Conforma Knative Service

A Kubernetes-native, event-driven service that automatically triggers enterprise contract verification for application snapshots using Tekton bundles.

Overview

The Conforma Knative Service is a CloudEvents-based service that monitors for the creation of Snapshot resources and automatically triggers compliance verification workflows. It implements an event-driven architecture to bridge CloudEvents with Tekton pipelines, using bundle resolution to dynamically fetch verification tasks from container registries.

Architecture

Event-Driven Processing

• Listens for CloudEvents of type dev.knative.apiserver.resource.add
• Processes Snapshot resources from the appstudio.redhat.com/v1alpha1 API
• Automatically creates Tekton TaskRuns for compliance verification

Bundle Resolution

• Uses Tekton's bundle resolver to fetch tasks from quay.io/conforma/tekton-task:latest
• Eliminates the need for pre-installed tasks in the cluster
• Enables dynamic task updates without redeploying the service

Configuration Management

• ConfigMap-based configuration with caching and TTL
• Supports multiple namespaces with isolated configuration
• Configurable parameters for policy verification

Features

• Automated Compliance: Triggers verification workflows without manual intervention
• Multi-Namespace Support: Handles snapshots across different namespaces
• Configurable Policies: Supports custom policy configurations and public keys
• Cloud-Native: Stateless, horizontally scalable, and Kubernetes-native
• Bundle-Based: Dynamic task resolution from container registries

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• kind installed
• ko installed
• kn with quickstart plugin
• kubectl installed
• Docker daemon running

1. Setup Knative Cluster

make setup-knative

This creates a kind cluster named "knative" with Knative Eventing installed (Knative Serving is not required).

2. Deploy the Service

make deploy-local

This will automatically:

• Build the Go application locally using ko
• Load the image into the kind cluster (for kind) or use existing registry images (for other clusters)
• Deploy all Kubernetes resources to the conforma namespace
• Wait for pods to be ready
• Display the service URL

Expected Duration: ~1-2 minutes for kind clusters

Note: This deploys to the conforma namespace by default (configurable via NAMESPACE env var).

3. Test the Service

make test-local

This creates a sample Snapshot resource to verify the service is working correctly.

Configuration

The service reads configuration from a ConfigMap named taskrun-config in each namespace:

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: taskrun-config
  namespace: conforma
data:
  POLICY_CONFIGURATION: "github.com/conforma/config//slsa3"
  PUBLIC_KEY: |
    -----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
    MFkwEwYHKoZIzj0CAQYIKoZIzj0DAQcDQgAEZP/0htjhVt2y0ohjgtIIgICOtQtA
    naYJRuLprwIv6FDhZ5yFjYUEtsmoNcW7rx2KM6FOXGsCX3BNc7qhHELT+g==
    -----END PUBLIC KEY-----
  IGNORE_REKOR: "true"

Local Development

Smart Deployment

The make deploy-local target automatically detects your environment and chooses the optimal deployment strategy:

Kind Clusters (Default)

• Fast local deployment: Uses ko build --local + kind load docker-image
• No registry required: Images are loaded directly into the kind cluster
• Optimized for development: ~90 second deployment cycle

Other Clusters

• Registry-based deployment: Uses existing images from KO_DOCKER_REPO registry
• Production-like: Tests with the same images used in production

Flexible Deployment Modes

You can override the automatic detection using parameters:

# Default: Auto-detect environment (recommended)
make deploy-local

# Force registry mode (even on kind clusters)
make deploy-local DEPLOY_MODE=registry

# Force direct image loading (kind clusters only)
make deploy-local DEPLOY_MODE=auto

Use Cases for Registry Mode

Use DEPLOY_MODE=registry when you want to:

• Test with existing published images: Use pre-built images from registries
• Validate production images: Test the exact same images used in production
• Skip build time: Deploy quickly without building locally
• Test different versions: Easily switch between different image tags

