About Kubernetes Manifest Validator

Validate required fields in Kubernetes YAML manifests. Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the API / Config collection.

Use Cases

• Validate manifests before applying to production clusters
• Catch missing resource limits that cause pod evictions
• Review Helm template output for correctness
• Enforce Kubernetes best practices in CI/CD pipelines

Tips

• Paste YAML manifests to validate required fields
• Check for common misconfigurations like missing resource limits
• Validate label selectors match between services and deployments

Fun Facts

• Kubernetes was originally developed at Google as 'Project Borg' (later 'Seven of Nine') and open-sourced on June 7, 2014.
• A Kubernetes manifest must specify apiVersion, kind, and metadata at minimum — omitting any of these causes the API server to reject the resource.
• The Kubernetes API server validates manifests against OpenAPI schemas, supporting over 60 resource types in the core API alone.

FAQ

What validations does it run?

Required fields per resource type (Deployment needs spec.template.spec.containers, Service needs spec.ports). Plus basic schema checks against Kubernetes 1.28+ definitions.

Does it validate against a live cluster?

No — offline schema check only. For admission-webhook validation (PSA, OPA Gatekeeper) you need a real cluster.

Multi-document YAML?

Yes — each document (`---` separated) is validated independently. Useful for kubectl-apply-style multi-resource files.

Does it catch common mistakes?

Yes — missing labels that selectors target, mismatched ports, nonexistent image pull secrets. The common production bugs.