Werf

werf is a CNCF Sandbox CLI tool to implement full-cycle CI/CD to Kubernetes easily. werf integrates into your CI system and leverages familiar and reliable technologies, such as Git, Dockerfile, Helm, and Buildah.

What makes werf special:

• Complete application lifecycle management: build and publish container images, test, deploy an application to Kubernetes, distribute release artifacts and clean up the container registry.
• Ease of use: use Dockerfiles and Helm chart for configuration and let werf handle all the rest.
• Advanced features: automatic build caching and content-based tagging, enhanced resource tracking and extra capabilities in Helm, a unique container registry cleanup approach, and more.
• Gluing common technologies: Git, Buildah, Helm, Kubernetes, and your CI system of choice.
• Production-ready: werf has been used in production since 2017; thousands of projects rely on it to build & deploy various apps.

Werf's main features include:

1. Image building: Werf can build container images for applications using a Dockerfile or a build context, and it supports incremental builds, caching, and multi-stage builds.

2. Application packaging: Werf can package an application into a bundle that includes the application code, dependencies, and configuration files. This bundle can be deployed to a Kubernetes cluster using Helm or Kustomize.

3. Deployment: Werf can deploy applications to a Kubernetes cluster using a simple command-line interface. It supports various deployment strategies, including blue-green, canary, and rolling updates.

Compared to other similar tools, such as Helm and Kustomize, Werf provides a more comprehensive solution for building, packaging, and deploying applications. While Helm and Kustomize are focused on deploying applications to Kubernetes, Werf also provides tools for building and packaging applications, making it a more complete solution.

Werf also provides some unique features, such as support for multiple deployment strategies, including blue-green and canary deployments. It also supports deployment to multiple clusters, making it easier to manage applications across multiple environments.

Overall, Werf is a powerful tool that can simplify the process of deploying applications to Kubernetes. Its comprehensive feature set and ease of use make it a great choice for developers looking to streamline their Kubernetes deployments.

Links

1. GitHub https://github.com/werf/werf
2. Guides https://werf.io/guides.html - Howto in various programming languages

Cloud Native Computing Foundation https://www.cncf.io/ - a sub-foundation of the Linux Foundation.

Kubernetes native configuration management built into kubectl as apply -k.