CKAD — CRD vs ConfigMap

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CRD vs ConfigMap

When should you use a CRD instead of a ConfigMap?

Feature ConfigMap CRD
Schema validation None Full OpenAPI schema
kubectl support Generic First-class (get, describe, edit)
RBAC All ConfigMaps together Per-resource-type RBAC
Watch/trigger Manual Controllers can watch changes
Status reporting Not built-in .status subresource
Use case Configuration data Domain-specific objects

Use ConfigMaps for simple key-value configuration. Use CRDs when you need a custom API with validation and lifecycle management.


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