Helm Release Naming Logic

The Composition Dynamic Controller (CDC) uses specific logic to determine the name of the Helm release it manages. This logic has evolved to ensure uniqueness and prevent collisions in multi-tenant environments.

Modern Naming (v0.20.0+)

By default, the CDC generates a release name using the following priority:

1. Explicit Annotation: If the krateo.io/release-name annotation is present on the Composition resource, its value is used directly.
2. Generated Name: Otherwise, the name is generated as:
   {composition.metadata.name}-{composition.metadata.uid[:8]}

Character Limits

Because Helm limits release names to 53 characters and Krateo appends a 9-character suffix (hyphen + 8-char UID), the metadata.name of your Composition must not exceed 44 characters.

---

Legacy Naming (Configurable)

In versions prior to v0.20.0, the UID suffix was not appended. You can revert to this behavior using the environment variable:
COMPOSITION_CONTROLLER_SAFE_RELEASE_NAME: "false"

SAFE_RELEASE_NAME	Suffix	Collision Risk	Max Name Length
true (Default)	Included	Negligible	44 Characters
false	Excluded	High	53 Characters

Collision Risk

Disabling "Safe Release Name" is highly discouraged. Without the UID suffix, creating Compositions with the same name in different namespaces will cause Helm naming collisions, leading to failed operations.

Summary Table

Source	Priority	Notes
krateo.io/release-name	1	Highest priority; bypasses automatic generation.
Composition Name	2	Default; combined with UID if "safe mode" is enabled.