vault-k8s is HashiCorp's Kubernetes integration that automatically injects Vault Agent containers into pods via a mutating admission webhook, enabling applications to seamlessly access HashiCorp Vault secrets without code changes by intercepting pod creation, reading annotations, and modifying pod specifications to include secret retrieval and rendering capabilities.
vault-k8s is HashiCorp's official Kubernetes integration that provides seamless secret management for containerized applications. It operates as a mutating admission webhook that automatically injects Vault Agent containers into Kubernetes pods, enabling applications to access HashiCorp Vault secrets without requiring code changes or direct Vault API knowledge.
The system works by intercepting pod creation events, examining pod annotations to determine secret requirements, and then modifying pod specifications to include Vault Agent init and sidecar containers that authenticate with Vault, retrieve secrets, and render them to shared volumes accessible by application containers.
This approach allows organizations to centralize secret management through Vault while maintaining the simplicity and security of Kubernetes deployments, supporting use cases like legacy application modernization, automated secret rotation, and compliance requirements across development and production environments.