FAQ
Do I need a Dockerfile? No. Koptan generates one for Go, Rust, Java, .NET, Python, Ruby, PHP, Node.js and static sites. If your repository has a Dockerfile, Koptan uses it.
Do I need a CI system such as GitHub Actions or Jenkins? Not for building and deploying. Koptan builds inside your cluster. You can keep your CI for tests, or run tests as a CIPlugin.
Does Koptan need webhooks from my git host? No. It polls every minute. To deploy faster, have your git host or a script set the refresh annotation.
Which git hosts work? Any git server reachable from the cluster: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Gitea, Azure Repos and others. Creating repositories for SelfServices supports GitHub (and GitHub Enterprise) and GitLab (including self-hosted).
Which registries work? Any OCI registry that buildah can push to and your nodes can pull from.
How are images tagged?
<registry>/<repo>:<first 12 characters of the commit SHA>.
Does it need privileged containers or Docker? No. Builds use rootless buildah.
How do I roll back?
Set spec.source.revision on the Service to an older tag or commit SHA. Set it back to the branch to follow new commits again.
Can I deploy one app from a monorepo?
Yes. Set spec.build.contextDir. Create one Service per app.
How do I expose my app on the internet?
Koptan creates a Kubernetes Service <name>-cd on port 80. Point your Ingress, Gateway route or load balancer at it. See CD.
How do I set CPU and memory for my app?
Edit spec.resources on the CD <name>-cd. Koptan keeps your values. See CD → Resources.
Can I use Koptan without the UI?
Yes. Everything is a Kubernetes resource and works with kubectl, GitOps tools such as Argo CD and Flux, or Helm.
Can I use my own Backstage?
Yes. The Koptan plugins are Backstage plugins. Give your Backstage service account the role from backstage.rbac.
Which AI models work with SelfService? Claude through the Anthropic API, and any server with an OpenAI-compatible chat completions API: OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, OpenRouter, LiteLLM, Gemini's OpenAI endpoint, and local servers such as Ollama, vLLM and LM Studio. With a local model, prompts and code stay inside your cluster.
What happens to my apps if I uninstall Koptan?
helm uninstall removes the operator but keeps the CRDs and your resources, so the apps keep running (without new builds). Deleting the CRDs deletes every Koptan resource and the apps with them.
Where is the API reference? Every resource page lists its fields. You can also ask the cluster: