Deploy manifests at startup

experimental.deploy.vcluster.manifests applies raw YAML inside the vcluster the moment it starts. The virtual cluster comes up already carrying the objects, no second kubectl apply step. This is a bootstrap for things every fresh vcluster needs: a namespace, an operator, a default workload.

This field lives under experimental. vcluster flags it as experimental, so breaking changes can land between releases. Pin the chart version and re-test on upgrade.

1. put the raw manifests in a block scalar. Separate documents with ---, exactly as in a file you would kubectl apply.

   experimental:
     deploy:
       vcluster:
         manifests: |-
           apiVersion: v1
           kind: Namespace
           metadata:
             name: demo
           ---
           apiVersion: apps/v1
           kind: Deployment
           metadata:
             name: nginx
             namespace: demo
           spec:
             replicas: 1
             selector:
               matchLabels:
                 app: nginx
             template:
               metadata:
                 labels:
                   app: nginx
               spec:
                 containers:
                   - name: nginx
                     image: nginx:1.27
   

2. apply with Helm.

   helm upgrade --install my-vcluster vcluster \
     --repo https://charts.loft.sh \
     --version 0.37.2 \
     -n my-vcluster --create-namespace \
     -f values.yaml
   

3. connect and the objects are already there.

   $ vcluster connect my-vcluster -n my-vcluster
   $ kubectl get deployment -n demo
   NAME    READY   UP-TO-DATE   AVAILABLE   AGE
   nginx   1/1     1            1           40s
   

4. vcluster keeps the manifests applied. Edit the block and helm upgrade to roll the change into the running vcluster.

Manifests

values.yaml

experimental:
  deploy:
    vcluster:
      manifests: |-
        apiVersion: v1
        kind: Namespace
        metadata:
          name: demo
        ---
        apiVersion: apps/v1
        kind: Deployment
        metadata:
          name: nginx
          namespace: demo
        spec:
          replicas: 1
          selector:
            matchLabels:
              app: nginx
          template:
            metadata:
              labels:
                app: nginx
            spec:
              containers:
                - name: nginx
                  image: nginx:1.27

https://www.vcluster.com/docs/vcluster/configure/vcluster-yaml/experimental/deploy