in the ConfigMap with value "" (user must fill in).
• classification == "secret" → key in the Secret with placeholder value "REPLACE_ME". Reference via envFrom.secretRef. NEVER include any real defaultValue for secret-classified entries.

If readOnlyRootFilesystem: true would break the framework (Java apps that write to /tmp, ASP.NET Core), add a volumeMounts + emptyDir volume for /tmp:

volumes:
  - name: tmp
    emptyDir: {}
# inside container:
volumeMounts:
  - name: tmp
    mountPath: /tmp

Service

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: <appName>
  namespace: <namespace>
  labels:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: <appName>
    app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: containerization-assist
spec:
  type: ClusterIP
  selector:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: <appName>
  ports:
    - name: http
      port: 80
      targetPort: http
      protocol: TCP

ConfigMap (only if any non-secret env vars)

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: <appName>-config
  namespace: <namespace>
  labels:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: <appName>
    app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: containerization-assist
data:
  <KEY>: "<defaultValue or empty string>"
  ...

Secret (only if any secret env vars)

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: <appName>-secret
  namespace: <namespace>
  labels:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: <appName>
    app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: containerization-assist
type: Opaque
stringData:
  <KEY>: "REPLACE_ME"
  ...

ServiceAccount (only if managed DB detected)

apiVersion: v1
kind: ServiceAccount
metadata:
  name: <appName>-sa
  namespace: <namespace>
  labels:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: <appName>
    app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: containerization-assist
  annotations:
    azure.workload.identity/client-id: "<REPLACE_WITH_USER_ASSIGNED_IDENTITY_CLIENT_ID>"

Also add the Deployment pod-template annotation: azure.workload.identity/use: "true".

HorizontalPodAutoscaler (only if production AND trafficLevel ∈ {high, medium})

apiVersion: autoscaling/v2
kind: HorizontalPodAutoscaler
metadata:
  name: <appName>
  namespace: <namespace>
  labels:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: <appName>
    app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: containerization-assist
spec:
  scaleTargetRef:
    apiVersion: apps/v1
    kind: Deployment
    name: <appName>
  minReplicas: <replicas from Step 1>
  maxReplicas: <minReplicas * 3, min 5, max 20>
  metrics:
    - type: Resource
      resource:
        name: cpu
        target: { type: Utilization, averageUtilization: 70 }

Step 3 — Self-check before writing

For each generated YAML, confirm:

• apiVersion and kind present
• metadata.name matches <appName> (or <appName>-<suffix>)
• metadata.namespace matches input
• Required labels (app.kubernetes.io/name, app.kubernetes.io/managed-by) present
• Deployment: runAsNonRoot: true, runAsUser ≥ 1000, no privileged, no hostNetwork, no hostPID
• Deployment: resources requests and limits both set
• No real secret values (only REPLACE_ME placeholders) in Secret
• If managed DB present: ServiceAccount exists AND Deployment references it AND azure.workload.identity/use annotation on pod template
• YAML parses cleanly (no tabs, consistent 2-space indent)

If any check fails, fix the YAML before writing. Never write a manifest that fails the security checks.

Step 4 — Write to disk

• Create outputDir (default <modulePath>/k8s/) if it doesn't exist.

• Write one file per resource, using these names (skip files for resources you did not emit):

  File	Resource
  deployment.yaml	Deployment
  service.yaml	Service
  configmap.yaml	ConfigMap
  secret.yaml	Secret
  serviceaccount.yaml	ServiceAccount
  hpa.yaml	HorizontalPodAutoscaler

• Use the chat environment's file-edit/write capability. Do NOT ask the user to copy-paste. Do NOT print the YAML in chat unless the user asks.

Step 5 — Output

Use this exact format (succinct — the YAML files are the artifact):

**Kubernetes manifests** — `<appName>` in `<namespace>`

### Result
✅ Wrote N manifest(s) to `<outputDir>`:
- `deployment.yaml` — N replicas, image `<image>`
- `service.yaml` — ClusterIP on port 80 → containerPort <port>
- `configmap.yaml` — N keys                  *(omit line if not emitted)*
- `secret.yaml` — N keys (all `REPLACE_ME`)  *(omit line if not emitted)*
- `serviceaccount.yaml` — workload identity for <DB list>  *(omit line if not emitted)*
- `hpa.yaml` — min N, max M, target CPU 70%  *(omit line if not emitted)*

### Configuration summary
- **Replicas:** <N> (<reason — e.g. "production default", "trafficLevel=high × tier-1">)
- **Resources:** requests cpu=<v> mem=<v>, limits cpu=<v> mem=<v>
- **Probes:** <"liveness + readiness on <path>" or "disabled (development)" or "TCP fallback">
- **Security context:** runAsNonRoot=true, readOnlyRootFilesystem=true, capabilities dropped
- **Workload identity:** <"enabled — replace client-id annotation with your User-Assigned Identity ID" or "not required">

### Action required before deploy
- <list every `REPLACE_ME` value in secret.yaml and the workload identity client-id if SA was emitted>
- <"Replace placeholder image <appName>:dev" if image was defaulted>

### Next steps
1. `kubectl apply -n <namespace> -f <outputDir>/`
2. Run **verify-deploy** (tool) to confirm rollout succeeds.
3. Run **scan-image** (tool) on the image before promoting to production.

Constraints

• The artifacts are the files in <outputDir>. Always write them to disk.
• NEVER print full YAML in chat unless the user explicitly asks ("show me", "print the deployment", etc.).
• NEVER put real secret values in a Secret. Always REPLACE_ME.
• NEVER omit securityContext.runAsNonRoot: true or allowPrivilegeEscalation: false.
• NEVER set privileged: true, hostNetwork: true, hostPID: true, or hostIPC: true.
• NEVER pick the latest tag for the image. If user gave one, warn and proceed but mark it in "Action required".
• NEVER emit helm or kustomize — out of scope for this skill.
• Manifest order in kubectl apply -f matters: this skill writes one file per kind, so kubectl handles ordering naturally.

Failure modes