Deploy App Workflow
End-to-end orchestration for deploying applications to the Kubernetes homelab with full monitoring integration.
Workflow Overview
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ /deploy-app Workflow │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 1. RESEARCH │
│ ├─ Invoke kubesearch skill for real-world patterns │
│ ├─ Check if native Helm chart exists (helm search hub) │
│ ├─ Determine: native chart vs app-template │
│ └─ AskUserQuestion: Present findings, confirm approach │
│ │
│ 2. SETUP │
│ └─ task wt:new -- deploy-<app-name> │
│ │
│ 3. CONFIGURE (in worktree) │
│ ├─ kubernetes/platform/versions.env (add version) │
│ ├─ kubernetes/platform/namespaces.yaml (add namespace) │
│ ├─ kubernetes/platform/helm-charts.yaml (add input) │
│ ├─ kubernetes/platform/charts/<app>.yaml (create values) │
│ ├─ kubernetes/platform/kustomization.yaml (register) │
│ └─ kubernetes/platform/config/<app>/ (optional extras) │
│ ├─ route.yaml, canary.yaml, prometheus-rules.yaml │
│ │
│ 4. VALIDATE: task k8s:validate && task renovate:validate │
│ │
│ 5. TEST ON DEV (direct helm install, bypass Flux) │
│ ├─ Wait for pods ready, verify network + monitoring │
│ └─ AskUserQuestion: Report status, confirm proceed │
│ │
│ 6. CLEANUP & PR │
│ ├─ helm uninstall, Flux reconcile-validate, commit, PR │
│ └─ Report PR URL to user │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Phase 1: Research
Invoke the kubesearch skill to find real-world chart configurations: /kubesearch <chart-name>
Check for a native chart: helm search hub <app-name> --max-col-width=100
| Scenario | Approach |
|---|---|
| Official/community chart exists | Use native Helm chart |
| Only container image available | Use app-template |
| Chart is unmaintained (>1 year) | Consider app-template |
Use AskUserQuestion to confirm: chart selection, exposure type (internal/external/none), namespace, persistence requirements.
Phase 2: Setup
Create an isolated worktree: task wt:new -- deploy-<app-name>
This creates branch deploy-<app-name> and worktree ../homelab-deploy-<app-name>/. Work exclusively in the worktree.
Phase 3: Configure
3.1 Add Version to versions.env
Add a version entry with a Renovate annotation. For annotation syntax and datasource selection, see the versions-renovate skill.
3.2 Add Namespace to namespaces.yaml
Add to kubernetes/platform/namespaces.yaml inputs array:
- name: <namespace>
dataplane: ambient
security: baseline # restricted | baseline | privileged
networkPolicy: false # or object with profile/enforcementPodSecurity level:
| Level | Use When |
|---|---|
restricted | Standard controllers, databases, simple apps — requires full security context on all containers |
baseline | Apps needing elevated capabilities (e.g., NET_BIND_SERVICE) |
privileged | Host access, BPF, device access |
Network policy profile:
| Profile | Use When |
|---|---|
isolated | No inbound traffic needed |
internal | Internal gateway only |
internal-egress | Internal + calls external APIs |
standard | Public-facing (both gateways + HTTPS egress) |
Access labels (add as needed):
access.network-policy.homelab/postgres: "true"
access.network-policy.homelab/garage-s3: "true"
access.network-policy.homelab/kube-api: "true"For PostgreSQL provisioning, see the cnpg-database skill.
3.3 Add to helm-charts.yaml
Add to kubernetes/platform/helm-charts.yaml inputs array:
- name: "<app-name>"
namespace: "<namespace>"
chart:
name: "<chart-name>"
version: "${<APP>_VERSION}"
url: "https://charts.example.com" # or oci://registry.io/path
dependsOn: [cilium]3.4 Create Values File
Create kubernetes/platform/charts/<app-name>.yaml. See references/file-templates.md for complete templates.
Security context for restricted namespaces (cert-manager, external-secrets, system, database, kromgo): add full restricted context to all containers. task k8s:validate does NOT catch PodSecurity violations — only admission time reveals them.
