Carvel

aid: carvel
name: Carvel
description: Carvel is a set of reliable, single-purpose, composable command-line tools that help build, configure, and deploy
  applications to Kubernetes. The toolset includes ytt for YAML templating, kapp for application lifecycle management, kbld
  for immutable image references, imgpkg for OCI bundling, vendir for vendored configuration, and kapp-controller for GitOps-style
  continuous delivery.
type: Index
kind: opensource
position: Consumer
access: Open Source
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
tags:
- CLI
- Configuration
- Containers
- Deployment
- GitOps
- Kubernetes
- Package Management
- Templating
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/carvel/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
created: '2026-03-26'
modified: '2026-04-23'
specificationVersion: '0.19'
apis:
- aid: carvel:ytt
  name: ytt
  description: ytt is a templating tool that understands YAML structure, letting you use familiar YAML constructs and Python-like
    language (Starlark) to template Kubernetes configuration. Supports overlays, data values, and functions without text-based
    substitution.
  humanURL: https://carvel.dev/ytt/
  tags:
  - Configuration
  - Kubernetes
  - Templating
  - YAML
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://carvel.dev/ytt/docs/latest/
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/carvel-dev/ytt
  - type: Playground
    url: https://carvel.dev/ytt/#playground
  x-features:
  - YAML-structure-aware templating
  - Starlark-based programming model
  - Overlays to patch existing YAML
  - Data values for parameterization
  - Schema validation for data values
  - Reusable functions and libraries
  x-use-cases:
  - Parameterizing Kubernetes manifests
  - Patching third-party YAML without forking
  - Generating multi-environment configuration
  - Creating reusable configuration libraries
- aid: carvel:kapp
  name: kapp
  description: kapp is a CLI tool that installs, upgrades, and deletes multiple Kubernetes resources as a single application.
    It provides change set previews, resource ordering, and convergence detection for predictable deployments.
  humanURL: https://carvel.dev/kapp/
  tags:
  - Deployment
  - Kubernetes
  - Lifecycle
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://carvel.dev/kapp/docs/latest/
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/carvel-dev/kapp
  x-features:
  - Change-set preview before apply
  - Resource ordering and waiting
  - Label-based application grouping
  - Convergence detection on deploy
  - Garbage collection of removed resources
  x-use-cases:
  - Deploying Kubernetes applications atomically
  - Previewing infrastructure changes before apply
  - Managing application lifecycle without Helm
- aid: carvel:kbld
  name: kbld
  description: kbld builds or references container images in Kubernetes configuration in an immutable way by resolving image
    tags to digests and optionally building images from source during the deployment pipeline.
  humanURL: https://carvel.dev/kbld/
  tags:
  - Container Images
  - Immutable
  - Kubernetes
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://carvel.dev/kbld/docs/latest/
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/carvel-dev/kbld
  x-features:
  - Resolve image tags to digests
  - Build images from source with Docker/pack
  - Push to registries during deploy
  - Integration with ytt and kapp
  x-use-cases:
  - Ensuring immutable image references
  - Building and deploying images in one pipeline
  - Auditing which images are actually deployed
- aid: carvel:imgpkg
  name: imgpkg
  description: imgpkg bundles and distributes application configuration and container images as OCI artifacts via Docker registries,
    enabling relocation across registries including air-gapped environments.
  humanURL: https://carvel.dev/imgpkg/
  tags:
  - Bundles
  - Container Images
  - OCI
  - Registry
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://carvel.dev/imgpkg/docs/latest/
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/carvel-dev/imgpkg
  x-features:
  - OCI-compliant bundles
  - Bundle relocation between registries
  - Air-gapped deployment support
  - Lock files for reproducibility
  x-use-cases:
  - Distributing Kubernetes app bundles
  - Air-gapped deployments
  - Registry-to-registry mirroring
- aid: carvel:vendir
  name: vendir
  description: vendir declaratively states what files should be in a directory, syncing from upstream sources such as Git
    repositories, HTTP archives, Helm charts, and OCI images. Enables reproducible vendored configuration.
  humanURL: https://carvel.dev/vendir/
  tags:
  - Configuration
  - Vendoring
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://carvel.dev/vendir/docs/latest/
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/carvel-dev/vendir
  x-features:
  - Declarative sync from Git, HTTP, Helm, OCI
  - Lock files for reproducibility
  - Selective inclusion of files
  - Integration with overlays via ytt
  x-use-cases:
  - Vendoring third-party Kubernetes configuration
  - Pinning upstream Helm charts
  - Reproducible configuration builds
- aid: carvel:kapp-controller
  name: kapp-controller
  description: kapp-controller is a Kubernetes controller that provides GitOps-style continuous delivery for applications
    and packages using Carvel tools. It introduces PackageRepository, Package, PackageInstall, and App custom resources for
    package management.
  humanURL: https://carvel.dev/kapp-controller/
  tags:
  - CRD
  - GitOps
  - Kubernetes
  - Package Management
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://carvel.dev/kapp-controller/docs/latest/
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/carvel-dev/kapp-controller
  x-features:
  - App and Package CRDs
  - PackageRepository for distribution
  - GitOps continuous reconciliation
  - ytt, kbld, and kapp integration
  - Versioning and constraints for packages
  x-use-cases:
  - Kubernetes package management
  - GitOps-driven continuous delivery
  - Distributing internal platform packages
- aid: carvel:secretgen-controller
  name: secretgen-controller
  description: secretgen-controller provides CRDs to generate Kubernetes Secrets, export and import secrets across namespaces,
    and manage certificate and password creation declaratively.
  humanURL: https://github.com/carvel-dev/secretgen-controller
  tags:
  - CRD
  - Kubernetes
  - Secrets
  properties:
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/carvel-dev/secretgen-controller
  x-features:
  - Generate Certificates, Passwords, RSA Keys, SSH Keys
  - Cross-namespace secret export/import
  - Declarative secret management via CRDs
  x-use-cases:
  - Generating bootstrap credentials
  - Sharing secrets across namespaces
  - Declarative certificate management
common:
- type: Website
  url: https://carvel.dev/
- type: Documentation
  url: https://carvel.dev/docs/latest/
- type: GitHubOrganization
  url: https://github.com/carvel-dev
- type: Blog
  url: https://carvel.dev/blog/
- type: Slack
  url: https://kubernetes.slack.com/archives/CH8KCCKA5
- type: Community
  url: https://carvel.dev/community/
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com