Korrel8r comes with a comprehensive set of rules for correlating Kubernetes resources and observability signals. You can add your own rules to handle custom relationships – for example, correlating a custom resource with its logs or metrics.

Rule Basics

A rule defines a relationship between start classes and goal classes. It contains a template that takes a start object and generates a query for the goal class. Both types of rule use the same YAML metadata schema to describe start and goal classes.

If a template returns a blank string or raises an error, korrel8r skips the rule for that object.

Two Ways to Write Rules

Configuration Rules (YAML)

Configuration rules are YAML files loaded at runtime from the configuration. They use Go text/template syntax and can be added or changed without rebuilding korrel8r.

See the Configuration Rules Reference for the full syntax, template patterns, and examples.

Compiled Rules (Quicktemplate)

Compiled rules are quicktemplate functions compiled into the binary as Go code. They are faster and type-safe, but require rebuilding the executable.

See the Compiled Rules Reference for the full guide to writing, compiling, and testing compiled rules.