This is the official Kubewatch project, originally by Bitnami, now maintained by Robusta.dev.

Feel free to open issues, raise PRs or talk with us on Slack!

kubewatch is a Kubernetes watcher that publishes notification to available collaboration hubs/notification channels. Run it in your k8s cluster, and you will get event notifications through webhooks.

See the blog post on KubeWatch 2.0 to learn more about how KubeWatch is used.

Latest image

robustadev/kubewatch:v2.9.0

Usage

$ kubewatch -h

Kubewatch: A watcher for Kubernetes

kubewatch is a Kubernetes watcher that publishes notifications
to Slack/hipchat/mattermost/flock channels. It watches the cluster
for resource changes and notifies them through webhooks.

supported webhooks:
 - slack
 - slackwebhook
 - msteams
 - hipchat
 - mattermost
 - flock
 - webhook
 - cloudevent
 - smtp

Usage:
  kubewatch [flags]
  kubewatch [command]

Available Commands:
  config      modify kubewatch configuration
  resource    manage resources to be watched
  version     print version

Flags:
  -h, --help   help for kubewatch

Use "kubewatch [command] --help" for more information about a command.

Install

Cluster Installation

Using helm:

When you have helm installed in your cluster, use the following setup:

helm repo add robusta https://robusta-charts.storage.googleapis.com && helm repo update
helm install kubewatch robusta/kubewatch --set='rbac.create=true,slack.channel=#YOUR_CHANNEL,slack.token=xoxb-YOUR_TOKEN,resourcesToWatch.pod=true,resourcesToWatch.daemonset=true'

You may also provide a values file instead:

rbac:
  create: true
  customRoles:
    - apiGroups: ["monitoring.coreos.com"]
      resources: ["prometheusrules"]
      verbs: ["get", "list", "watch"]
resourcesToWatch:
  deployment: false
  replicationcontroller: false
  replicaset: false
  daemonset: false
  services: true
  pod: true
  job: false
  node: false
  clusterrole: true
  clusterrolebinding: true
  serviceaccount: true
  persistentvolume: false
  namespace: false
  secret: false
  configmap: false
  ingress: false
  coreevent: false
  event: true
customresources:
  - group: monitoring.coreos.com
    version: v1
    resource: prometheusrules
slack:
  channel: '#YOUR_CHANNEL'
  token: 'xoxb-YOUR_TOKEN'

And use that:

$ helm upgrade --install kubewatch robusta/kubewatch --values=values-file.yml

Using kubectl:

In order to run kubewatch in a Kubernetes cluster quickly, the easiest way is for you to create a ConfigMap to hold kubewatch configuration.

An example is provided at kubewatch-configmap.yaml, do not forget to update your own slack channel and token parameters. Alternatively, you could use secrets.

Create k8s configmap:

$ kubectl create -f kubewatch-configmap.yaml

Create the Pod directly, or create your own deployment:

$ kubectl create -f kubewatch.yaml

A kubewatch container will be created along with kubectl sidecar container in order to reach the API server.

Once the Pod is running, you will start seeing Kubernetes events in your configured Slack channel. Here is a screenshot:

To modify what notifications you get, update the kubewatch ConfigMap and turn on and off (true/false) resources or configure any resource of your choosing with customresources (CRDs):

resource:
  deployment: false
  replicationcontroller: false
  replicaset: false
  daemonset: false
  services: true
  pod: true
  job: false
  node: false
  clusterrole: false
  clusterrolebinding: false
  serviceaccount: false
  persistentvolume: false
  namespace: false
  secret: false
  configmap: false
  ingress: false
  coreevent: false
  event: true
customresources:
  - group: monitoring.coreos.com
    version: v1
    resource: prometheusrules

Working with RBAC

Kubernetes Engine clusters running versions 1.6 or higher introduced Role-Based Access Control (RBAC). We can create ServiceAccount for it to work with RBAC.

$ kubectl create -f kubewatch-service-account.yaml

If you do not have permission to create it, you need to become an admin first. For example, in GKE you would run:

$ kubectl create clusterrolebinding cluster-admin-binding --clusterrole=cluster-admin --user=REPLACE_EMAIL_HERE

Edit kubewatch.yaml, and create a new field under spec with serviceAccountName: kubewatch, you can achieve this by running:

$ sed -i '/spec:/a\ \ serviceAccountName: kubewatch' kubewatch.yaml

Then just create pod as usual with:

$ kubectl create -f kubewatch.yaml

Working with CRDs

kubewatch can be configured to monitor Kubernetes Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs), allowing you to receive notifications when changes occur. To configure kubewatch to watch custom resources, you need to define the customresources section either in your values file or by using the --set flag with Helm commands.

