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Polaris

Polaris is an open-source tool developed by Fairwinds that validates Kubernetes deployments and configurations against a wide set of best practices. It highlights potential issues such as missing resource limits, unsafe security contexts, and invalid configurations—helping teams maintain secure and reliable workloads.

Polaris can run as a dashboard, CLI, or automated scanner within CI/CD pipelines. It provides actionable feedback to ensure Kubernetes resources are properly configured before they impact production.

Use Cases​

  • Analyze Helm charts, manifests, or running clusters for misconfigurations.
  • Prevent insecure workloads from being deployed.
  • Enforce configuration policies during development and deployment stages.
  • Gain visual insights using the Polaris dashboard.

Usage Examples​

Run Polaris in CLI Mode Against a Cluster​

polaris audit --audit-path . --format pretty

Scan Kubernetes Manifests​

polaris audit --audit-path ./manifests

Use JSON Output for CI Integration​

polaris audit --audit-path ./manifests --format json

Launch the Polaris Dashboard​

helm repo add fairwinds-stable https://charts.fairwinds.com/stable
helm install polaris fairwinds-stable/polaris --namespace polaris --create-namespace

Best Practices​

  • Integrate Polaris into CI/CD: Prevent risky configurations from being deployed by scanning YAML files before applying them.
  • Use the dashboard in dev environments: Gain visual feedback on workload issues and trends.
  • Customize checks: Configure Polaris with a policy YAML to align with internal security and operational requirements.
  • Automate periodic scans: Continuously validate running clusters against evolving best practices.
  • Remediate early: Address issues like missing liveness/readiness probes, hostPath usage, and lack of resource limits during development—not in production.

References​

Last updated on by Itai Ganot