About Lynq
Hey there! 👋 Let me tell you the story behind Lynq.
The Name
Lynq is pronounced just like "link" - you know, like a hyperlink. Simple, right?
The project was originally called "TenantOperator" - yeah, not the catchiest name, I know. I started building it because I had a specific problem: I needed to automatically provision full Kubernetes workloads in real-time whenever new tenants showed up in the database. Not sure how common that use case is, but it was absolutely critical for what I was building.
How It Evolved
Here's the thing - as I kept working on it, I realized this wasn't just about tenants anymore. What I was really building was a data-driven automation platform for Kubernetes. It could do so much more than just tenant management!
So I decided to rename it to something that better captures what it does: Lynq - because it links your data sources to your Kubernetes resources. Plus, it sounds way better than "TenantOperator", right?
The big rename happened in v1.1.9, and yes, it introduced breaking changes. But here's the thing - the project was only about two weeks old at that point, and I was literally the only person using it 😂 So no one got hurt in the process!
Going forward though, I promise to be more careful. Any breaking changes will be properly documented in MIGRATION.md or BREAKING_CHANGES.md files with clear upgrade paths.
Today, Lynq can connect to various data sources (starting with MySQL, PostgreSQL coming soon), and it's packed with policies and flexibility to handle most real-world scenarios I've encountered in production environments.
What You Can Build With It
I've collected some of my favorite use cases that show what Lynq can really do:
- Blue-Green Deployments: Zero-downtime deployments controlled by database flags
- Custom Domains: Give each node its own domain, automatically
- Database-per-Tenant: Provision isolated databases on the fly
- Feature Flags: Toggle features through database records
- Multi-Tier Stacks: Complex architectures, automatically provisioned
Check out the full Advanced Use Cases guide for more inspiration.
Pro Tip
Honestly? Pair Lynq with Crossplane, and you can manage pretty much any repeatable infrastructure in a data-driven way. It's been a game-changer for me.
What Makes It Special
🎯 Truly Data-Driven
I built Lynq to work directly with your existing data sources. No APIs, no webhooks needed - it just watches your database and keeps Kubernetes in sync. Simple as that.
🔧 Flexible Templates
You get the full power of Go templates plus Sprig functions. I've also added some custom helpers that I found myself needing over and over (like proper host extraction from URLs, SHA1 hashing for resource names, etc.).
📊 Smart Policies
This one took me a while to get right. You can control exactly how resources are created, updated, and deleted. Want something created once and never touched again? Done. Need to force-take ownership of a conflicting resource? You got it.
🔍 Observable by Default
I'm a big believer in observability. Every reconciliation, every error, every state change - it's all tracked. Prometheus metrics, detailed events, structured logs. Because when things go wrong at 2 AM, you'll thank me.
Getting Started
Ready to try it? Here's where to go:
- Installation: Get it running with Helm in 5 minutes
- Quick Start: Deploy your first automated node
- Architecture: Understand how it works under the hood
- API Reference: Deep dive into the CRDs
Community & Support
I'm actively maintaining this project, and I'd love to hear from you:
- GitHub: https://github.com/k8s-lynq/lynq
- Report Issues: GitHub Issues
- Contribute: CONTRIBUTING.md
Help Me Make It Better
I'm constantly thinking about better ways to visualize how Lynq works. I know some of the concepts might feel unfamiliar at first - database-driven Kubernetes automation isn't exactly mainstream (yet!). So I'm always brainstorming new diagrams, interactive tools, and visualizations to make things clearer.
Got an idea for a visualization that would help you understand something better? Maybe a diagram showing the reconciliation flow? An interactive template builder? Anything! Please open a GitHub Issue and share your thoughts. I'd genuinely love to hear what would make the learning curve smoother for you.
Work in Progress
I recently renamed everything from "Tenant" terminology to the new Lynq naming (Hub, Form, Node). There might still be some old "Tenant" references lurking in examples or comments that I missed.
If you spot any, please open an issue! I'll fix it right away.
License
Lynq is released under the Apache License 2.0. Free to use, free to modify, free to distribute.
⭐ If Lynq helps you, I'd really appreciate a star on GitHub!