# Kyverno Label Enforcement > Enforces required labels on Pods and Namespaces using Kyverno validate rules with pattern matching and CEL expressions for compliance tracking. - Skill: `paulpas/kyverno-label-enforcement` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add paulpas/kyverno-label-enforcement` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/paulpas/kyverno-label-enforcement/raw - Safety review: PASS (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - License: MIT - Author: paulpas (https://skillmd.com/u/paulpas) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/paulpas/kyverno-label-enforcement --- # Kyverno Label Enforcement Enforces required labels on Pods and Namespaces using Kyverno validate rules with pattern matching and CEL expressions. When loaded, this skill makes the model design validation policies that ensure every workload and namespace carries the labels required for cost tracking, compliance, and operational standards — rejecting resources that lack required label keys or invalid value formats. ## TL;DR Checklist - [ ] Use `pattern` with `"?*"` for non-empty value validation on label keys - [ ] Specify explicit label keys (e.g., `app.kubernetes.io/name`, `team`) - [ ] Validate label values with regex patterns using CEL `matches()` function - [ ] Exclude system namespaces (`kube-system`, `kyverno`) from enforcement - [ ] Deploy policy and monitor PolicyReport for `fail` violations - [ ] Pair with `kyverno-mutate-patterns` to auto-inject missing labels ## When to Use - Enforcing Kubernetes recommended labels per `app.kubernetes.io` standards - Implementing cost allocation labels (owner, team, department, environment) for FinOps - Ensuring compliance labels (PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOC2) are present on all workloads - Requiring environment labels (`env: production`, `env: staging`) for governance - Validating multi-label requirements from cost tracking tools like Kubecost ## When NOT to Use - Labels that are optional metadata not required for operations or cost tracking - Resources where label requirements vary per team without a common standard - One-time audits — use label enforcement for continuous, automated policy checking - Namespaces or projects where label exemptions are formally granted via PolicyException --- ## Core Workflow 1. **Define the required label set** — Identify the exact label keys and value constraints that must be present on target resources. Determine which label values are valid (using regex patterns) and which are mandatory (non-empty checks). **Checkpoint:** Create a documented list of required labels with their expected key format, value constraints, and validation rules. 2. **Create the validate rule with pattern matching** — Build a `ClusterPolicy` with a `validate` rule using `pattern` matching to require specific label keys with non-empty values. For advanced validation, use CEL expressions with the `matches()` function to enforce value format constraints. **Checkpoint:** Verify the pattern uses `"?*"` for non-empty string validation, CEL `matches()` for regex-based value checks, and that the resource kind selector targets the right workload types. 3. **Deploy and monitor violations** — Apply the policy and verify resources without required labels are rejected. Check `PolicyReport` for `fail` results and track violations over time. Consider pairing with a mutation policy to auto-inject missing labels. **Checkpoint:** Confirm PolicyReport shows `pass` for compliant resources and `fail` with descriptive messages for non-compliant ones. --- ## Implementation Patterns ### Pattern 1: Required Labels with Pattern Matching on Pods Deploy a `ClusterPolicy` that enforces three required labels on all Pods: `app.kubernetes.io/name`, `app.kubernetes.io/instance`, and `app.kubernetes.io/version`. Uses `pattern` matching with `"?*"` to require non-empty string values. ```yaml apiVersion: kyverno.io/v1 kind: ClusterPolicy metadata: name: require-app-labels annotations: policies.kyverno.io/title: Require App Labels on Pods policies.kyverno.io/category: Operational Standards policies.kyverno.io/description: >- Enforces the use of app.kubernetes.io labels on all Pods to support service discovery and compliance tracking. spec: validationFailureAction: Enforce rules: - name: require-app-kubernetes-labels match: any: - resources: kinds: - Pod preconditions: all: - key: "{{ request.namespace }}" operator: NotIn value: - kube-system - kyverno - istio-system validate: message: "Labels app.kubernetes.io/name, app.kubernetes.io/instance, and app.kubernetes.io/version are required." pattern: metadata: labels: app.kubernetes.io/name: "?*" app.kubernetes.io/instance: "?*" app.kubernetes.io/version: "?