Developing a Custom Kubernetes Controller in Go


A custom Kubernetes controller manages custom resources within a Kubernetes cluster, allowing for extended functionalities and custom automation.

Step-by-Step Guide

Define Custom Resource:

Define a custom resource definition (CRD) in a YAML file.

apiVersion: apiextensions.k8s.io/v1
kind: CustomResourceDefinition
metadata:
  name: myresources.mydomain.com
spec:
  group: mydomain.com
  versions:
    - name: v1
      served: true
      storage: true
      schema:
        openAPIV3Schema:
          type: object
          properties:
            spec:
              type: object
              properties:
                size:
                  type: integer
  scope: Namespaced
  names:
    plural: myresources
    singular: myresource
    kind: MyResource
    shortNames:
    - mr

Generate Clientset:

Use kubebuilder to generate clientset, informers, and listers for your CRD.

kubebuilder init --domain mydomain.com
kubebuilder create api --group mydomain --version v1 --kind MyResource
make

Implement the Controller:

Write the logic for your custom controller.

import (
    "context"
    "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
    "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/controller"
    "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/manager"
)

type MyResourceReconciler struct {
    client.Client
}

func (r *MyResourceReconciler) Reconcile(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.Request) (ctrl.Result, error) {
    var myresource mydomainv1.MyResource
    if err := r.Get(ctx, req.NamespacedName, &myresource); err != nil {
        return ctrl.Result{}, client.IgnoreNotFound(err)
    }

    // Your reconciliation logic here

    return ctrl.Result{}, nil
}

func main() {
    mgr, err := ctrl.NewManager(ctrl.GetConfigOrDie(), ctrl.Options{})
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    if err := ctrl.NewControllerManagedBy(mgr).
        For(&mydomainv1.MyResource{}).
        Complete(&MyResourceReconciler{mgr.GetClient()}); err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    log.Fatal(mgr.Start(ctrl.SetupSignalHandler()))
}

Deploy the Controller:

Build and deploy your controller to the Kubernetes cluster.

make docker-build docker-push IMG=<your-image>
make deploy IMG=<your-image>
  1. Apply CR Instances: Create instances of your custom resource.
apiVersion: mydomain.com/v1
kind: MyResource
metadata:
  name: example-myresource
spec:
  size: 3