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⚙️ Configuration

Configure K8s right: ConfigMaps, Secrets, resource limits, node management, MachineConfigPools, GPU Operator, NicClusterPolicy, and DOCA driver builds.

91 recipes 🟢 29 beginner 🟡 32 intermediate 🔴 30 advanced
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

kubectl Cheat Sheet: Essential Commands

Complete kubectl cheat sheet with essential commands for pods, deployments, services, logs, debugging, and cluster management. Copy-paste ready examples.

kubectlcheat-sheetcommandscli
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

Kubernetes Node and Pod Affinity Guide

Configure node affinity, pod affinity, and anti-affinity rules for advanced Kubernetes scheduling. Control pod placement across zones, nodes, and topologies.

affinityanti-affinityschedulingtopology
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

Kubernetes Annotations Complete Guide

Use Kubernetes annotations for metadata, automation triggers, and controller configuration. Covers common annotation patterns, ingress annotations, and Helm labels.

annotationsmetadataingressautomation
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

Kubernetes Backup and Restore with Velero

Backup and restore Kubernetes clusters with Velero. Covers namespace backups, scheduled backups, disaster recovery, and migration between clusters.

backuprestorevelerodisaster-recovery
advanced ⏱ 15 minutes

Kubernetes Cluster Upgrade Step-by-Step

Upgrade Kubernetes clusters safely with kubeadm. Covers pre-flight checks, control plane upgrade, worker node drain, and rollback procedures.

upgradekubeadmcluster-managementversion
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

Kubernetes ConfigMap Complete Guide

Create and use ConfigMaps in Kubernetes for application configuration. Mount as files, inject as environment variables, and hot-reload without restarting pods.

configmapconfigurationenvironment-variablesvolumes
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

Kubernetes Environment Variables Guide

Set environment variables in Kubernetes pods from literals, ConfigMaps, Secrets, and the Downward API. Covers variable ordering, references, and best practices.

environment-variablesenvconfigmapsecrets
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

Kubernetes Labels and Selectors Guide

Master Kubernetes labels and selectors for organizing and querying resources. Covers label conventions, equality selectors, set-based selectors, and field selectors.

labelsselectorsorganizationfiltering
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

Kubernetes Pod Lifecycle and States Explained

Understand the Kubernetes pod lifecycle from Pending to Terminated. Covers pod phases, container states, restart policies, graceful shutdown, and preStop hooks.

pod-lifecyclephasesgraceful-shutdownprestop
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

kubectl Port-Forward: Access Pods and Services

Use kubectl port-forward to access Kubernetes pods, services, and deployments from your local machine. Debug, test, and access internal services securely.

port-forwardkubectldebugginglocal-access
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

Kubernetes Resource Requests and Limits Guide

Configure CPU and memory requests and limits in Kubernetes. Understand QoS classes, OOMKilled, CPU throttling, and right-sizing with VPA recommendations.

resourcesrequestslimitscpu
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

Kubernetes Taints and Tolerations Guide

Use Kubernetes taints and tolerations to control pod scheduling. Dedicate nodes for GPU workloads, isolate teams, and prevent scheduling on specific nodes.

taintstolerationsschedulingnode-selection
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

Fix ConfigMap Changes Not Applied to Pods

Debug ConfigMap updates not reflected in running pods. Covers volume mount propagation delays, env var immutability, and sidecar-based reload strategies.

configmaphot-reloadvolumestroubleshooting
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

Kubernetes API Deprecation Migration Guide

Migrate deprecated Kubernetes APIs before cluster upgrades. Detect deprecated resources with pluto, kubent, and kubectl convert.

api-deprecationmigrationupgradepluto
advanced ⏱ 15 minutes

Kubernetes Disaster Recovery Planning

Build a Kubernetes disaster recovery plan with etcd backups, Velero, cross-region replication, and RTO/RPO targets for production clusters.

disaster-recoverybackupveleroetcd
advanced ⏱ 15 minutes

Kubernetes etcd Operations and Maintenance

Manage etcd for Kubernetes: backup, restore, compaction, defragmentation, member management, and disaster recovery procedures.

etcdbackuprestoredisaster-recovery
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

Kubernetes Init Containers Complete Guide

Use init containers for database migrations, config loading, dependency waiting, and secret fetching. Patterns for sequential initialization in Kubernetes pods.

init-containerspodsstartupdependencies
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

Kubernetes Namespace Best Practices

Design and manage Kubernetes namespaces effectively. Covers naming conventions, resource quotas, RBAC isolation, network policies, and multi-tenancy patterns.