Include the custom resource configuration in your values file:

customresources:
  - group: monitoring.coreos.com
    version: v1
    resource: prometheusrules

Then deploy or upgrade kubwatch with helm upgrade or helm install

Alternatively, you can pass this configuration directly using the --set flag:

helm install kubewatch robusta/kubewatch --set='rbac.create=true,slack.channel=#YOUR_CHANNEL,slack.token=xoxb-YOUR_TOKEN,resourcesToWatch.pod=true,resourcesToWatch.daemonset=true,customresources[0].group=monitoring.coreos.com,customresources[0].version=v1,customresources[0].resource=prometheusrules'

Custom RBAC roles

After defining custom resources, make sure that kubewatch has the necessary RBAC permissions to access the custom resources you've configured. Without the appropriate permissions, kubewatch will not be able to monitor your custom resources, and you won't receive notifications for changes.

To grant these permissions, you can define custom RBAC roles using customRoles within the rbac section of your values file or by using the --set flag with Helm commands. This allows you to specify exactly which API groups, resources, and actions kubewatch should have access to.

Here’s how you can configure the necessary permissions to monitor your resources:

rbac:
  create: true 
  customRoles:
    - apiGroups: ["monitoring.coreos.com"]
      resources: ["prometheusrules"]
      verbs: ["get", "list", "watch"]

Then deploy or upgrade kubwatch with helm upgrade or helm install

Alternatively, you can pass this configuration directly using the --set flag:

helm install kubewatch robusta/kubewatch --set='rbac.create=true,slack.channel=#YOUR_CHANNEL,slack.token=xoxb-YOUR_TOKEN,customRoles[0].apiGroups={monitoring.coreos.com},customRoles[0].resources={prometheusrules},customRoles[0].verbs={get,list,watch}'

Metrics

kubewatch runs a Prometheus metrics endpoint at /metrics on port 2112 by default. This endpoint can be used to monitor health and the performance of kubewatch.

The kubewatch_events_total metric can help track the total number of Kubernetes events, categorized by resource type (e.g., Pods, Deployments) and event type (e.g., Create, Delete).

You can change the default port (2112) on which the metrics server listens by setting the LISTEN_ADDRESS environment variable. Format is host:port. :5454 means any host, and port 5454

extraEnvVars:
  - name: LISTEN_ADDRESS
    value: ":5454"

Local Installation

Using go package installer:

# Download and install kubewatch
$ go get -u github.com/robusta-dev/kubewatch

# Configure the notification channel
$ kubewatch config add slack --channel <slack_channel> --token <slack_token>

# Add resources to be watched
$ kubewatch resource add --po --svc
INFO[0000] resource svc configured
INFO[0000] resource po configured

# start kubewatch server
$ kubewatch
INFO[0000] Starting kubewatch controller                 pkg=kubewatch-service
INFO[0000] Starting kubewatch controller                 pkg=kubewatch-pod
INFO[0000] Processing add to service: default/kubernetes  pkg=kubewatch-service
INFO[0000] Processing add to service: kube-system/tiller-deploy  pkg=kubewatch-service
INFO[0000] Processing add to pod: kube-system/tiller-deploy-69ffbf64bc-h8zxm  pkg=kubewatch-pod
INFO[0000] Kubewatch controller synced and ready         pkg=kubewatch-service
INFO[0000] Kubewatch controller synced and ready         pkg=kubewatch-pod

Using Docker:

To Run Kubewatch Container interactively, place the config file in $HOME/.kubewatch.yaml location and use the following command.

docker run --rm -it --network host -v $HOME/.kubewatch.yaml:/root/.kubewatch.yaml -v $HOME/.kube/config:/opt/bitnami/kubewatch/.kube/config --name <container-name> robustadev/kubewatch

Example:

$ docker run --rm -it --network host -v $HOME/.kubewatch.yaml:/root/.kubewatch.yaml -v $HOME/.kube/config:/opt/bitnami/kubewatch/.kube/config --name kubewatch-app robustadev/kubewatch

==> Writing config file...
INFO[0000] Starting kubewatch controller                 pkg=kubewatch-service
INFO[0000] Starting kubewatch controller                 pkg=kubewatch-pod
INFO[0000] Starting kubewatch controller                 pkg=kubewatch-deployment
INFO[0000] Starting kubewatch controller                 pkg=kubewatch-namespace
INFO[0000] Processing add to namespace: kube-node-lease  pkg=kubewatch-namespace
INFO[0000] Processing add to namespace: kube-public      pkg=kubewatch-namespace
INFO[0000] Processing add to namespace: kube-system      pkg=kubewatch-namespace
INFO[0000] Processing add to namespace: default          pkg=kubewatch-namespace
....

