How the central configuration works

Understand how OpenShift Dev Spaces behavior is controlled through the CheCluster Custom Resource, the single configuration object parameterized by the Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces Operator.

The CheCluster Custom Resource is a Kubernetes object. You can configure it by editing the CheCluster Custom Resource YAML file. This file contains sections to configure each component: devWorkspace, cheServer, pluginRegistry, devfileRegistry, dashboard and imagePuller.

The Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces Operator translates the CheCluster Custom Resource into a config map usable by each component of the OpenShift Dev Spaces installation.

The OpenShift platform applies the configuration to each component, and creates the necessary Pods. When OpenShift detects changes in the configuration of a component, it restarts the Pods accordingly. For background on OpenShift Operators and Custom Resources, see Additional resources.

When an administrator modifies the CheCluster Custom Resource, the configuration flows through the system as follows:

  1. The administrator applies the CheCluster Custom Resource YAML file with modifications in the cheServer component section.
  2. The Operator generates the cheConfigMap.
  3. OpenShift detects changes in the ConfigMap and triggers a restart of the OpenShift Dev Spaces Pod.