# Pod-level
podSecurityContext: # key varies by chart
runAsNonRoot: true
seccompProfile:
type: RuntimeDefault
# Container-level (every container and init container)
securityContext:
allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
capabilities:
drop: ["ALL"]
readOnlyRootFilesystem: true
runAsNonRoot: true
seccompProfile:
type: RuntimeDefaultCheck the image's default user — if it runs as root, add runAsUser: 65534.
3.5 Register in kustomization.yaml
Add to kubernetes/platform/kustomization.yaml configMapGenerator files list: - charts/<app-name>.yaml
3.6 Configure Renovate Tracking
Renovate tracks versions.env entries automatically via inline # renovate: annotations added in step 3.1. No changes to .github/renovate.json5 are needed unless adding grouping or automerge overrides. See the versions-renovate skill.
3.7 Optional: Additional Configuration
Create kubernetes/platform/config/<app-name>/ for extra resources. See references/file-templates.md for HTTPRoute, secret, and ExternalSecret templates. See references/monitoring-patterns.md for Canary, PrometheusRule, and Grafana dashboard examples.
For gateway routing and TLS, see the gateway-routing skill.
Phase 4: Validate
task k8s:validate → task renovate:validate. Fix all errors before proceeding.
Phase 5: Test on Dev
The dev cluster is a sandbox — iterate freely.
Deploy directly (suspend Flux first if needed: task k8s:flux-suspend -- <kustomization-name>):
helm install <app-name> <repo>/<chart> \
-n <namespace> --create-namespace \
-f kubernetes/platform/charts/<app-name>.yaml \
--version <version>
kubectl -n <namespace> \
wait --for=condition=Ready pod -l app.kubernetes.io/name=<app-name> --timeout=300sFor OCI charts, use oci://registry/<path>/<chart>. For iteration, use helm upgrade instead of helm install.
Verify network connectivity (CRITICAL — network policies are enforced):
kubectl port-forward -n kube-system svc/hubble-relay 4245:80 &
hubble observe --verdict DROPPED --namespace <namespace> --since 5m
hubble observe --from-namespace istio-gateway --to-namespace <namespace> --since 2m
hubble observe --from-namespace <namespace> --to-namespace database --since 2mCommon causes: missing profile label (gateway blocked), missing access label (database/S3 blocked), wrong profile (external API calls blocked).
Verify monitoring using the helper scripts:
.claude/skills/deploy-app/scripts/check-deployment-health.sh <namespace> <app-name>
.claude/skills/deploy-app/scripts/check-servicemonitor.sh <app-name>
.claude/skills/deploy-app/scripts/check-alerts.sh
.claude/skills/deploy-app/scripts/check-canary.sh <app-name> # if canary createdIterate until all checks pass. AskUserQuestion to report status and confirm proceeding.
Phase 6: Validate GitOps & PR
Uninstall direct helm install → reconcile via Flux → validate clean convergence:
helm uninstall <app-name> -n <namespace>
task k8s:reconcile-validateIf reconciliation fails, fix manifests and retry.
Commit using conventional commits format, push, and create the PR:
git push -u origin deploy-<app-name>
gh pr create --title "feat(k8s): deploy <app-name>" --body "..."The worktree is kept until PR is merged. User cleans up with task wt:remove -- deploy-<app-name>.
Secrets Handling
For detailed workflows, see the secrets skill.
App needs a secret?
├─ Random/generated → secret-generator annotation
│ secret-generator.v1.mittwald.de/autogenerate: "key"
├─ External service (OAuth, third-party API) → ExternalSecret → AWS SSM
└─ Unclear → AskUserQuestion: "Can this be randomly generated?"Error Handling
| Error | Response |
|---|---|
| No chart found | Suggest app-template, ask user |
| Validation fails | Show error, fix, retry |
| CrashLoopBackOff | Show logs, propose fix, ask user |
| Alerts firing | Show alerts, determine if related, ask user |
| Namespace exists | Ask user: reuse or new name |
| Secret needed | Apply decision tree above |
| Pods rejected by PodSecurity | Add restricted security context (see step 3.4) |
References
- File Templates - Copy-paste templates for all config files
- Monitoring Patterns - ServiceMonitor, PrometheusRule, Canary examples
- flux-gitops skill - ResourceSet patterns
- app-template skill - For apps without native charts
- kubesearch skill - Research workflow