namespacemulti-tenancyrbacresource-quota
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

Kubernetes Sidecar Container Patterns

Implement sidecar containers for logging, proxying, config reload, and security. Built-in sidecar support in Kubernetes 1.28+ with restartPolicy Always.

sidecarpatternsloggingproxy
beginner ⏱ 5 minutes

KubeCon EU 2026 Book Giveaway Recap

Recap of the Kubernetes Recipes book giveaway at KubeCon EU 2026 Amsterdam. Photos from the signing sessions, community highlights, and how to get your copy.

kubeconbookcommunityevent
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

Inspect MachineConfig Annotations on Nodes

Read and interpret MachineConfig annotations on OpenShift nodes. Check desired vs current config, node state, and rendered config hashes to diagnose MCP issues.

openshiftmachineconfigannotationsmco
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

Set Kernel Parameters via MachineConfig

Tune kernel sysctl parameters on OpenShift nodes using MachineConfig. Set networking, memory, and performance sysctls on RHCOS.

openshiftmachineconfigkernelsysctl
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

Configure NTP Chrony via MachineConfig

Set custom NTP servers on OpenShift RHCOS nodes using MachineConfig. Fix time drift, configure chrony, and verify time synchronization across your cluster.

openshiftmachineconfigchronyntp
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

Configure Container Registries via MachineConfig

Set up mirror registries and blocked registries on OpenShift nodes using MachineConfig to control CRI-O image pull on RHCOS.

openshiftmachineconfigregistriescri-o
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

Configure MCP maxUnavailable for Rollouts

Control how many nodes the MachineConfig Operator updates simultaneously. Set maxUnavailable for faster rollouts or safer one-at-a-time updates in production.

openshiftmachineconfigmcpmaxunavailable
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

Pause and Unpause MCP Rollouts

Temporarily pause MachineConfigPool rollouts to batch multiple MachineConfig changes or coordinate with maintenance windows. Unpause to resume node updates.

openshiftmachineconfigmcppause
advanced ⏱ 30 minutes

Automate MCP Updates with Drain Script

Bash script to automate OpenShift MachineConfigPool updates when drains are blocked by PDB violations. Auto-detects blockers, scales down, drains, and restores.

openshiftmachineconfigautomationbash
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

Separate Worker and Infra MachineConfigPools

Create dedicated MachineConfigPools for infrastructure and GPU nodes. Isolate MCP rollout blast radius and control update order for different node types.

openshiftmachineconfigmcpinfra
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

Use oc adm drain Dry-Run for Diagnostics

Preview node drain impact without evicting pods. Identify PDB violations, unmanaged pods, and local storage blockers before maintenance.

draindry-runmaintenancediagnostics
intermediate ⏱ 20 minutes

OpenClaw Multi-Model Provider Setup on Kubernetes

Configure OpenClaw with multiple AI providers on Kubernetes. Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, OpenRouter with fallback chains and cost control.

openclawai-modelsmulti-provideranthropic
advanced ⏱ 30 minutes

OpenClaw Node Pairing for IoT and Edge Devices

Pair phones, Raspberry Pi, and edge devices with OpenClaw on Kubernetes. Camera, location, screen control, and remote command execution.

openclawiotedgenode-pairing
beginner ⏱ 10 minutes

Cordon, Drain, and Uncordon Nodes

Safely remove workloads from OpenShift and Kubernetes nodes for maintenance. Cordon to prevent scheduling, drain to evict pods, uncordon to restore.

maintenancenode-managementdraincordon
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

Configure PDBs for OpenShift Routers

Set PodDisruptionBudgets for OpenShift IngressController routers. Balance availability during maintenance with node drain ability.

openshiftpdbingressrouter
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

Restore Scaled Deployments After Node Drain

Restore deployments scaled down for maintenance. Verify node health, check pod scheduling, and confirm service availability.

scalingrestoremaintenancedeployments
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

Scale Deployments to Unblock Node Drains

Safely scale down deployments that block node drains due to PDB violations. Record original replicas, scale to zero, drain, then restore after the node returns.

scalingdrainpdbmaintenance
intermediate ⏱ 20 minutes

ITMS External-to-External Registry Mirroring

Configure OpenShift ImageTagMirrorSet to map external registries to your private registry. Mirror Docker Hub, GHCR, Quay.io, and NVIDIA NGC.

openshiftitmsimagetagmirrorsetregistry
advanced ⏱ 25 minutes

How ITMS Updates registries.conf via MachineConfig

How ITMS and IDMS update /etc/containers/registries.conf on immutable CoreOS nodes via MCO and MachineConfig. Full chain deep-dive.

