# Template-Free Configuration Customization with Kustomize (Kubernetes Native Configuration Management)
- [kustomize.io](https://kustomize.io/) Kustomize introduces a template-free way to customize application configuration that simplifies the use of off-the-shelf applications. Now, built into ```kubectl``` as ```apply -k```.
- [kubernetes.io: Introducing kustomize; Template-free Configuration Customization for Kubernetes](https://kubernetes.io/blog/2018/05/29/introducing-kustomize-template-free-configuration-customization-for-kubernetes/) If you run a Kubernetes environment, chances are you’ve customized a Kubernetes configuration — you've copied some API object YAML files and edited them to suit your needs. But there are drawbacks to this approach — it can be hard to go back to the source material and incorporate any improvements that were made to it. Today Google is announcing kustomize, a command-line tool contributed as a subproject of SIG-CLI. The tool provides a new, purely declarative approach to configuration customization that adheres to and leverages the familiar and carefully designed Kubernetes API.
- [Declarative Management of Kubernetes Objects Using Kustomize](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/manage-kubernetes-objects/kustomization/)
- [itnext.io: Helm Is Not Enough, You Also Need Kustomize](https://itnext.io/helm-is-not-enough-you-also-need-kustomize-82bae896816e) Customize the YAML’s to enforce policies from application operators, security operators, and cluster operators. 
- [blog.tomarrell.com: Kustomize: Traefik v2.2 as a Kubernetes Ingress Controller](https://blog.tomarrell.com/post/traefik_v2_on_kubernetes)
- [itnext.io: Helm Is Not Enough, You Also Need Kustomize](https://itnext.io/helm-is-not-enough-you-also-need-kustomize-82bae896816e) Customize the YAML’s to enforce policies from application operators, security operators, and cluster operators. 
* [Kubestack Gitops Framework](https://github.com/kbst/terraform-kubestack) is a Gitops framework built on Terraform and Kustomize
* [3 ways to customize off-the-shelf Helm charts with Kustomize - Kubernetes](https://tech.aabouzaid.com/2020/09/3-ways-to-customize-off-the-shelf-helm-charts-with-kustomize-kubernetes.html)
* [dex.dev: YAML Templating Solutions: Helm & Kustomize](https://www.dex.dev/dex-videos/templating-solutions) Writing config files by hand is like coding with Notepad instead of an IDE. Let's find a better way, and take an overview of the popular solutions Helm & Kustomize.