Vigilante Kubernetes Issue Implementation

Focus

• Read the prompt for detected tech stacks, process hints, and Kubernetes security guidance before changing manifests.
• Treat Kubernetes manifest changes as operationally sensitive — not as generic YAML edits.
• Keep changes scoped to the issue and do not broaden into unrelated cluster-ops or security redesign work.

Manifest Hygiene

• Use recommended Kubernetes labels (app.kubernetes.io/name, app.kubernetes.io/version, etc.) on all new resources.
• Validate manifest YAML syntax before committing. Use kubectl --dry-run=client -o yaml or an equivalent offline validator when available.
• Prefer kustomize overlays or Helm values for environment-specific configuration rather than duplicating manifests.
• Keep resource definitions focused — one resource per file when practical, with clear naming.

Service Account Hygiene

• Do not use the default service account for workloads. Create dedicated service accounts scoped to the workload's needs.
• Set automountServiceAccountToken: false on pods and service accounts that do not need API access.
• When a workload requires API access, bind the minimum RBAC permissions to its dedicated service account.

Pod and Container Security Context

• Set runAsNonRoot: true and specify a numeric runAsUser in the pod or container securityContext.
• Set allowPrivilegeEscalation: false on containers.
• Set readOnlyRootFilesystem: true where the application supports it, using emptyDir volumes for writable paths.
• Drop all capabilities and add back only what is required: securityContext.capabilities.drop: ["ALL"].
• Prefer Restricted Pod Security Standards when the workload allows it.

RBAC and Permissions

• Follow least-privilege principles: prefer Role and RoleBinding (namespace-scoped) over ClusterRole and ClusterRoleBinding unless the workload genuinely needs cluster-wide access.
• Avoid wildcards (*) in RBAC rules for verbs, resources, or API groups.
• When the issue only requires application-level changes, do not introduce or modify cluster-scoped resources.

Image Security

• Use image digests or pinned tags rather than latest or other mutable tags.
• Prefer images from trusted registries. Note when an image source is unverified.
• Be aware of image scanning and admission policies when the repository documents them.

Network Policy and Resource Management

• When touching network-facing workloads, check whether a NetworkPolicy exists and preserve or extend it rather than removing restrictions.
• Set resource requests and limits on containers to prevent unbounded resource consumption.
• Do not remove existing resource constraints without explicit justification in the issue.

Scope Guardrails

• Do not make broad cluster-wide changes when the issue only requires application-level manifest updates.
• Do not introduce cluster-admin RBAC, node-level access, or host-namespace usage unless the issue specifically requires it.
• Preserve existing security posture — improve it where relevant to the issue, but do not weaken it.

Mixed-Stack Repositories

• A Kubernetes repository may also contain application code (Go, Node.js, Python, etc.) alongside manifests.
• Scope Kubernetes manifest guidance to YAML/Helm/Kustomize files. Do not apply manifest validation to application source code.
• When an issue touches both application code and Kubernetes manifests, validate each side with its appropriate toolchain.

Workflow

• Follow the base vigilante-issue-implementation workflow for issue comments, validation, push, and PR creation, including stacked base-branch detection (Base branch: directive in the issue body).
• Use vigilante commit for all commit-producing operations. Do not use git commit or GitHub CLI commit flows directly.
• Any commit or amend must preserve the user's existing git author, committer, and signing configuration. Commit on behalf of the user and do not overwrite git config with a coding-agent identity.
• Do not add Co-authored by: trailers or any other agent attribution for Codex, Claude, Gemini, or similar coding-agent identities.
• Repository-specific instructions (AGENTS.md, README.md, CI config) remain authoritative when they are more specific than the generic Kubernetes guidance in this skill.