GitOps Export Guide

Hybernate supports a GitOps workflow where you use the kubectl hybernate export plugin to generate ManagedWorkload manifests from a WorkloadPolicy's discoveries, commit them to Git, and deploy via ArgoCD or Flux.

Why GitOps?

Auto-manage mode creates ManagedWorkloads directly in the cluster, which works well for getting started. But for production, you often want:

• Auditability: Git history shows who enabled management for which workload and when
• Review process: PR-based approval before managing a workload
• Reproducibility: Manifests in Git can recreate the same state on any cluster
• Gradual rollout: Review and customize individual ManagedWorkloads before applying

Workflow

1. Deploy a WorkloadPolicy in Suggest Mode

apiVersion: hybernate.io/v1alpha1
kind: WorkloadPolicy
metadata:
  name: staging-policy
  namespace: staging
spec:
  mode: suggest
  cpuIdleThreshold: 10
  memoryIdleThreshold: 10
  cpuWastefulThreshold: 30

kubectl apply -f workloadpolicy.yaml

2. Review Discoveries

kubectl get workloadpolicy staging-policy -n staging

NAME             MODE      DISCOVERED   ACTIVE   IDLE   WASTEFUL
staging-policy   suggest   12           8        2      2

3. Export to Files

kubectl hybernate export \
  --policy staging-policy \
  -n staging \
  --classification Idle \
  --output ./k8s/hybernate/staging/

This generates one YAML file per idle workload:

k8s/hybernate/staging/
├── idle-worker.yaml
└── legacy-api.yaml

Each file is a complete ManagedWorkload manifest with the policy's defaults applied.

4. Review and Customize

Open each manifest and adjust as needed:

apiVersion: hybernate.io/v1alpha1
kind: ManagedWorkload
metadata:
  name: idle-worker
  namespace: staging
  labels:
    hybernate.io/auto-discovered: "true"
  annotations:
    hybernate.io/workload-policy: staging-policy
spec:
  target:
    kind: Deployment
    name: idle-worker
  idlePolicy:
    action: pause
    cpuIdleThreshold: 10
    memoryIdleThreshold: 10
    gracePeriod: "5m"
    autoResume: true
  # ... other defaults from the policy
  dryRun: true  # Start safe

5. Commit and Deploy

git add k8s/hybernate/staging/
git commit -m "feat(hybernate): manage idle workloads in staging"
git push

ArgoCD or Flux syncs the manifests to the cluster. Once you're confident in the behavior (check events and status in dry-run mode), flip dryRun to false via a follow-up PR.

Graduating from Auto-Manage to GitOps

If you started with auto-manage mode and want to move to GitOps:

1. Export including already-managed workloads:

kubectl hybernate export \
  --policy staging-policy \
  -n staging \
  --include-managed \
  --output ./k8s/hybernate/staging/

1. Commit the exported manifests
2. Switch the WorkloadPolicy back to suggest mode
3. Delete the auto-created ManagedWorkloads (the GitOps manifests will recreate them)

Tips

• Start with dryRun: true in exported manifests. Review events before enabling.
• Use --classification to export in batches: idle workloads first, wasteful later.
• Customize per-workload when defaults don't fit. Adjust grace periods, idle thresholds, or add Prometheus signals as needed.
• Keep the WorkloadPolicy in suggest mode alongside GitOps. It continues scanning and reporting new discoveries without creating anything automatically.