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Resource Builder

The Resource Builder (sidebar: Resource Builder) is the consolidated home for authoring and applying Kubernetes manifests and managing Helm releases. It replaces the old separate Deploy and Helm nav entries with one editor-first workspace built around a Plan → Apply → Observe workflow: nothing reaches the cluster without a dry-run diff first.

What it does

  • Author one or more YAML documents in a Monaco editor with Kubernetes-aware autocomplete, live validation, hover docs, and format-on-demand
  • Plan — dry-run every document against the live cluster and see a per-resource diff before anything changes
  • Apply — commit the planned changes, with per-resource create/configure/error results
  • Observe — check per-resource readiness (phase, ready state, recent events) after apply
  • Manage Helm releases (install, upgrade, history, rollback, uninstall, manifest diff) in the same place
  • Save and reload multi-file bundles, and speed up authoring with smart-assist buttons that generate a linked Service/Ingress/ConfigMap from an existing workload
  • Drag and drop .yaml/.yml files straight into the editor

How to get there

Click Resource Builder in the sidebar (replaces the old Helm and Deploy entries). Old #helm / #deploy links redirect here automatically. Inside, use the segmented control at the top to switch between three sub-modes:

  • Build — the YAML editor + Plan/Apply/Observe workflow
  • Helm — the Helm release manager (unchanged from the previous standalone Helm tab)
  • Library — saved bundles and saved Helm configs

Build sub-mode

  • The left panel is a bundle tree — a list of files that make up the current bundle. Add a file, or start from a New <Kind> starter template (Deployment, StatefulSet, DaemonSet, Job, CronJob, Pod, Service, Ingress, ConfigMap, Secret, PVC, and more).
  • Drag and drop one or more .yaml/.yml files onto the bundle tree — each file is split on --- and each document becomes its own entry in the tree, ready to edit.

  • The center panel is a full Monaco YAML editor — syntax highlighting, multi-file editing, and one document per Kubernetes resource.

    Schema validation runs on Plan, not as you type

    In-editor schema assistance (autocomplete, hover docs, inline squiggles) is not available in this release. Validation happens when you click Plan, which dry-runs the bundle against your live cluster — that is authoritative, because it uses the API server's own schema, including your CRDs, rather than a bundled copy that can drift.

    • Smart-assist buttons — once a workload (Deployment/StatefulSet/etc.) is present in the bundle, Expose with Service, Add Ingress, and Mount ConfigMap each append a new linked file pre-wired to the workload's labels/selector/ports, so you don't have to hand-copy them.
    • Click Plan to dry-run the whole bundle against the cluster. Each document gets a result: create (new resource), configure (diff against the live object), or error (validation/API failure), with the rendered diff shown per resource.
    • Click Apply to commit the planned bundle. Apply is only enabled once Plan has run against the current bundle contents — editing after Plan disables Apply until you re-plan.
    • After Apply, each resource card shows live status (ready/phase + recent events) so you can confirm the rollout succeeded without leaving the page.

Access: Plan (dry-run) is available to Viewer role and the Free tier. Apply requires Admin role, Expert Mode enabled, and a Pro license — Viewers see "Apply (Admin only)" and Free-tier accounts see "Resource Builder Apply is a Pro feature" instead of a working button.

Helm sub-mode

Everything from the previous standalone Helm tab, unchanged: install from a chart reference or saved config, upgrade with a values editor (Monaco, dry-run supported), revision history with rollback, rendered manifest viewer, and an AI assist panel with full release context.

Additional operations closed in this release:

  • Uninstall a release (helm uninstall --wait, with an option to keep history)
  • Chart show — view a chart's values.yaml, README, or Chart.yaml before installing, without pulling it into a release
  • Pre-upgrade diff — see the unified diff between the live manifest and what an upgrade would produce, before running it
  • Safe upgrade flags — --atomic/--wait/--timeout are explicit toggles, and --reuse-values must now be opted into explicitly (it used to be hardcoded on)
  • Rollback preview — a rollback first shows the diff it would produce; a separate confirmation performs it

All of the above are gated behind Admin role + Expert Mode, and every uninstall/upgrade/rollback is audited with actor attribution.

Library sub-mode

  • Saved bundles — save the current Build-mode bundle under a name, reload it later, or delete it. Because a bundle can contain a Secret manifest, listing and loading bundles both require Admin role (same policy as saved Helm configs).
  • Saved Helm configs — a read-only view of previously saved Helm install/upgrade configs, with a shortcut to open them in the Helm sub-mode.

Key actions

  • Build: author or drop YAML → Plan → review diffs → Apply → watch per-resource status
  • Helm: pick a chart or saved config → review values/dry-run → install/upgrade → check history/diff → rollback or uninstall if needed
  • Library: save a bundle you'll reuse; load a saved bundle back into Build; jump to a saved Helm config

Every Apply, Helm mutation, and bundle save/delete goes through the same write-safety path as the rest of KubeManta: gated behind role + Expert Mode (+ license tier for Apply), and audited with actor attribution.

Screenshots coming

A walkthrough of the bundle tree, drag-and-drop import, Plan/Apply diffs, and the Library will be added here in a follow-up pass (Phase 2).