Workflow Replace Placeholders Tokens

Automate the injection of environment-specific values into your Kubernetes YAML files by replacing tokens at build time. In this guide, you’ll configure a GitHub Actions workflow that:

Authenticates to your cluster using kubeconfig.
Dynamically fetches the ingress controller’s external IP.
Uses the cschleiden/replace-tokens action to swap placeholders in manifests with repository variables and environment variables.
Verifies the final YAML before applying it.

1. Kubernetes Manifests with Tokens

Your manifests include placeholders for namespace, replicas, container image, and ingress IP: Deployment (kubernetes/development/deployment.yaml):

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: solar-system
  namespace: {_NAMESPACE_}
  labels:
    app: solar-system
spec:
  replicas: {_REPLICAS_}
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: solar-system
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: solar-system
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: solar-system
          image: {_IMAGE_}
          imagePullPolicy: Always
          ports:
            - containerPort: 3000
              name: http

Service (kubernetes/development/service.yaml):

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: solar-system
  namespace: {_NAMESPACE_}
  labels:
    app: solar-system
spec:
  type: NodePort
  selector:
    app: solar-system
  ports:
    - port: 3000
      targetPort: 3000
      protocol: TCP

Ingress (kubernetes/development/ingress.yaml):

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: solar-system
  namespace: {_NAMESPACE_}
  annotations:
    kubernetes.io/tls-acme: "true"
spec:
  rules:
    - host: solar-system-{_NAMESPACE_}.{_INGRESS_IP_}.nip.io
      http:
        paths:
          - path: /
            pathType: Prefix
            backend:
              service:
                name: solar-system
                port:
                  number: 3000
  tls:
    - hosts:
        - solar-system-{_NAMESPACE_}.{_INGRESS_IP_}.nip.io
      secretName: solar-system

Before deploying, these tokens must be replaced with actual values.

2. Define Repository Variables

In GitHub, go to Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions → Variables and add the following:

Variable Name	Description	Example
`NAMESPACE`	Kubernetes namespace (e.g., dev, prod)	`development`
`REPLICAS`	Number of pod replicas	`2`
`DOCKERHUB_USERNAME`	Your Docker Hub username	`octocat`

The image shows a GitHub settings page where a new action variable is being created, with "NAMESPACE" as the name and "develop" as the value.

The image shows a GitHub repository settings page, specifically the "Secrets and variables" section under "Actions," displaying environment and repository variables.

Repository variables are exposed as ${{ vars.VARIABLE_NAME }} in workflows. Use secrets for sensitive data like credentials.

3. Select a Token Replacement Action

From the GitHub Marketplace, choose an action for token substitution. We recommend:

cschleiden/replace-tokens@v1
- Customizable tokenPrefix and tokenSuffix
- Supports multiple files

The image shows a GitHub Marketplace search results page for "replace tokens" under the Actions category, listing various actions available for automating token replacement in files.

4. Configure the GitHub Actions Workflow

Create or update .github/workflows/deploy.yaml:

name: Deploy to Development

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Set Kubernetes context
        uses: azure/k8s-set-context@v3
        with:
          method: kubeconfig
          kubeconfig: ${{ secrets.KUBECONFIG }}

      - name: Fetch cluster details
        run: |
          kubectl version --short
          kubectl get nodes

      - name: Save Nginx Ingress IP
        id: ingress
        run: |
          echo "INGRESS_IP=$(kubectl -n ingress-nginx get svc ingress-nginx-controller \
            -o jsonpath='{.status.loadBalancer.ingress[0].ip}')" >> $GITHUB_ENV

      - name: Replace tokens in manifests
        uses: cschleiden/replace-tokens@v1
        with:
          tokenPrefix: '{_'
          tokenSuffix: '_}'
          files: kubernetes/development/*.yaml
        env:
          NAMESPACE: ${{ vars.NAMESPACE }}
          REPLICAS: ${{ vars.REPLICAS }}
          IMAGE: ${{ vars.DOCKERHUB_USERNAME }}/solar-system:${{ github.sha }}
          INGRESS_IP: ${{ env.INGRESS_IP }}

      - name: Verify replaced manifests
        run: cat kubernetes/development/*.yaml

Key steps:

Save Nginx Ingress IP

echo "INGRESS_IP=$(kubectl -n ingress-nginx get svc ingress-nginx-controller \
  -o jsonpath='{.status.loadBalancer.ingress[0].ip}')" >> $GITHUB_ENV

Captures the external IP and exposes it as env.INGRESS_IP for later steps.

Replace tokens
Sets tokenPrefix and tokenSuffix to {_ and _}, then injects the variables into your YAML files.

The image shows a GitHub repository settings page, specifically the "Actions" section under "Secrets and variables," displaying a list of repository variables such as DOCKERHUB_USERNAME and MONGO_USERNAME.

5. Verify and Apply

After pushing to main, check the GitHub Actions dashboard for a successful run. The Replace tokens in manifests step will list updated files, and Verify replaced manifests will print the final YAML:

The image shows a GitHub Actions workflow summary for a project named "solar-system," indicating a successful run with completed jobs like unit testing, code coverage, containerization, and deployment.

Example of the replaced deployment.yaml:

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: solar-system
  namespace: development
  labels:
    app: solar-system
spec:
  replicas: 2
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: solar-system
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: solar-system
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: solar-system
          image: octocat/solar-system:<commit-sha>
          imagePullPolicy: Always
          ports:
            - containerPort: 3000
              name: http

References

Watch Video

Workflow Configuring Kubeconfig file

Workflow Create Secret and Deploy to Kubernetes Dev Environment

Introduction

GitHub Actions - Core Concepts

Continuous Integration with GitHub Actions

Continuous Deployment with GitHub Actions

Reusable Workflows and Reporting

Custom Actions

Self Hosted Runner

Security Guide

GitHub Actions in the Enterprise Cloud

Workflow Replace Placeholders Tokens

1. Kubernetes Manifests with Tokens

2. Define Repository Variables

3. Select a Token Replacement Action

4. Configure the GitHub Actions Workflow

5. Verify and Apply

References

Watch Video

​1. Kubernetes Manifests with Tokens

​2. Define Repository Variables

​3. Select a Token Replacement Action

​4. Configure the GitHub Actions Workflow

​5. Verify and Apply

​References

Watch Video

1. Kubernetes Manifests with Tokens

2. Define Repository Variables

3. Select a Token Replacement Action

4. Configure the GitHub Actions Workflow

5. Verify and Apply

References