ReleaseBinding

A ReleaseBinding represents an environment-specific deployment of a Component. It binds a specific release to an environment and allows platform engineers to override component parameters, trait configurations, and workload settings for specific environments like development, staging, or production.

API Version

openchoreo.dev/v1alpha1

Resource Definition

Metadata

ReleaseBindings are namespace-scoped resources created in the same namespace as the Component they deploy.

apiVersion: openchoreo.dev/v1alpha1
kind: ReleaseBinding
metadata:
  name: <component-name>-<environment-name>
  namespace: <project-namespace>

Spec Fields

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
owner	ReleaseBindingOwner	Yes	-	Identifies the component this release binding applies to
environment	string	Yes	-	Name of the environment (must match an Environment CR)
releaseName	string	Yes	-	Name of the ComponentRelease to bind to this environment
componentTypeEnvOverrides	object	No	-	Overrides for ComponentType envOverrides parameters
traitOverrides	map[string]object	No	-	Environment-specific trait parameter overrides
workloadOverrides	WorkloadOverride	No	-	Overrides for workload configurations

ReleaseBindingOwner

Identifies which component this release binding is for.

Field	Type	Required	Description
projectName	string	Yes	Name of the project that owns the component
componentName	string	Yes	Name of the component to deploy

WorkloadOverride

Environment-specific configuration overrides for the workload.

Field	Type	Required	Description
containers	map[string]ContainerOverride	No	Container-specific overrides keyed by container name

ContainerOverride

Field	Type	Required	Description
env	[EnvVar]	No	Environment variable overrides
files	[FileVar]	No	File configuration overrides

EnvVar

Field	Type	Required	Description
key	string	Yes	Environment variable name
value	string	No	Plain text value
secretRef	SecretRef	No	Reference to a secret value

SecretRef

Field	Type	Required	Description
name	string	Yes	Name of the SecretReference CR
key	string	Yes	Key within the secret

FileVar

Field	Type	Required	Description
key	string	Yes	File name
mountPath	string	Yes	Mount path in container
value	string	No	Plain text file content
secretRef	SecretRef	No	Reference to a secret file

Status Fields

Field	Type	Default	Description
conditions	[]Condition	[]	Standard Kubernetes conditions tracking ReleaseBinding state

Condition Types

Common condition types for ReleaseBinding resources:

• Ready - Indicates if the release binding is ready
• Deployed - Indicates if resources have been deployed successfully
• Synced - Indicates if the deployment is in sync with the component definition

Examples

Basic ReleaseBinding

apiVersion: openchoreo.dev/v1alpha1
kind: ReleaseBinding
metadata:
  name: my-service-production
  namespace: default
spec:
  owner:
    projectName: default
    componentName: my-service

  environment: production
  releaseName: my-service-v1

ReleaseBinding with Parameter Overrides

Override ComponentType envOverrides parameters for production:

apiVersion: openchoreo.dev/v1alpha1
kind: ReleaseBinding
metadata:
  name: my-service-production
  namespace: default
spec:
  owner:
    projectName: default
    componentName: my-service

  environment: production
  releaseName: my-service-v1

  componentTypeEnvOverrides:
    resources:
      requests:
        cpu: "500m"
        memory: "1Gi"
      limits:
        cpu: "2000m"
        memory: "4Gi"

ReleaseBinding with Trait Overrides

Override trait parameters for a specific environment:

apiVersion: openchoreo.dev/v1alpha1
kind: ReleaseBinding
metadata:
  name: my-service-production
  namespace: default
spec:
  owner:
    projectName: default
    componentName: my-service

  environment: production
  releaseName: my-service-v1

  traitOverrides:
    data-storage:  # instanceName of the trait attachment
      size: 100Gi
      storageClass: production-ssd
      iops: 3000

ReleaseBinding with Workload Overrides

Override workload environment variables and files:

apiVersion: openchoreo.dev/v1alpha1
kind: ReleaseBinding
metadata:
  name: my-service-production
  namespace: default
spec:
  owner:
    projectName: default
    componentName: my-service

  environment: production
  releaseName: my-service-v1

  workloadOverrides:
    containers:
      app:
        env:
          - key: LOG_LEVEL
            value: "error"
          - key: CACHE_TTL
            value: "3600"

        files:
          - key: config.yaml
            mountPath: /etc/app
            value: |
              database:
                host: prod-db.example.com
                port: 5432
              cache:
                enabled: true

Complete ReleaseBinding Example

Combining all override types:

apiVersion: openchoreo.dev/v1alpha1
kind: ReleaseBinding
metadata:
  name: my-service-production
  namespace: default
spec:
  owner:
    projectName: default
    componentName: my-service

  environment: production
  releaseName: my-service-v1

  # Override ComponentType envOverrides
  componentTypeEnvOverrides:
    resources:
      requests:
        cpu: "500m"
        memory: "1Gi"
      limits:
        cpu: "2000m"
        memory: "4Gi"

  # Override trait parameters
  traitOverrides:
    data-storage:
      size: 100Gi
      storageClass: fast-ssd

    backup:
      schedule: "0 2 * * *"
      retention: 30

  # Override workload configurations
  workloadOverrides:
    containers:
      app:
        env:
          - key: LOG_LEVEL
            value: "info"
          - key: MAX_CONNECTIONS
            value: "1000"

Usage

ReleaseBindings are typically created for each environment where a component should be deployed:

# Development environment
kubectl apply -f my-service-development.yaml

# Staging environment
kubectl apply -f my-service-staging.yaml

# Production environment
kubectl apply -f my-service-production.yaml

View release bindings:

# List all release bindings
kubectl get releasebindings

# Get release bindings for a specific component
kubectl get releasebinding -l openchoreo.dev/component=my-service

# View release binding details
kubectl describe releasebinding my-service-production

Override Hierarchy

Parameters are resolved in the following order (later overrides earlier):

1. ComponentType defaults - Default values from ComponentType schema
2. Component parameters - Values specified in the Component spec
3. ReleaseBinding overrides - Environment-specific values in ReleaseBinding

Example:

# ComponentType defines: replicas default=1
# Component sets: replicas=3
# ReleaseBinding (prod) overrides: replicas=5
# Result: Production deployment will have 5 replicas

Best Practices

1. Naming Convention: Use <component-name>-<environment-name> pattern
2. Environment-Specific Values: Only override what differs between environments
3. Resource Limits: Always set appropriate limits for production environments
4. Configuration Management: Use ConfigMaps/Secrets for complex configurations
5. Trait Management: Override trait parameters rather than removing/adding traits
6. Testing: Validate overrides in lower environments before production
7. Documentation: Document why specific overrides are needed

Related Resources

• Component - Defines the component being deployed
• ComponentRelease - Immutable snapshot that ReleaseBinding references for deployment
• Environment - Defines the target environment
• ComponentType - Defines available parameters for override
• Trait - Traits whose parameters can be overridden