openshiftitmsidmsregistries-conf
beginner ⏱ 10 minutes

400 Recipes Milestone: What We Built and What's Next

Kubernetes Recipes reaches 400 articles. Explore new AI/GPU infrastructure, NVIDIA networking, ArgoCD GitOps, OpenShift, and RHACS security recipes.

communitymilestonekubernetesrecipes
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

KubeCon EU 2026 Book Signing Events

Join Luca Berton at two KubeCon Amsterdam events: Signal Overflow at Booking.com HQ (Mon 23 Mar) and book signing at vCluster booth #521 (Tue 24 Mar).

kubeconbookcommunityevent
advanced ⏱ 20 minutes

ClusterPolicy MOFED Upgrade Strategy

Configure safe MOFED driver upgrade policies in the NVIDIA GPU Operator ClusterPolicy with rolling updates, node draining, and rollback procedures.

nvidiagpu-operatormofedupgrades
advanced ⏱ 15 minutes

NVIDIA DOCA Driver Container in Kubernetes

Deploy and configure NVIDIA DOCA Driver containers via NicClusterPolicy for RDMA, NFS-RDMA, and precompiled driver builds.

nvidiadocardmanetwork-operator
advanced ⏱ 15 minutes

DOCA Driver on OpenShift with DTK

Build and deploy precompiled NVIDIA DOCA Driver containers on OpenShift using DriverToolKit, MachineConfig, and upgrade lifecycle.

nvidiadocaopenshiftdtk
advanced ⏱ 20 minutes

GPU Operator ClusterPolicy Complete Reference

Complete reference for the NVIDIA GPU Operator ClusterPolicy CRD covering driver, toolkit, device plugin, MOFED, GDS, MIG, and DCGM configuration options.

nvidiagpu-operatorclusterpolicyreference
advanced ⏱ 30 minutes

NVIDIA GPU Operator MOFED Driver Configuration

Configure the NVIDIA GPU Operator to deploy Mellanox OFED drivers for high-performance RDMA networking on Kubernetes GPU nodes with InfiniBand and RoCE support.

nvidiagpu-operatormofedrdma
advanced ⏱ 15 minutes

GPU Cluster Upgrade Version Matrix

Maintain a version compatibility matrix for GPU Operator, Network Operator, drivers, firmware, CUDA, and OpenShift for safe upgrades.

upgradeversion-matrixgpu-operatoropenshift
advanced ⏱ 15 minutes

MOFED and DOCA Driver Building for OpenShift

Build NVIDIA MOFED and DOCA drivers for OpenShift using DriverToolKit, Buildah, and MachineConfig for RDMA and GPU networking.

mofeddocaopenshiftdtk
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

NicClusterPolicy MOFED Affinity and Node Selection

Configure NicClusterPolicy node selectors and affinity rules to deploy MOFED drivers only on RDMA-capable nodes in Kubernetes clusters.

nvidiamofednode-selectionnetworking
advanced ⏱ 15 minutes

Open Kernel Modules and DMA-BUF for GPUs

Migrate from proprietary NVIDIA kernel modules and nvidia-peermem to open kernel modules with DMA-BUF for safer GPU upgrades.

nvidiakernel-modulesdma-bufgpudirect
intermediate ⏱ 20 minutes

OpenClaw Cron Jobs and Heartbeats on Kubernetes

Configure OpenClaw's built-in cron scheduling and heartbeat system on Kubernetes for proactive notifications, periodic checks, and automated background.

openclawcronheartbeatautomation
intermediate ⏱ 20 minutes

Manage OpenClaw Skills on Kubernetes

Deploy and manage OpenClaw agent skills (tools, automations, integrations) on Kubernetes using ConfigMaps, PVCs, and git-sync for dynamic capability.

openclawskillstoolsplugins
intermediate ⏱ 25 minutes

GitOps for OpenClaw Workspaces on Kubernetes

Manage OpenClaw agent workspaces (SOUL.md, skills, memory) with GitOps using Flux or ArgoCD, enabling version-controlled AI persona management on.

openclawgitopsworkspaceflux
intermediate ⏱ 20 minutes

Create Custom CatalogSources for OLM Operators

Configure CatalogSource in OpenShift to serve custom operator catalogs from private registries or air-gapped environments.

catalogsourceolmoperatorsopenshift
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

OpenShift Lifecycle and Version Support

Understand OpenShift Container Platform version lifecycle, support phases, EUS releases, and upgrade planning for production clusters.

