Kustomize Patterns#

Kustomize lets you customize Kubernetes manifests without templating. You start with plain YAML (bases) and layer modifications (overlays) on top. It is built into kubectl, so there is no extra tool to install.

Base and Overlay Structure#

The standard layout separates shared manifests from per-environment customizations:

k8s/
  base/
    kustomization.yaml
    deployment.yaml
    service.yaml
    configmap.yaml
  overlays/
    dev/
      kustomization.yaml
      replica-patch.yaml
    staging/
      kustomization.yaml
      ingress.yaml
    production/
      kustomization.yaml
      replica-patch.yaml
      hpa.yaml

The base kustomization.yaml lists the resources:

# base/kustomization.yaml
apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: Kustomization

resources:
  - deployment.yaml
  - service.yaml
  - configmap.yaml

An overlay references the base and adds modifications: