Running Patterns from the Registry

The Orkestra registry is a collection of published operator patterns — each one a complete, tested, ready-to-run katalog. You do not need to write any YAML to run a published pattern.

ork run postgres:v1.0.0 --dev --apply-cr

That command pulls the pattern, creates a local cluster, applies the example CRD and CR, and starts the runtime. The postgres operator is running and reconciling within about two minutes on a cold machine.

Before you run — inspect first

ork inspect reads the registry manifest without downloading any files. Use it to check quality signals before committing to a pull.

ork inspect postgres:v1.0.0

postgres:v1.0.0
  Registry:    ghcr.io
  Kind:        Katalog
  Digest:      sha256:3b070e8b...
  Pushed:      2026-06-13T05:50:33Z
  Size:        2.5 KB

  Description: A declarative PostgreSQL deployment pattern...
  Simulate:    ✓ Verified · 6 assertions · 862ms · tested 20d ago
  E2E:         ✓ Verified · 5 assertions · 2m21s · tested 20d ago

  Files:
    katalog.yaml   1.5 KB
    crd.yaml       808 B
    cr.yaml        160 B
    e2e.yaml       1.2 KB
    simulate.yaml  723 B

Simulate: ✓ Verified and E2E: ✓ Verified mean the author ran both gates before publishing. You are pulling a pattern that is known to work.

Preview the files before pulling

Read individual files directly from the registry — no download required:

ork inspect postgres:v1.0.0 --view crd.yaml,cr.yaml

This prints the raw file contents from the OCI artifact. Useful for checking what fields the CR expects before applying it.

Pull to cache

ork pull postgres:v1.0.0

Downloads the pattern to ~/.orkestra/registry/.../postgres/v1.0.0/. Subsequent ork run, ork simulate, and ork e2e calls are served from disk — no repeated network call.

Pulling postgres:v1.0.0
  → oci://ghcr.io/orkspace/orkestra-registry/patterns/katalogs/postgres:v1.0.0
  ✓ Cached at ~/.orkestra/registry/ghcr.io/.../postgres/v1.0.0

Run

ork run accepts the same short reference. If the pattern is not cached it pulls first.

Bring your own CR:

ork run postgres:v1.0.0 --dev

Creates a local kind cluster (if needed), starts the postgres runtime. Apply your own CR when ready:

kubectl apply -f ~/.orkestra/registry/ghcr.io/.../postgres/v1.0.0/cr.yaml

Full batteries-included:

ork run postgres:v1.0.0 --dev --apply-cr

Applies crd.yaml, waits for the CRD to establish, applies cr.yaml, then starts the runtime. The operator has a CR waiting on its first reconcile cycle.

Run via komposer:

If the pattern ships a komposer.yaml (multi-operator composition), use --use-komposer:

ork run postgres:v1.0.0 --dev --use-komposer

Using your own registry

export ORK_REGISTRY=ghcr.io/myorg/katalogs
ork inspect my-operator:v2.0.0
ork run my-operator:v2.0.0 --dev --apply-cr

ORK_REGISTRY sets the default registry for all shorthand references. Full OCI refs (oci://ghcr.io/...) are used as-is regardless of the env var.

Run the E2E test

Every published pattern includes an e2e.yaml. Run it to verify the operator end-to-end against a real cluster:

ork pull postgres:v1.0.0 -o ./postgres-local
cd ./postgres-local
ork e2e

ork e2e creates a cluster, installs the operator, applies the CR, runs all expect checkpoints, and cleans up. The same test the author ran before publishing.

Summary

Related

• ork inspect — full flag reference
• ork pull — full flag reference
• ork run — full flag reference
• Publishing a Pattern
• Consuming Patterns