Registry Mode Examples

# Use latest tag (automatically appended)
make deploy-local DEPLOY_MODE=registry KO_DOCKER_REPO=quay.io/conforma/knative-service

# Use specific version tag
make deploy-local DEPLOY_MODE=registry KO_DOCKER_REPO=quay.io/conforma/knative-service:v1.2.3

# Use development tag
make deploy-local DEPLOY_MODE=registry KO_DOCKER_REPO=quay.io/conforma/knative-service:main-abc123

# Use local registry
make deploy-local DEPLOY_MODE=registry KO_DOCKER_REPO=localhost:5000/myapp:dev

Note: Registry mode uses existing images from the specified registry - it does not build or push new images.

Development Workflow

1. Make code changes in cmd/trigger-vsa/
2. Redeploy: make deploy-local (automatically optimized for your environment)
3. Test: make test-local
4. View logs: make logs
5. Check status: make status

Performance Comparison

Method	Build Time	Deploy Time	Total Time	Use Case
make deploy-local (kind)	~30s	~60s	~90s	Development with local builds
make deploy-local DEPLOY_MODE=registry	0s	~30-60s	~30-60s	Testing with existing images
Legacy registry build	~60s	~2-5min	~3-6min	Building and pushing to registry

Namespace Usage

The deployment target uses the conforma namespace by default, which can be customized via the NAMESPACE environment variable:

Examples:

# Deploy to conforma namespace (default)
make deploy-local

# Deploy to custom namespace
make deploy-local NAMESPACE=my-dev

Make Targets

Cluster Setup

• make setup-knative - Install and configure kind cluster with Knative
• make check-knative - Verify Knative installation

Development

• make build - Build the service using ko
• make build-local - Build locally without pushing to registry
• make test - Run unit tests
• make quiet-test - Run tests without verbose output
• make test-coverage - Run tests with coverage report
• make lint - Run linter
• make fmt - Format code
• make tidy - Tidy go modules

Local Deployment

• make deploy-local - Smart deployment (auto-detects environment)
• make deploy-local DEPLOY_MODE=registry - Use existing images from registry (no build)
• make undeploy-local - Remove local deployment
• make logs - View service logs
• make test-local - Test with sample snapshot
• make status - Show deployment status

Convenience

• make help - Show all available targets with descriptions

Troubleshooting

Image Pull Errors

If you see errors like "Unable to fetch image":

• The image wasn't properly loaded into the kind cluster
• The image name doesn't match what's expected

Solution: Use make deploy-local which automatically handles image loading for kind clusters.

Build Failures

If ko build fails:

• Ensure Go modules are tidy: make tidy
• Check that Docker daemon is running
• Verify ko is properly installed: ko version

Pod Not Ready

If pods don't become ready:

• Check events: kubectl get events -n conforma --sort-by='.lastTimestamp'
• Check pod logs: kubectl logs -l app=conforma-knative-service -n conforma
• Verify Knative is installed: make check-knative

Deployment Mode Issues

If deploy-local hangs or fails when KO_DOCKER_REPO is set:

• Fixed: Direct mode now ignores KO_DOCKER_REPO and always builds locally
• Root cause: ko build --local was affected by registry environment variables
• Solution: Local builds now use KO_DOCKER_REPO=ko.local internally

Namespace Conflicts

The service deploys to the conforma namespace by default (or the value of NAMESPACE env var). Use make undeploy-local to clean up the deployment.

Usage

Once deployed, the service will automatically:

1. Monitor for Snapshot resource creation events
2. Read configuration from the snapshot's namespace
3. Create Tekton TaskRuns with the appropriate parameters
4. Execute enterprise contract verification using bundle resolution

Example Snapshot

apiVersion: appstudio.redhat.com/v1alpha1
kind: Snapshot
metadata:
  name: test-snapshot
  namespace: conforma
spec:
  application: application-sample
  displayName: test-snapshot
  displayDescription: my first snapshot
  components:
    - name: test-component
      containerImage: "quay.io/redhat-user-workloads/rhtap-contract-tenant/golden-container/golden-container@sha256:185f6c39e5544479863024565bb7e63c6f2f0547c3ab4ddf99ac9b5755075cc9"

