Getting Started

What is chant?

Chant is a TypeScript-to-YAML compiler for Kubernetes. You write typed TypeScript declarations, and chant outputs kubectl-ready manifests.

Install

npm install --save-dev @intentius/chant @intentius/chant-lexicon-k8s

Your first deployment

The fastest path is the WebApp composite — one function call that produces a Deployment, Service, and optional Ingress:

src/infra.k8s.ts

import { WebApp } from "@intentius/chant-lexicon-k8s";

const app = WebApp({
  name: "hello",
  image: "nginx:1.25",
  port: 80,
  replicas: 2,
});

export const { deployment, service } = app;

Build and deploy:

# Generate YAML manifests
chant build --output dist/manifests.yaml

# Validate against the cluster API (no changes applied)
kubectl apply -f dist/manifests.yaml --dry-run=server

# Apply for real
kubectl apply -f dist/manifests.yaml

Using resource constructors

Composites are convenient, but you can also use the lower-level resource constructors directly:

src/infra.k8s.ts

import { Deployment, Service, Container, Probe } from "@intentius/chant-lexicon-k8s";

export const deployment = new Deployment({
  metadata: { name: "hello", labels: { "app.kubernetes.io/name": "hello" } },
  spec: {
    replicas: 2,
    selector: { matchLabels: { "app.kubernetes.io/name": "hello" } },
    template: {
      metadata: { labels: { "app.kubernetes.io/name": "hello" } },
      spec: {
        containers: [
          new Container({
            name: "web",
            image: "nginx:1.25",
            ports: [{ containerPort: 80, name: "http" }],
            livenessProbe: new Probe({ httpGet: { path: "/", port: 80 } }),
            readinessProbe: new Probe({ httpGet: { path: "/", port: 80 } }),
          }),
        ],
      },
    },
  },
});

export const service = new Service({
  metadata: { name: "hello" },
  spec: {
    selector: { "app.kubernetes.io/name": "hello" },
    ports: [{ port: 80, targetPort: 80, name: "http" }],
  },
});

Composites return plain prop objects. Resource constructors (new Deployment(...)) accept the same shape. Both produce identical YAML.

Next steps

• Kubernetes Concepts — how K8s resources map to chant constructs
• Examples: Composites — WebApp, CronWorkload, AutoscaledService, and more
• Lint Rules — built-in checks for security, reliability, and best practices