To Demonise Kubewatch container use

$ docker run --rm -d --network host -v $HOME/.kubewatch.yaml:/root/.kubewatch.yaml -v $HOME/.kube/config:/opt/bitnami/kubewatch/.kube/config --name kubewatch-app robustadev/kubewatch

Configure

Kubewatch supports config command for configuration. Config file will be saved at $HOME/.kubewatch.yaml

$ kubewatch config -h

config command allows admin setup his own configuration for running kubewatch

Usage:
  kubewatch config [flags]
  kubewatch config [command]

Available Commands:
  add         add webhook config to .kubewatch.yaml
  test        test handler config present in .kubewatch.yaml
  view        view .kubewatch.yaml

Flags:
  -h, --help   help for config

Use "kubewatch config [command] --help" for more information about a command.

Example:

slack:

• Create a slack Bot

• Edit the Bot to customize its name, icon and retrieve the API token (it starts with xoxb-).

• Invite the Bot into your channel by typing: /invite @name_of_your_bot in the Slack message area.

• Add Api token to kubewatch config using the following steps

  $ kubewatch config add slack --channel <slack_channel> --token <slack_token>

  You have an altenative choice to set your SLACK token, channel via environment variables:

  $ export KW_SLACK_TOKEN='XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX'
  $ export KW_SLACK_CHANNEL='#channel_name'

slackwebhookurl:

• Create a slack app

• Enable Incoming Webhooks. (On "Settings" page.)

• Create an incoming webhook URL (Add New Webhook to Workspace on "Settings" page.)

• Pick a channel that the app will post to, and then click to Authorize your app. You will get back your webhook URL.
  The Slack Webhook URL will look like: https://hooks.slack.com/services/T00000000/B00000000/XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

• Add slack webhook url to kubewatch config using the following steps

  $ kubewatch config add slackwebhookurl --username <slack_username> --emoji <slack_emoji> --channel <slack_channel> --slackwebhookurl <slack_webhook_url>

  Or, you have an altenative choice to set your SLACK channel, username, emoji and webhook URL via environment variables:

  $ export KW_SLACK_CHANNEL=slack_channel
  $ export KW_SLACK_USERNAME=slack_username
  $ export KW_SLACK_EMOJI=slack_emoji
  $ export KW_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL=slack_webhook_url

• Example apply done in a bash script:

$ cat kubewatch-configmap-slackwebhook.yaml | sed "s|<slackchannel>|"\"$SlackChannel"\"|g;s|<slackusername>|"\"$SlackUsesrName"\"|g;s|<slackemoji>|"\"$SlackEmoji"\"|g;s|<SlackWebhookUrl>|"\"$WebhookUrl"\"|g" | kubectl create -f -

• An example kubewatch-configmap-slackwebhook.yaml YAML File:

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
 name: kubewatch
data:
 .kubewatch.yaml: |
   namespace: ""
   handler:
     slackwebhook:
       enabled: true
       channel: <slackchannel>
       username: <slackusername>
       emoji: <slackemoji>
       slackwebhookurl: <SlackWebhookUrl>
   resource:
     clusterrole: false
     configmap: false
     daemonset: false
     deployment: true
     ingress: false
     job: false
     namespace: false
     node: false
     persistentvolume: false
     pod: true
     replicaset: false
     replicationcontroller: false
     secret: false
     serviceaccount: false
     services: true
     event: true
     coreevent: false
   ```

### flock:

- Create a [flock bot](https://docs.flock.com/display/flockos/Bots).

- Add flock webhook url to config using the following command.
 ```console
 $ kubewatch config add flock --url <flock_webhook_url>

You have an altenative choice to set your FLOCK URL

$ export KW_FLOCK_URL='https://api.flock.com/hooks/sendMessage/XXXXXXXX'

Testing Config

To test the handler config by send test messages use the following command.

