Portefaix Documentation
Portefaix is a complete, open-source platform engineering toolkit for building production-grade Kubernetes platforms on any cloud. These docs are organised following the Diátaxis framework — four distinct documentation types, each serving a different reader need.
learning · practice
Tutorials
Step-by-step lessons that take you from zero to a running platform. Follow along to build understanding through doing.
- Your First Cluster — Bootstrap a complete Portefaix platform from scratch on your chosen cloud.
application · practice
How-to Guides
Goal-oriented recipes for specific tasks. Assumes you know the basics — these guides get you to a result efficiently.
- Deploy on GCP — Provision GKE + Workload Identity + Portefaix stacks.
- Deploy on AWS — Provision EKS + Pod Identity + Portefaix stacks.
- Deploy on Azure — Provision AKS + Workload Identity + Portefaix stacks.
- Deploy on Scaleway — Provision Kapsule + Spacelift + Portefaix stacks.
- Bootstrap ArgoCD — Install and configure ArgoCD as the GitOps engine.
application · theory
Reference
Technical descriptions of the machinery: APIs, components, policies, and chart catalogue. Consult when you need facts.
- Components — Complete inventory of every platform component and its role.
- Helm Charts Hub — Curated Helm charts optimised for Portefaix.
- Policies — Kyverno + OPA/CEL policy catalogue with policy codes.
learning · theory
Explanation
Background, rationale, and architectural thinking. Read these to understand *why* Portefaix is designed the way it is.
- GitOps Principles — The four OpenGitOps principles and how Portefaix applies them.
- Platform Architecture — How the sub-projects fit together and the reasoning behind each layer.
Platform Sub-projects
| Sub-project | Description | Repository |
|---|---|---|
| portefaix-kubernetes | Production Kubernetes configurations: operators, GitOps, observability. | GitHub ↗ |
| portefaix-infrastructure | Terraform modules for cloud infrastructure across AWS, GCP, Azure, and more. | GitHub ↗ |
| portefaix-hub | Curated Helm charts optimised for the Portefaix platform. | GitHub ↗ |
| portefaix-policies | OPA/Rego and Kyverno policies for security, compliance, and governance. | GitHub ↗ |
FluxCD is deprecated as of Portefaix v2.0.0. ArgoCD is the recommended GitOps engine. The FluxCD guide is preserved at docs/guides/fluxcd.