What is Chat Operations or ChatOps?

ChatOps is a term that describes the practice of using chat tools and bots to automate tasks and workflows in software development and operations. ChatOps enables teams to collaborate more effectively, share knowledge, and increase transparency and accountability. It can also help teams adopt a DevOps culture of continuous improvement and feedback.

One example of a chat tool that supports ChatOps is Botkube, which integrates with Kubernetes and allows users to monitor, debug, and manage their clusters from chat platforms like Slack or Mattermost. Botkube's Product Lead, Blair Rampling, wrote an article on TheNewStack that explains more about ChatOps and how Botkube can help teams leverage it.

What Activities in K8s can be Automated with ChatOps?

One domain that has a lot of potential for ChatOps automation is Kubernetes. Kubernetes is an open-source system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. Kubernetes allows users to run applications across multiple servers without worrying about the underlying infrastructure. However, Kubernetes also involves a lot of complex tasks that require a lot of commands and configurations.

Some examples of activities related to Kubernetes that can be automated are:

Cluster Creation

Instead of manually setting up a cluster of servers to run Kubernetes applications, automation tools can create clusters automatically using cloud services or local machines. This can save time and resources and ensure consistency and security of the cluster environment.

Application Deployment

Instead of manually deploying applications to a Kubernetes cluster using command-line interface (CLI) commands or configuration files (YAML), automation tools can deploy applications automatically using graphical user interface (GUI) tools or declarative methods. This can simplify the deployment process and reduce human errors and failures.

Application Scaling

Instead of manually scaling applications up or down based on demand or performance metrics using CLI commands or configuration files (YAML), automation tools can scale applications automatically using horizontal pod autoscaler (HPA) or vertical pod autoscaler (VPA). This can optimize the resource utilization and availability of the applications.

Appplication Monitoring

Instead of manually monitoring applications for health status, performance metrics, logs, events, etc., using CLI commands or configuration files (YAML), automation tools can monitor applications automatically using dashboard tools or alerting systems. This can improve the visibility and troubleshooting of the applications.

One way to make Kubernetes activities easier to automate is to use tools that allow users to create aliases or short phrases to reference long CLI commands. Maria put together a tutorial covering how set up aliases using a ChatOps automation tool like Botkube.