This is an "I'm terrible at searching" problem
I ...
# kubernetess
some-flower-64874
05/13/2026, 2:16 PMThis is an "I'm terrible at searching" problem
I think I want to install a 3rd party operator (or two in fact) into my Kubernetes cluster. I would want to add this to a new or existing stack, not sure (depends on the scale of the things I want to set up once I have an operator). The problem I have is that any combination of "pulumi" and "operator" gets m the Pulumi operator which is completely not what I want.
So I'm looking for a pointer to docs and, ideally, an example or two to get me started. I'm guessing that I could do it by using Kubernetes YAML and having Pulumi run that for me... which is probably fine 🙂 but I'd like to know if I'm missing something that feels less like cheating.
🤔 The follow up to that would be how to create actual resources using the capabilities provided by the operator once its installed.
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astonishing-architect-11492
05/13/2026, 4:08 PMWhich operators are you looking at? Some of them have dedicated Pulumi providers which you can find in the registry. Otherwise, you can use kubernetes.helm.v3.Release with the operator's Helm chart.
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some-flower-64874
05/13/2026, 4:11 PMVictoria Metrics - which regards the operator as distinct from helm - and RabbitMQ (which I haven't checked recently)
I really don't want to touch helm - its a source of pain (almost certainly because the person who inflicted it me did it wrong), but if I have to then I'll learn... but only if I really have to
some-flower-64874
05/13/2026, 4:13 PM🤔 this is not a cloud provider thing though, this is installing capability into kubernetes, and then leaning on that capability. I'm using (e.g.) the rabbitmq provider, but to use that I first have to have a rabbitmq installed, ideally under some degree of control (which is why I want to replace the installation I have which is not)
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astonishing-architect-11492
05/13/2026, 6:26 PMI see. Using Pulumi to run the Kubernetes YAML is definitely not cheating, and it's the way to go if you don't want to use helm charts. The pulumi-kubernetes GitHub page shows both examples.
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chilly-sunset-85353
05/15/2026, 10:53 PMFor what it's worth, using pulumi release resources to manage helm charts doesn't require you to interact with helm itself
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chilly-sunset-85353
05/15/2026, 10:56 PMI also didn't really want to deal with helm releases but a lot of the most popular projects integrate with k8s exclusively in the form of helm charts.
chilly-sunset-85353
05/15/2026, 10:58 PMA couple times I ditched the chart and created the resources directly in my pulumi project, but then you need to manage it yourself
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some-flower-64874
05/19/2026, 8:30 AM@chilly-sunset-85353 appreciate that - my challenge is that I am reluctant to use things I don't properly understand and I really don't have space to wrap my head around helm at a level that makes me comfortable. (I have to allow that I most of our code is deployed via helm, but it was set up by my predecessors, I don't think that we're doing it right and its something I would rather remove to get to a point where I am actually in control). But one will do what one must
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chilly-sunset-85353
05/19/2026, 10:56 AMYeh your best bet is to implement component resources yourself then
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