L02 — Objects

The Kubernetes API is the product. Everything you do — kubectl apply, a controller reconciling, an operator watching — talks to the API server using the same object model. This level is about that model.

What you’ll understand after this level

• What a “Kubernetes object” actually is (a record of intent stored in etcd)
• The universal shape: apiVersion / kind / metadata / spec / status
• The difference between desired state (spec) and observed state (status)
• How the reconciliation loop drives current → desired
• The field selectors and labels — how you query and filter objects
• The apiGroups structure — how versioning and grouping work

Notes in this level

|| Note | Status | What’s in it | |------|--------|--------------| || Kubernetes Objects | ✅ | The universal object shape, manifest anatomy, dry-run, field selectors, apiGroups | || Downward API | ✅ | Injecting pod metadata into containers — env vars, volume mounts, field ref path syntax |

Suggested reading order

1. Kubernetes Objects — read this first, it frames everything else
2. Downward API — small but worth knowing early

Where to go next

→ L03 — Workloads: the object model only gets useful when you start creating workload objects.