openshiftlifecycleupgradeseus
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

OpenShift Project Request Template for Pull Secrets

Configure an OpenShift Project Request Template so every new namespace automatically gets a ServiceAccount with imagePullSecrets for your private Quay registry.

openshifttemplatesnamespacespull-secrets
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

PriorityClasses for GPU Workloads

Configure Kubernetes PriorityClasses for GPU workloads with training, serving, batch, and interactive tiers and preemption policies.

priorityclassgpuschedulingpreemption
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

ResourceQuota and LimitRange for GPUs

Configure ResourceQuota and LimitRange for GPU workloads with per-tenant caps on GPU, CPU, memory, and object counts in Kubernetes.

resourcequotalimitrangegpumulti-tenant
advanced ⏱ 15 minutes

RHCOS for OpenShift Nodes

Understand and manage Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS (RHCOS) for OpenShift nodes including MachineConfig, ignition, OS updates, and node customization.

openshiftrhcoscoreosmachineconfig
intermediate ⏱ 20 minutes

Configure ClusterPolicy kernelModuleType for GPU Operator

Understand and configure the driver.kernelModuleType field in the NVIDIA GPU Operator ClusterPolicy to choose between auto, open, and proprietary kernel.

nvidiagpu-operatorclusterpolicykernel-modules
advanced ⏱ 60 minutes

Switch to Open NVIDIA Kernel Modules on OpenShift

Step-by-step guide to migrate the NVIDIA GPU Operator from proprietary to open kernel modules on OpenShift, enabling DMA-BUF and GPUDirect Storage support.

nvidiagpu-operatorkernel-modulesopen-kernel
advanced ⏱ 20 minutes

Tune NCCL Environment Variables for RDMA and Ethernet

Apply safe NCCL environment variable profiles for RDMA-capable and Ethernet-only GPU clusters to maximize collective communication throughput.

ncclrdmaethernettuning
advanced ⏱ 55 minutes

Crossplane for Cloud Infrastructure Management

Use Crossplane to provision and manage cloud infrastructure resources like databases, storage, and networking using Kubernetes-native APIs and GitOps.

crossplaneinfrastructure-as-codecloud-resourcesgitops
advanced ⏱ 50 minutes

Multi-Node NVLink with ComputeDomains

Configure ComputeDomains for robust and secure Multi-Node NVLink (MNNVL) workloads on NVIDIA GB200 and similar systems using DRA

dracomputedomainsnvlinkmnnvl
advanced ⏱ 40 minutes

Dynamic Resource Allocation for GPUs with NVIDIA DRA Driver

Learn to use Kubernetes Dynamic Resource Allocation (DRA) for flexible GPU allocation, sharing, and configuration with the NVIDIA DRA Driver

dragpunvidiaaccelerators
advanced ⏱ 40 minutes

MIG GPU Partitioning with DRA

Dynamically partition NVIDIA A100 and H100 GPUs using Multi-Instance GPU (MIG) technology with Dynamic Resource Allocation for flexible workload isolation

dragpumignvidia
advanced ⏱ 50 minutes

Mixed Accelerator Workloads with DRA

Orchestrate heterogeneous accelerator workloads combining GPUs, TPUs, FPGAs, and custom AI chips using Dynamic Resource Allocation

dragputpufpga
advanced ⏱ 45 minutes

TPU Allocation with Dynamic Resource Allocation

Configure Google Cloud TPUs in Kubernetes using DRA for flexible allocation, multi-slice workloads, and optimized machine learning training

dratpugoogle-cloudgke
advanced ⏱ 60 minutes

Kubernetes API Aggregation Layer

Extend the Kubernetes API with custom API servers using the aggregation layer to add new resource types and functionality without modifying core components

api-aggregationapi-serverextension-apiservercustom-api
advanced ⏱ 45 minutes

How to Upgrade Kubernetes Clusters Safely

Perform Kubernetes cluster upgrades with zero downtime. Learn upgrade strategies, pre-flight checks, rollback procedures, and best practices for.

upgradecluster-managementmaintenancehigh-availability
advanced ⏱ 50 minutes

Kubernetes Scheduler Configuration and Tuning

Customize the Kubernetes scheduler with scheduling profiles, plugins, and advanced placement strategies for optimal pod placement and resource utilization

schedulerscheduling-profilescustom-schedulerresource-optimization
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Manage Kubernetes API Versions and Deprecations

Handle Kubernetes API version changes and deprecations. Migrate resources to stable APIs and ensure cluster upgrade compatibility.