*" ``` **PolicyReport Example for Label Validation:** ```yaml apiVersion: wgpolicyk8s.io/v1alpha2 kind: PolicyReport metadata: name: require-app-labels-report namespace: default results: - policy: require-app-labels rule: require-app-kubernetes-labels result: pass severity: medium message: "Resource passed policy check" scored: true source: kyverno timestamp: seconds: 1733501530 - policy: require-app-labels rule: require-app-kubernetes-labels result: fail severity: medium message: "Labels app.kubernetes.io/name, app.kubernetes.io/instance, and app.kubernetes.io/version are required." scored: true source: kyverno resources: - name: my-pod kind: Pod summary: error: 0 fail: 1 pass: 1 skip: 0 warn: 0 ``` ### Pattern 2: Kubecost Multi-Label Policy with CEL Validation Implement a comprehensive multi-label policy inspired by Kubecost's cost tracking requirements. This policy enforces five required labels (`owner`, `team`, `department`, `app`, `env`) with CEL-based regex validation on label values to ensure they follow naming conventions. ```yaml # ❌ BAD — No value format validation; accepts any non-empty value apiVersion: kyverno.io/v1 kind: ClusterPolicy metadata: name: bad-label-enforcement spec: rules: - name: require-cost-labels validate: message: "Required labels missing" pattern: metadata: labels: owner: "?*" team: "?*" # ✅ GOOD — Multi-label with CEL regex validation on values apiVersion: kyverno.io/v1 kind: ClusterPolicy metadata: name: require-cost-allocation-labels annotations: policies.kyverno.io/title: Require Cost Allocation Labels policies.kyverno.io/category: FinOps policies.kyverno.io/description: >- Enforces Kubecost-compatible cost allocation labels on all Pods with regex validation for naming conventions. spec: validationFailureAction: Enforce background: false rules: - name: enforce-cost-labels match: any: - resources: kinds: - Pod preconditions: all: - key: "{{ request.namespace }}" operator: NotIn value: - kube-system - kyverno validate: message: >- Required cost allocation labels (owner, team, department, app, env) must be present and follow the format: lowercase alphanumeric with hyphens. pattern: metadata: labels: owner: "?*" team: "?*" department: "?*" app: "?*" env: "?*" any: - rule: enforce-owner-format match: any: - resources: kinds: - Pod validate: message: "Label 'owner' must match format: lowercase alphanumeric with hyphens (e.g., 'john-doe', 'team-alpha')." deny: conditions: any: - key: "{{ request.object.metadata.labels.owner }}" operator: NotMatches value: "[a-z0-9][a-z0-9-]{0,62}" - rule: enforce-env-format match: any: - resources: kinds: - Pod validate: message: "Label 'env' must be one of: production, staging, development, testing." deny: conditions: any: - key: "{{ request.object.metadata.labels.env }}" operator: NotIn value: - production - staging - development - testing ``` ### Pattern 3: Namespace-Level Label Enforcement Enforce required labels on Namespaces to support resource governance and cost tracking at the namespace level. This pattern uses the `Namespace` kind in the match conditions and validates a separate set of governance labels. ```yaml apiVersion: kyverno.io/v1 kind: ClusterPolicy metadata: name: require-namespace-labels annotations: policies.kyverno.io/title: Require Namespace Labels policies.kyverno.io/category: Resource Governance policies.kyverno.io/description: >- Enforces governance labels on all Namespaces including owner, team, and compliance tags for resource attribution and audit trails. spec: validationFailureAction: Enforce rules: - name: require-governance-labels match: any: - resources: kinds: - Namespace preconditions: all: - key: "{{ request.namespace }}" operator: NotIn value: - kube-system - kube-public - kube-node-lease validate: message: "Namespaces require governance labels: owner, team, and compliance-tier." pattern: metadata: labels: owner: "?*" team: "?*" compliance-tier: "?*" ``` --- ## Constraints ### MUST DO - Use `"?*"` pattern value to validate non-empty label values — this rejects empty strings, null, and missing keys - Specify explicit label keys (e.g., `app.kubernetes.io/name`) rather than generic patterns - Validate label values with CEL `matches()` regex for format enforcement (e.g., `"[a-z0-9][a-z0-9-]{0,62}"`) - Exclude system namespaces (`kube-system`, `kube-public`, `kyverno`, `istio-system`) from enforcement to prevent cluster disruption - Pair with a mutation policy (`kyverno-mutate-patterns`) to auto-inject missing labels on create events - Use `validationFailureAction: Enforce` for blocking non-compliant resources, `Audit` for reporting-only mode during rollout ### MUST NOT DO - Require labels on `kube-system` or other core Kubernetes namespaces — this will break cluster operations - Enforce without specifying resource kinds — always list explicit `resources.kinds` in the match block - Omit validation for label value format — accepting any non-empty value allows inconsistent labels that break cost tracking - Use overly broad regex patterns that reject legitimate label values - Deploy label enforcement in Enforce mode without a mutation policy fallback — this creates a deployment blocker --- ## Related Skills | Skill | Purpose | |---|---| | `kyverno-mutate-patterns` | Auto-inject missing labels to complement enforcement | | `kyverno-resource-quota-validation` | Validate resource quotas alongside label requirements | --- ## Live References > Authoritative documentation links for Kyverno label enforcement. - [Kyverno Validation Rules](https://kyverno.io/docs/writing-policies/validate/) - [Kyverno CEL Support](https://kyverno.io/policies/kyverno/require-labels/require-labels/) - [Kyverno CLI](https://kyverno.io/docs/kyverno-cli/) - [Kyverno Policies](https://kyverno.io/policies/) - [Kyverno GitHub](https://github.com/kyverno/kyverno) - [Kyverno Installation](https://kyverno.io/docs/installation/) - [Policy Report Schema](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/wg-policy-prototypes/tree/master/policy-report)