Carvel Authentication

generated: '2026-09-05'
method: searched
source: https://carvel.dev/imgpkg/docs/v0.46.x/auth/ and https://carvel.dev/kapp-controller/docs/v0.57.x/security-model/
docs: https://carvel.dev/imgpkg/docs/v0.46.x/auth/
note: >-
  derive-authentication.py found no securitySchemes because there is no OpenAPI to read. Carvel
  issues no credential of its own; it borrows two credential systems it does not own. Written from
  the provider's own auth documentation, not inferred.
summary:
  types: [delegated-kubernetes-rbac, registry-credentials]
  api_key_in: []
  oauth2_flows: []
  carvel_issued_credentials: false
schemes:
  - name: kubernetes-rbac
    type: delegated
    applies_to: [kapp, kctrl, kapp-controller, secretgen-controller]
    summary: >-
      kapp and kctrl act as the current kubeconfig context; the controllers act as the
      ServiceAccount named in the custom resource. Authorization is Kubernetes RBAC end to end.
    detail:
      - >-
        App and PackageInstall carry spec.serviceAccountName — kapp-controller impersonates that
        ServiceAccount for every fetch, template and deploy step, so a package can never exceed the
        permissions granted to it.
      - >-
        spec.cluster.kubeconfigSecretRef lets an App target a different cluster with a kubeconfig
        held in a Secret.
      - >-
        kapp explicitly supports running without admin privileges in a single namespace and creates
        no CRDs of its own.
    docs: https://carvel.dev/kapp-controller/docs/v0.57.x/security-model/
  - name: registry-credentials
    type: delegated
    applies_to: [imgpkg, kbld, vendir, kapp-controller]
    summary: OCI registry credentials, resolved in a documented precedence order.
    precedence:
      - Environment variables (IMGPKG_REGISTRY_HOSTNAME / _USERNAME / _PASSWORD, indexed and glob-capable since v0.18.0)
      - IaaS-provided credentials (gcr.io, AWS ECR)
      - Command flags
      - Docker config (~/.docker/config.json)
    detail:
      - IMGPKG_REGISTRY_HOSTNAME supports glob wildcards; a non-glob hostname wins over a glob one.
      - >-
        In-cluster, kapp-controller reads registry credentials from Kubernetes Secrets, and
        secretgen-controller's SecretExport/SecretImport pair is the supported way to share one
        placeholder registry Secret across namespaces.
    docs: https://carvel.dev/imgpkg/docs/v0.46.x/auth/
  - name: git-and-http-source-credentials
    type: delegated
    applies_to: [vendir, kapp-controller]
    summary: >-
      vendir fetches from git, hg, http, githubRelease, helmChart and OCI sources; credentials for
      those come from the caller's environment or, in-cluster, from a referenced Secret.
    docs: https://carvel.dev/vendir/docs/v0.46.x/
supply_chain_verification:
  cosign: true
  note: >-
    Release checksums files are cosign-signed and every release body publishes the verification
    steps — the closest thing Carvel has to an authentication surface it controls itself.