$ kubewatch config test -h

Tests handler configs present in .kubewatch.yaml by sending test messages

Usage:
  kubewatch config test [flags]

Flags:
  -h, --help   help for test

Example:

$ kubewatch config test

Testing Handler configs from .kubewatch.yaml
2019/06/03 12:29:23 Message successfully sent to channel ABCD at 1559545162.000100

Viewing config

To view the entire config file $HOME/.kubewatch.yaml use the following command.

$ kubewatch config view
Contents of .kubewatch.yaml

handler:
  slack:
    token: xoxb-xxxxx-yyyy-zzz
    channel: kube-watch
  hipchat:
    token: ""
    room: ""
    url: ""
  mattermost:
    channel: ""
    url: ""
    username: ""
  flock:
    url: ""
  webhook:
    url: ""
  cloudevent:
    url: ""
resource:
  deployment: false
  replicationcontroller: false
  replicaset: false
  daemonset: false
  services: false
  pod: true
  job: false
  node: false
  clusterrole: false
  clusterrolebinding: false
  serviceaccount: false
  persistentvolume: false
  namespace: false
  secret: false
  configmap: false
  ingress: false
  event: true
  coreevent: false
namespace: ""

Resources

To manage the resources being watched, use the following command, changes will be saved to $HOME/.kubewatch.yaml.

$ kubewatch resource -h

manage resources to be watched

Usage:
  kubewatch resource [flags]
  kubewatch resource [command]

Available Commands:
  add         adds specific resources to be watched
  remove      remove specific resources being watched

Flags:
      
      --clusterrolebinding      watch for cluster role bindings
      --clusterrole             watch for cluster roles
      --cm                      watch for plain configmaps
      --deploy                  watch for deployments
      --ds                      watch for daemonsets
  -h, --help                    help for resource
      --ing                     watch for ingresses
      --job                     watch for jobs
      --node                    watch for Nodes
      --ns                      watch for namespaces
      --po                      watch for pods
      --pv                      watch for persistent volumes
      --rc                      watch for replication controllers
      --rs                      watch for replicasets
      --sa                      watch for service accounts
      --secret                  watch for plain secrets
      --svc                     watch for services
      --coreevent               watch for events from the kubernetes core api. (Old events api, replaced in kubernetes 1.19)

Use "kubewatch resource [command] --help" for more information about a command.

Add/Remove resource:

$ kubewatch resource add -h

adds specific resources to be watched

Usage:
  kubewatch resource add [flags]

Flags:
  -h, --help   help for add

Global Flags:
      --clusterrole             watch for cluster roles
      --clusterrolebinding      watch for cluster role bindings
      --cm                      watch for plain configmaps
      --deploy                  watch for deployments
      --ds                      watch for daemonsets
      --ing                     watch for ingresses
      --job                     watch for jobs
      --node                    watch for Nodes
      --ns                      watch for namespaces
      --po                      watch for pods
      --pv                      watch for persistent volumes
      --rc                      watch for replication controllers
      --rs                      watch for replicasets
      --sa                      watch for service accounts
      --secret                  watch for plain secrets
      --svc                     watch for services
      --coreevent               watch for events from the kubernetes core api. (Old events api, replaced in kubernetes 1.19)

Example:

# rc, po and svc will be watched
$ kubewatch resource add --rc --po --svc

# rc, po and svc will be stopped from being watched
$ kubewatch resource remove --rc --po --svc

Changing log level

In case you want to change the default log level, add an environment variable named LOG_LEVEL with value from trace/debug/info/warning/error

env:
- name: LOG_LEVEL
  value: debug

Changing log format

In case you want to change the log format to json, add an environment variable named LOG_FORMATTER with value json

env:
- name: LOG_FORMATTER
  value: json

Build

Using go

Clone the repository anywhere:

$ git clone https://github.com/bitnami-labs/kubewatch.git
$ cd kubewatch
$ go build

or

You can also use the Makefile directly:

$ make build

Prerequisites

• You need to have Go (v1.5 or later) installed. Make sure to set $GOPATH

Using Docker

$ make docker-image
$ docker images
REPOSITORY          TAG                 IMAGE ID            CREATED              SIZE
kubewatch           latest              919896d3cd90        3 minutes ago       27.9MB

Prerequisites

• you need to have docker installed.

Contribution

Refer to the contribution guidelines to get started.