Kubernetes Policy Management

Manage policies using kubectl-mcp-server's Kyverno and Gatekeeper tools.

When to Apply

Use this skill when:

• User mentions: "Kyverno", "Gatekeeper", "OPA", "policy", "compliance"
• Operations: enforcing policies, checking violations, policy audit
• Keywords: "require labels", "block privileged", "validate", "enforce"

Priority Rules

Priority	Rule	Impact	Tools
1	Detect policy engine first	CRITICAL	kyverno_detect_tool, gatekeeper_detect_tool
2	Use Audit mode before Enforce	HIGH	validationFailureAction
3	Check policy reports for violations	HIGH	kyverno_clusterpolicyreports_list_tool
4	Review constraint templates	MEDIUM	gatekeeper_constrainttemplates_list_tool

Quick Reference

Task	Tool	Example
List Kyverno cluster policies	kyverno_clusterpolicies_list_tool	kyverno_clusterpolicies_list_tool()
Get Kyverno policy	kyverno_clusterpolicy_get_tool	kyverno_clusterpolicy_get_tool(name)
List Gatekeeper constraints	gatekeeper_constraints_list_tool	gatekeeper_constraints_list_tool()
Get constraint	gatekeeper_constraint_get_tool	gatekeeper_constraint_get_tool(kind, name)

Kyverno

Detect Installation

kyverno_detect_tool()

List Policies

kyverno_clusterpolicies_list_tool()

kyverno_policies_list_tool(namespace="default")

Get Policy Details

kyverno_clusterpolicy_get_tool(name="require-labels")
kyverno_policy_get_tool(name="require-resources", namespace="default")

Policy Reports

kyverno_clusterpolicyreports_list_tool()

kyverno_policyreports_list_tool(namespace="default")

Common Kyverno Policies

kubectl_apply(manifest="""
apiVersion: kyverno.io/v1
kind: ClusterPolicy
metadata:
  name: require-labels
spec:
  validationFailureAction: Enforce
  rules:
  - name: require-app-label
    match:
      resources:
        kinds:
        - Pod
    validate:
      message: "Label 'app' is required"
      pattern:
        metadata:
          labels:
            app: "?*"
""")

kubectl_apply(manifest="""
apiVersion: kyverno.io/v1
kind: ClusterPolicy
metadata:
  name: require-limits
spec:
  validationFailureAction: Enforce
  rules:
  - name: require-cpu-memory
    match:
      resources:
        kinds:
        - Pod
    validate:
      message: "CPU and memory limits required"
      pattern:
        spec:
          containers:
          - resources:
              limits:
                cpu: "?*"
                memory: "?*"
""")

Gatekeeper (OPA)

Detect Installation

gatekeeper_detect_tool()

List Constraints

gatekeeper_constraints_list_tool()

gatekeeper_constrainttemplates_list_tool()

Get Constraint Details

gatekeeper_constraint_get_tool(
    kind="K8sRequiredLabels",
    name="require-app-label"
)

gatekeeper_constrainttemplate_get_tool(name="k8srequiredlabels")

Common Gatekeeper Policies

kubectl_apply(manifest="""
apiVersion: templates.gatekeeper.sh/v1
kind: ConstraintTemplate
metadata:
  name: k8srequiredlabels
spec:
  crd:
    spec:
      names:
        kind: K8sRequiredLabels
      validation:
        openAPIV3Schema:
          type: object
          properties:
            labels:
              type: array
              items:
                type: string
  targets:
  - target: admission.k8s.gatekeeper.sh
    rego: |
      package k8srequiredlabels
      violation[{"msg": msg}] {
        provided := {label | input.review.object.metadata.labels[label]}
        required := {label | label := input.parameters.labels[_]}
        missing := required - provided
        count(missing) > 0
        msg := sprintf("Missing labels: %v", [missing])
      }
""")

kubectl_apply(manifest="""
apiVersion: constraints.gatekeeper.sh/v1beta1
kind: K8sRequiredLabels
metadata:
  name: require-app-label
spec:
  match:
    kinds:
    - apiGroups: [""]
      kinds: ["Pod"]
  parameters:
    labels: ["app", "env"]
""")

Policy Audit Workflow

kyverno_detect_tool()
kyverno_clusterpolicies_list_tool()
kyverno_clusterpolicyreports_list_tool()

Prerequisites

• Kyverno: Required for Kyverno tools

  kubectl create -f https://github.com/kyverno/kyverno/releases/latest/download/install.yaml

• Gatekeeper: Required for Gatekeeper tools

  kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-policy-agent/gatekeeper/master/deploy/gatekeeper.yaml

Related Skills

• k8s-security - RBAC and security
• k8s-operations - Apply policies