apideprecationmigrationupgrades
advanced ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Create Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs)

Extend Kubernetes API with Custom Resource Definitions. Define custom objects, configure validation schemas, and manage CRD lifecycle.

crdcustom-resourcesapiextensions
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Use the Downward API

Expose pod and container metadata to applications using the Downward API. Access labels, annotations, resource limits, and pod information from within.

downward-apimetadataenvironment-variablesvolumes
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Use Downward API for Pod Metadata

Expose pod and container metadata to applications using the Downward API. Access labels, annotations, resource limits, and node information from within.

downward-apimetadataenvironmentconfiguration
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Configure Environment Variables and ConfigMaps

Manage application configuration with environment variables and ConfigMaps. Learn injection methods, mounting as files, and dynamic configuration updates.

configmapenvironment-variablesconfigurationsettings
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Configure Image Pull Secrets

Pull container images from private registries using image pull secrets. Configure authentication for Docker Hub, GCR, ECR, ACR, and private registries.

image-pull-secretsregistriesdockerauthentication
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Manage Kubernetes Contexts and Clusters

Switch between multiple clusters efficiently. Configure kubeconfig, manage contexts, and set up secure multi-cluster access.

kubeconfigcontextsclusterskubectl
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Optimize Kubernetes Costs

Reduce cloud costs in Kubernetes clusters. Right-size resources, use spot instances, implement autoscaling, and monitor spending effectively.

costoptimizationresourcesfinops
advanced ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Use Kubernetes Finalizers

Manage resource cleanup with Kubernetes finalizers. Implement custom cleanup logic and understand how finalizers prevent premature resource deletion.

finalizerscleanupdeletioncontrollers
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Use Kubernetes Jobs and CronJobs

Run batch workloads and scheduled tasks with Jobs and CronJobs. Configure retries, parallelism, and completion tracking for reliable task execution.

jobscronjobsbatchscheduling
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Use Labels and Annotations Effectively

Organize and manage Kubernetes resources with labels and annotations. Implement labeling strategies for selection, filtering, and metadata.

labelsannotationsorganizationselectors
advanced ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Use Kubernetes Lease Objects

Implement leader election and distributed coordination with Kubernetes Lease objects. Build highly available controllers and prevent split-brain scenarios.

leaseleader-electioncoordinationhigh-availability
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Use Kustomize for Configuration Management

Manage Kubernetes configurations with Kustomize overlays. Customize base manifests for different environments without template duplication.

kustomizeconfigurationoverlaysenvironments
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Implement Kubernetes Taints and Tolerations

Control pod scheduling with taints and tolerations. Dedicate nodes for specific workloads, handle node conditions, and implement scheduling constraints.

taintstolerationsschedulingdedicated-nodes
advanced ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Use Pod Presets and Mutations

Automatically inject configurations into pods using admission controllers. Configure environment variables, volumes, and annotations at deployment time.

admission-controllermutationinjectionconfiguration
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Configure Pod Resource Management

Set CPU and memory requests and limits effectively. Understand QoS classes, resource quotas, and optimize container resource allocation.

resourcescpumemorylimits
beginner ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Configure Resource Limits and Requests

Set CPU and memory requests and limits for containers. Understand QoS classes, resource quotas, and best practices for right-sizing workloads.

resourceslimitsrequestsqos
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Configure Resource Quotas per Namespace

Implement resource quotas to limit CPU, memory, and object counts per namespace. Ensure fair resource allocation across teams and environments.

resourcequotalimitsnamespacesgovernance
intermediate ⏱ 15 minutes

How to Configure Resource Quotas

Limit resource consumption per namespace with ResourceQuotas. Control CPU, memory, storage, and object counts to ensure fair cluster sharing.

resource-quotalimitsmulti-tenancycapacity
beginner ⏱ 20 minutes

How to Manage ConfigMaps and Secrets Effectively

Master Kubernetes ConfigMaps and Secrets for application configuration. Learn creation methods, mounting strategies, and security best practices.

configmapsecretsconfigurationenvironment-variables
beginner ⏱ 20 minutes

How to Manage Kubernetes Namespaces Effectively

Master Kubernetes namespace organization for multi-team environments. Learn resource quotas, network policies, and RBAC per namespace.

namespacesmulti-tenancyorganizationquotas
beginner ⏱ 20 minutes

How to Set Resource Requests and Limits Properly

Master Kubernetes resource management with proper CPU and memory requests and limits. Avoid OOMKills, throttling, and resource contention.

resourcescpumemorylimits
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