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Kubernetes

Last modified: 13 May 2022

Required plugin: Kubernetes

Kubernetes is a container orchestration engine for the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. Install and enable the Kubernetes plugin for PyCharm to add the following features for managing your Kubernetes cluster:

  • Coding assistance for Kubernetes resource configuration files.

  • Coding assistance for Helm charts and templates.

  • Validation of custom resources with custom resource definition (CRD) specifications.

  • Coding assistance for Kustomize files: field and local file path completion, quick documentation, and navigation between Kustomize files and patches. The list of related Kustomize files appears in the editor at the top of the open Kustomize patch.

  • Interaction with the cluster from PyCharm: use the Services tool window to see all resources of the Kubernetes cluster in the current context, jump to relevant resource definitions, view logs for containers running on pods, and much more.

note

The Kubernetes plugin is not bundled with PyCharm, and should be installed from the JetBrains plugin repository. For more information, see Install plugins.

Specify a custom path to kubectl and helm

PyCharm uses the default kubectl (and helm if you use it) executables as determined by the PATH environment variable. If you install Kubernetes or Helm in custom directories, you can manually specify the path to them.

  1. In the Settings/Preferences dialog (Ctrl+Alt+S), select Build, Execution, Deployment | Kubernetes.

  2. In the Path to kubectl executable field, specify the path to the kubectl executable file.

  3. In the Path to helm executable field, specify the path to the helm executable file.

Kubernetes settings window

Use multiple Kubernetes configuration files

PyCharm detects the default kubeconfig file. You can use a different configuration file. You can either apply it globally or use a different file for each project.

  1. In the Settings/Preferences dialog (Ctrl+Alt+S), select Build, Execution, Deployment | Kubernetes.

  2. In the Path to kubeconfig file field, specify the path to a kubeconfig file.

  3. If you want to use different configuration files in different projects, clear the Set this kubeconfig file path globally for all projects checkbox.

Resource configuration files

The Kubernetes plugin supports Kubernetes API starting from version 1.5. It provides rich support for resource configuration files in YAML, and only basic support for the JSON format.

Supported features

PyCharm recognizes Kubernetes resource configuration files using the following mandatory fields:

  • apiVersion: identifies the versioned schema of the object representation

  • kind: identifies the object kind (for example, Service, Pod, Deployment, and so on)

If both of the previous fields are present in a YAML or JSON file, PyCharm will mark the file with the corresponding Kubernetes icon and enable all available features:

https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2022.1/KubernetesRecognizeYAML.png
Gif

For YAML files, you can also use predefined Live Templates to create the necessary type of configuration:

  • kcm: Kubernetes ConfigMap

  • kdep: Kubernetes Deployment

  • kpod: Kubernetes Pod

  • kres: Kubernetes Generic Resource

  • kser: Kubernetes Service

https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2022.1/KubernetesLiveTemplateKdep.png
Gif

tip

To see all available live templates for Kubernetes resource configuration files and create new ones, open the Settings/Preferences dialog Ctrl+Alt+S, select Editor | Live Templates, and expand the Kubernetes group in the list.

Configure the Kubernetes API version

PyCharm provides completion for configuration key values, navigation to relevant selectors and definitions via gutter icons, specialized inspections that check for deprecated values and required keys, and other assistance features. These depend on the version of the API you are using. By default, PyCharm sets it to the latest version. However, if your resources use an earlier version of the API, you can change it.

  1. In the Settings/Preferences dialog (Ctrl+Alt+S), select Languages & Frameworks | Kubernetes.

  2. Change the Kubernetes API version and Kustomize version options as necessary.

Helm support

Helm is a tool for managing Kubernetes applications. Helm charts are packages of pre-configured resource definitions that you run inside a Kubernetes cluster. A chart contains a description of the package Chart.yaml and one or more templates used to generate Kubernetes manifest files.

note

The Go Template plugin is required for Helm template syntax support.

Coding assistance for Helm charts and templates includes code completion, refactorings, inspections, quick-fixes, and quick documentation. Code completion includes values of dependencies from the specified repository (by default, from Helm Hub).

In Go template directives, PyCharm provides completion for Helm built-in objects and for values passed from a values.yaml file. You can press Ctrl+B to navigate to a source of object values, for example, to a child chart value imported into a parent chart.

In template objects, you can use code folding: press Ctrl+NumPad + and Ctrl+NumPad - to toggle between values and directives. You can also hover over a value to expand and show the directive.

https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2022.1/kubernetes_import_values.png
Gif

You can also use gutter icons for navigating between label definitions and label selectors, and between overridden and overriding values.

Create a new Helm chart

Preview the result of Helm template rendering

Update external dependencies

Examine a chart for possible issues

Custom resource definitions support

If you extend the Kubernetes cluster with custom resources, PyCharm can validate them with custom resource definition (CRD) specifications.

Specify the path to CRD specifications

  1. Press Ctrl+Alt+S to open the IDE settings and select Languages & Frameworks | Kubernetes.

  2. Click the Add button and either select a local CRD file or specify a URL. Then click OK.

Use the Up button and the Down button to rearrange the list of CRD files. This defines the priority for conflicting definitions: PyCharm will use the lowest one if it is defined in more than one file.

By default, CRDs are applied to the current project only. Change the Scope: option to IDE if you want a certain CRD to be available for any project that you open with this IDE instance.

note

When you apply changes, PyCharm automatically downloads newly added CRDs from the specified URLs. It will download other modified CRDs only as the model reloads, which happens whenever you open the project or change other Kubernetes settings (for example, the order of CRDs), and it has been more than three hours since the last model reload. If it has been less than three hours since the last model reload, you can force a reload on the current model using the Reset schema cache button.

To load the CRD from the running Kubernetes cluster, enable Use API schema from the active cluster if available.

You can view CRDs for the current cluster, including all their applied resources, under the Kubernetes node of the Services tool window.

The Kubernetes plugin supports CRD files of the following types:

CustomResourceDefinition files in YAML

OpenAPI v2.0 schema in JSON

CRD validation restrictions

PyCharm does not support the following OpenAPI v3 schema features:

  • multipleOf

  • maximum

  • exclusiveMaximum

  • minimum

  • exclusiveMinimum

  • maxLength

  • minLength

  • pattern

  • maxItems

  • minItems

  • uniqueItems

  • maxProperties

  • minProperties

  • allOf

  • oneOf

  • anyOf

  • not

  • format

  • default

  • nullable

  • readOnly

  • writeOnly

  • xml

  • externalDocs

  • example

  • deprecated

Productivity tips

If you use the features described here frequently, the following tips may be helpful:

Assign shortcuts

You can assign a keyboard shortcut for Kubernetes actions.

  1. In the Settings/Preferences dialog (Ctrl+Alt+S), select Keymap.

  2. Type kubernetes in the search field, then double-click an action to set a shortcut for it.

Alternatively, you can use the Find Action dialog Ctrl+Shift+A, type kubernetes, select the necessary action, and press Alt+Enter.

Configure code folding

By default, PyCharm uses code folding to render value references in Helm templates and definitions in Kubernetes configuration files as the actual values. You can click the value to expand it or press Ctrl+NumPad + and Ctrl+NumPad - to toggle folding. If you want to see the references and definitions expanded by default, do the following:

  1. In the Settings/Preferences dialog (Ctrl+Alt+S), select Editor | General | Code Folding.

  2. On the Code Folding page, clear the necessary checkboxes:

    • Kubernetes: value references in Helm templates

    • Kubernetes: EnvVar definitions in YAML files

    • Kubernetes: ExecAction definitions in YAML files