# Grafana Tanka — Jsonnet-Based Kubernetes Configuration

> Kubernetes configuration management tool that uses Jsonnet for flexible, reusable, and type-safe cluster resource definitions.

## Install

Save in your project root:

# Grafana Tanka — Jsonnet-Based Kubernetes Configuration

## Quick Use
```bash
# Install Tanka CLI
go install github.com/grafana/tanka/cmd/tk@latest
# Or via Homebrew
brew install tanka
# Initialize a new Tanka project
tk init
# Apply configuration to a Kubernetes cluster
tk apply environments/default
```

## Introduction
Grafana Tanka is a Kubernetes configuration tool that uses Jsonnet as its templating language. Developed by Grafana Labs, it replaces static YAML manifests with programmable Jsonnet code and provides a CLI for diffing, applying, and managing environments.

## What Tanka Does
- Generates Kubernetes manifests from Jsonnet source files
- Manages multiple environments (dev, staging, production) with shared base configurations
- Shows diffs between the desired state and the live cluster before applying
- Integrates with jsonnet-bundler (jb) for dependency management of Jsonnet libraries
- Exports rendered YAML for use with other deployment tools or GitOps pipelines

## Architecture Overview
Tanka evaluates Jsonnet files into a JSON object of Kubernetes resources. Each environment has a main.jsonnet entrypoint and spec.json defining the target cluster. Jsonnet code imports libraries like k8s-libsonnet for typed K8s object constructors. Tanka's CLI evaluates Jsonnet, extracts individual objects, then diffs or applies them via the Kubernetes API.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Single binary (tk) with no daemon or server component
- Each environment is a directory with spec.json (cluster endpoint, namespace) and main.jsonnet
- Dependencies managed via jsonnet-bundler (jb) with a jsonnetfile.json manifest
- Supports inline environments for smaller projects without directory structure
- Connects to clusters using standard kubeconfig files and kubectl context

## Key Features
- Jsonnet eliminates YAML repetition through variables, functions, and object merging
- Environment abstraction manages per-cluster differences from a shared code base
- Native diff command compares rendered output against live cluster state
- Export mode renders all manifests to static YAML files for GitOps workflows
- Helm chart support allows importing Helm charts as Jsonnet objects

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Helm** — Template-based with Go templating; Tanka uses Jsonnet which is a full data language
- **Kustomize** — Overlay-based YAML patching; Tanka offers richer programmability via Jsonnet
- **Pulumi** — General-purpose IaC; Tanka is Kubernetes-focused with Jsonnet
- **cdk8s** — Generates K8s manifests from TypeScript/Python; Tanka uses Jsonnet with native diffing

## FAQ
**Q: Do I need to learn Jsonnet to use Tanka?**
A: Yes. Jsonnet is Tanka's core language. Its syntax is a superset of JSON, so the learning curve is manageable for developers familiar with JSON.

**Q: Can Tanka work alongside Helm?**
A: Yes. Tanka can import Helm charts and render them as Jsonnet objects, allowing you to combine Helm charts with native Jsonnet configuration.

**Q: How does Tanka handle multiple clusters?**
A: Each environment in Tanka points to a specific cluster via spec.json. You create separate environment directories sharing common Jsonnet libraries but targeting different API servers.

**Q: Is Tanka used in production?**
A: Yes. Grafana Labs uses Tanka to manage their production Kubernetes clusters, and the project is actively maintained.

## Sources
- https://github.com/grafana/tanka
- https://tanka.dev/tutorial/overview

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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/asset-cd270c63
Author: AI Open Source