Architecture Diagram

┌─────────────────┐    ┌──────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│   Kubernetes    │    │ Knative          │    │   Regular       │
│   API Server    │───▶│ Eventing         │───▶│   Kubernetes    │
│                 │    │ (ApiServerSource │    │   Service       │
│   (Snapshots)   │    │  + Trigger)      │    │   + Deployment  │
└─────────────────┘    └──────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
                              │                          │
                              ▼                          ▼
                       ┌──────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
                       │ CloudEvents      │    │   Tekton        │
                       │ HTTP Delivery    │    │   TaskRuns      │
                       │ (/events)        │    │                 │
                       └──────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘

Advanced Usage

Custom Registry Configuration

# Use existing image from custom registry (latest tag)
make deploy-local DEPLOY_MODE=registry KO_DOCKER_REPO=your-registry/conforma

# Use specific version from custom registry
make deploy-local DEPLOY_MODE=registry KO_DOCKER_REPO=your-registry/conforma:v1.2.3

# Use image from local registry
make deploy-local DEPLOY_MODE=registry KO_DOCKER_REPO=localhost:5000/conforma:dev

Manual Installation

Deploy using Kustomize and ko directly:

# Development (builds and pushes to registry)
kustomize build config/dev/ | ko apply -f -

# Using existing image (no build)
kustomize build config/dev/ | sed "s|ko://github.com/conforma/knative-service/cmd/trigger-vsa|your-registry/conforma:latest|g" | kubectl apply -f -

Running Locally (Outside Kubernetes)

go run cmd/trigger-vsa/main.go

Testing

Unit Tests

Run unit tests for the service:

make test              # Run tests with verbose output
make quiet-test        # Run tests without verbose output
make test-coverage     # Run tests with coverage report

Acceptance Tests

The project includes comprehensive acceptance tests using Godog/Cucumber for behavior-driven development. The acceptance tests verify end-to-end workflows including:

• Snapshot resource creation and event processing
• Tekton TaskRun creation and execution
• VSA (Verification Summary Attestation) generation and Rekor integration
• Multi-component snapshot handling
• Knative Eventing integration

Current Status: ✅ PRODUCTION READY - All 3 acceptance test scenarios are fully implemented with production-grade Kubernetes integrations.

Running Acceptance Tests

# Run all acceptance tests
make acceptance

# The tests will automatically:
# 1. Create a kind cluster with Knative installed
# 2. Deploy the service and dependencies
# 3. Execute all test scenarios
# 4. Clean up resources

Test Scenarios

The acceptance test suite includes:

1. Snapshot triggers TaskRun creation - Verifies the basic event-driven workflow
2. Multiple components in snapshot - Tests handling of multi-component snapshots
3. VSA creation in Rekor - Tests complete VSA workflow including:
   • Rekor transparency log deployment
   • Enterprise Contract Policy configuration
   • TaskRun execution and completion monitoring
   • VSA generation and Rekor upload
   • VSA content validation (SLSA format)
   • Signature verification with Rekor

For detailed information about the acceptance test framework, see the acceptance test README.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests for new functionality
5. Run make test and make lint
6. Run make acceptance to verify end-to-end workflows
7. Submit a pull request

Development Tips

• Use make deploy-local for all development (automatically optimized, deploys to conforma namespace)
• Use make deploy-local DEPLOY_MODE=registry to test with existing published images
• Use make help to see all available commands
• Setup and deploy: make setup-knative && make deploy-local for complete setup
• Run acceptance tests: make acceptance for comprehensive end-to-end testing
• The locally built image includes your latest code changes
• Kind cluster persists between sessions unless deleted
• Use make undeploy-local to clean up deployments

Container Images

The service is designed to be built and deployed using ko, which handles container image building and deployment directly from Go source code.

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.