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Kubernetes: Helm vs Crossplane vs kro (Honest Comparison)
48% of Kubernetes users struggle with tool choice. That's nearly half of us paralyzed by options. So when AWS adopted kro alongside Argo CD, we had to ask: is this the Goldilocks solution we've been waiting for?
In this episode, Jordan and Alex tackle the composition tool landscape with an honest decision framework. We dive deep into CEL expressions, resource graph mechanics, and GitOps integration. We also give Viktor Farcic's criticism a fair hearing, and explain exactly when kro makes sense - and when it doesn't.
News Segment:
• Shai-Hulud npm supply chain attack postmortem - 500+ packages, 25K repos
• Ingress-nginx retirement - March 2026, 3 months away
• Netflix Maestro 100x faster through full rewrite
Main Topics:
• The Goldilocks problem: Helm (too simple?), Crossplane (too complex?), kro (just right?)
• CEL expressions deep dive: syntax, operators, and functions
• Resource graph mechanics: topological sorting and dependency inference
• GitOps integration: how kro works with Argo CD and Flux
• Viktor Farcic's criticism and our honest response
• Migration paths and real-world use cases
Resources:
• Episode page: https://platformengineering.org/podcasts/00060-kro-goldilocks-kubernetes-composition
• kro GitHub: https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kro
• CNCF Blog: https://www.cncf.io/blog/2025/12/15/building-platforms-using-kro-for-composition/
• AWS EKS Capabilities: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/announcing-amazon-eks-capabilities-for-workload-orchestration-and-cloud-resource-management/
• InfoQ Analysis (Viktor Farcic): https://www.infoq.com/news/2025/02/kube-resource-orchestrator/
• Spectro Cloud 2024 Survey: https://www.spectrocloud.com/news/spectro-cloud-releases-2024-state-of-production-kubernetes
News Segment Links:
• Shai-Hulud npm Attack Postmortem: https://trigger.dev/blog/the-shai-hulud-2-0-attack-postmortem
• Ingress-nginx Retirement: https://github.com/kubernetes/ingress-nginx/issues/12094
• Netflix Maestro 100x Faster: https://netflixtechblog.com/maestro-netflixs-workflow-orchestrator-ee13a06f9c78
#kubernetes #platformengineering #kro #crossplane #helm #devops
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By vibesre48% of Kubernetes users struggle with tool choice. That's nearly half of us paralyzed by options. So when AWS adopted kro alongside Argo CD, we had to ask: is this the Goldilocks solution we've been waiting for?
In this episode, Jordan and Alex tackle the composition tool landscape with an honest decision framework. We dive deep into CEL expressions, resource graph mechanics, and GitOps integration. We also give Viktor Farcic's criticism a fair hearing, and explain exactly when kro makes sense - and when it doesn't.
News Segment:
• Shai-Hulud npm supply chain attack postmortem - 500+ packages, 25K repos
• Ingress-nginx retirement - March 2026, 3 months away
• Netflix Maestro 100x faster through full rewrite
Main Topics:
• The Goldilocks problem: Helm (too simple?), Crossplane (too complex?), kro (just right?)
• CEL expressions deep dive: syntax, operators, and functions
• Resource graph mechanics: topological sorting and dependency inference
• GitOps integration: how kro works with Argo CD and Flux
• Viktor Farcic's criticism and our honest response
• Migration paths and real-world use cases
Resources:
• Episode page: https://platformengineering.org/podcasts/00060-kro-goldilocks-kubernetes-composition
• kro GitHub: https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kro
• CNCF Blog: https://www.cncf.io/blog/2025/12/15/building-platforms-using-kro-for-composition/
• AWS EKS Capabilities: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/announcing-amazon-eks-capabilities-for-workload-orchestration-and-cloud-resource-management/
• InfoQ Analysis (Viktor Farcic): https://www.infoq.com/news/2025/02/kube-resource-orchestrator/
• Spectro Cloud 2024 Survey: https://www.spectrocloud.com/news/spectro-cloud-releases-2024-state-of-production-kubernetes
News Segment Links:
• Shai-Hulud npm Attack Postmortem: https://trigger.dev/blog/the-shai-hulud-2-0-attack-postmortem
• Ingress-nginx Retirement: https://github.com/kubernetes/ingress-nginx/issues/12094
• Netflix Maestro 100x Faster: https://netflixtechblog.com/maestro-netflixs-workflow-orchestrator-ee13a06f9c78
#kubernetes #platformengineering #kro #crossplane #helm #devops