Patternizer

Patternizer Skill

When to Use

• Initializing a new Validated Pattern from a Git repository with Helm charts
• Upgrading an existing Validated Pattern to the latest common structure
• Understanding the generated scaffolding files (values-global.yaml, pattern.sh, Makefile)
• Configuring secrets management for Validated Patterns
• Working with the pattern.sh utility script
• Troubleshooting pattern initialization or upgrade issues

Instructions

• Read references/REFERENCE.md when you need the Patternizer CLI reference, container image details, or upstream links
• Read references/README.md for the full upstream README including generated file descriptions and contributing workflow
• Patternizer runs as a container via Podman or Docker — no local Go installation required

Gotchas

• patternizer init overwrites existing files without warning — always run in a clean directory or commit first
• The generated Makefile includes common/Makefile from the VP framework — this include must exist or make will fail silently
• values-secret.yaml.template is the template; values-secret.yaml with real credentials must NEVER be committed to git
• Container images referenced in Helm charts must be accessible from the target OpenShift cluster — air-gapped clusters need mirrored images
• After patternizer init, run make immediately to verify the scaffolding is valid before making any changes
• deploy.sh and teardown.sh are safe to commit — they contain no secrets
• The deploy.sh pre-check for values-secret.yaml is a vp-deploy-test submission-blocking requirement — a pattern that deploys without this check fails the non-interactive install test

Quick Start

# Navigate to your repository with Helm charts
cd my-pattern-repo

# Initialize as a Validated Pattern
podman run --pull=newer -v "$PWD:$PWD:z" -w "$PWD" \
  quay.io/validatedpatterns/patternizer init

# Initialize with secrets management
podman run --pull=newer -v "$PWD:$PWD:z" -w "$PWD" \
  quay.io/validatedpatterns/patternizer init --with-secrets

Key Commands

# Initialize a new pattern (no secrets)
patternizer init

# Initialize with secrets support (adds Vault + External Secrets Operator)
patternizer init --with-secrets

# Upgrade existing pattern to latest common structure
patternizer upgrade

# Upgrade and replace Makefile
patternizer upgrade --replace-makefile

All commands are typically run via the container image:

podman run --pull=newer -v "$PWD:$PWD:z" -w "$PWD" \
  quay.io/validatedpatterns/patternizer <command>

Independent Deployment Scripts

Every Validated Pattern project should have standalone shell scripts that wrap pattern.sh commands. These scripts live in the pattern repo root, are committed to git (they contain no secrets), and serve as the single entry point for deploying and tearing down the pattern.

When activating this section

Before generating any script, check whether one already exists:

ls deploy.sh teardown.sh

If the scripts exist, use them instead of raw pattern.sh commands. If they do not exist, generate them from the templates below.

After generating:

chmod +x deploy.sh teardown.sh
git add deploy.sh teardown.sh
git commit -m "feat: add independent deploy and teardown scripts"

deploy.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# deploy.sh — generated by patternizer skill
set -euo pipefail

PATTERN_ROOT="${PATTERN_ROOT:-$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)}"
cd "$PATTERN_ROOT"

if [ ! -f values-secret.yaml ]; then
  echo "ERROR: values-secret.yaml not found."
  echo "Copy values-secret.yaml.template, populate it, and place it in the pattern root."
  echo "Do NOT commit values-secret.yaml to git."
  exit 1
fi

echo "==> Installing Validated Pattern ..."
./pattern.sh make install
echo "==> Install complete. Run vp-deploy-validator to confirm ArgoCD convergence."

teardown.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# teardown.sh — generated by patternizer skill
set -euo pipefail

PATTERN_ROOT="${PATTERN_ROOT:-$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)}"
cd "$PATTERN_ROOT"

read -rp "This will uninstall the pattern and remove all ArgoCD Applications. Continue? [y/N] " confirm
[[ "$confirm" =~ ^[Yy]$ ]] || exit 0

echo "==> Uninstalling Validated Pattern ..."
./pattern.sh make uninstall
echo "==> Uninstall complete."

Generated Files

Running patternizer init creates:

With --with-secrets, additionally:

• values-secret.yaml.template — template for defining secrets
• Updates values-global.yaml to enable secret loading

Workflow

# 1. Clone or create your pattern repo
git clone https://github.com/your-org/your-pattern.git
cd your-pattern && git checkout -b initialize-pattern

# 2. Initialize with Patternizer
podman run --pull=newer -v "$PWD:$PWD:z" -w "$PWD" \
  quay.io/validatedpatterns/patternizer init

# 3. Review and commit
git add . && git commit -m 'initialize pattern using patternizer'
git push -u origin initialize-pattern

# 4. Install the pattern on OpenShift
export KUBECONFIG=/path/to/cluster/kubeconfig
./pattern.sh make install

Best Practices

• Use the container image rather than building from source
• See Validated Patterns documentation for pattern design guidance