Custom Bootstrap Repos¶

By default, sikifanso scaffolds the gitops repo from the sikifanso-homelab-bootstrap template. You can use your own bootstrap repo to customize what gets deployed out of the box.

Using a custom bootstrap repo¶

Pass the --bootstrap flag when creating a cluster:

sikifanso cluster create --name mylab --bootstrap https://github.com/your-org/your-bootstrap.git

Or omit the flag and enter the URL when prompted interactively.

Bootstrap repo structure¶

A bootstrap repo must follow this structure:

your-bootstrap-repo/
├── bootstrap/
│   ├── root-app.yaml         # ApplicationSet for custom apps
│   └── root-catalog.yaml     # ApplicationSet for catalog apps
├── apps/
│   ├── coordinates/
│   │   └── <app>.yaml        # Helm chart coordinates (optional, pre-installed apps)
│   └── values/
│       └── <app>.yaml        # Helm values overrides (optional)
└── catalog/                  # Curated catalog apps (optional)
    ├── <app>.yaml            # App definition with enabled flag
    └── values/
        └── <app>.yaml        # Helm values overrides

Bootstrap manifests¶

The bootstrap/ directory contains two ApplicationSet manifests:

• root-app.yaml uses the git file generator to watch apps/coordinates/*.yaml for custom Helm charts.
• root-catalog.yaml uses the git file generator to watch catalog/*.yaml and deploys only entries where enabled: true.

The default bootstrap template's manifests work with any set of apps -- you typically don't need to modify them unless you want to change the generator pattern or add additional ApplicationSet features.

Pre-installed apps¶

Any apps you include under apps/coordinates/ in the bootstrap repo will be deployed automatically when the cluster is created. For example, a bootstrap repo with:

apps/
├── coordinates/
│   ├── prometheus.yaml
│   └── grafana.yaml
└── values/
    ├── prometheus.yaml
    └── grafana.yaml

Would have Prometheus and Grafana deployed alongside ArgoCD and Cilium from the start.

Coordinate file format¶

Each app's coordinate file at apps/coordinates/<name>.yaml defines a Helm chart source:

name: podinfo
repoURL: https://stefanprodan.github.io/podinfo
chart: podinfo
targetRevision: 6.10.1
namespace: podinfo

The matching values file at apps/values/<name>.yaml contains Helm values overrides. It can be empty or a stub — the ApplicationSet references it automatically.

Creating your own bootstrap repo¶

1. Fork or clone the default bootstrap repo
2. Add your desired apps under apps/
3. Push to your own git hosting
4. Use the --bootstrap flag to point at your repo

This lets you create reproducible cluster configurations — every cluster create with your bootstrap repo starts with the same set of apps pre-installed.