I'm a software engineering student diving into Kubernetes and I'm curious about Kustomize. I have a few questions: (1) Is Kustomize worth learning or are there better options available? (2) Is it considered a standard tool in the industry, and if not, which ones are? (3) Is it a good starting point for beginners? Thanks in advance!
5 Answers
Kustomize is handy for understanding concepts like base and overlays. It's straightforward, so I’d recommend learning it to grasp how patching works without needing to depend on external chart templates.
Kustomize does its job well if you're just starting out or working on simpler projects. It's not the standard tool but it's beneficial to know for specific tasks, like adding environment prefixes to your resources.
Honestly, I would recommend Helm over Kustomize. Helm is much more popular in real-world applications, and I've found it to be more powerful for managing complex deployments.
Totally agree, Helm is way more widely used!
Helm might be overkill for smaller projects though, especially if you don't need complex setups.
You should definitely learn both Kustomize and Helm. They both have their uses and can even work well together depending on your needs. Kustomize is simple to use, and many projects still rely on it, so it's definitely good to familiarize yourself with it.
Thank you so much for the advice!
Kustomize with Helm and Flux is an awesome combination!
Kustomize is good for minor differences in environments, but as projects grow, I switch to Helm for larger applications. It saves a lot of time and hassle. We’re using ArgoCD with Helm and it's been smooth sailing!

Thanks a ton for the tips!