Contexts¶

Contexts represent a group of configuration details specific to a deployment environment in a Windsor project. Each context has its own directory at contexts/<context-name>/ containing configuration files, credentials, and generated artifacts.

Context Structure¶

A typical context folder is structured as follows:

contexts/
└── local/
    ├── .aws/
    │   └── config
    ├── .kube/
    │   └── config
    ├── .talos/
    │   └── config
    ├── .terraform/
    │   └── ...
    ├── .tf_state/
    │   └── ...
    ├── terraform/
    │   ├── cluster/
    │   │   └── talos.tfvars
    │   └── gitops/
    │       └── flux.tfvars
    ├── blueprint.yaml
    └── values.yaml

Configuration Files¶

windsor.yaml¶

The windsor.yaml file (or windsor.yml) contains static configuration that matches the v1alpha1.Context schema. This includes settings like cluster configuration, Docker registries, network settings, and other structured configuration options.

Located at: - contexts/<context-name>/windsor.yaml (context-specific) - windsor.yaml (project root, with context-specific sections)

See Configuration Reference for details.

values.yaml¶

The values.yaml file is used for dynamic configuration values that don't match the static schema. This is particularly useful for:

Custom configuration values used by Features in blueprints
Values that will be evaluated by expressions in Features
Configuration that varies significantly between contexts

Located at: contexts/<context-name>/values.yaml

The values.yaml file is: - Automatically loaded and merged with the context configuration - Validated against the blueprint's JSON Schema (if provided) - Available to Features for conditional logic and input evaluation - Merged with schema defaults to provide complete configuration values

Example values.yaml:

observability:
  enabled: true
  backend: quickwit
  backend_url: https://quickwit.example.com
custom_settings:
  feature_flag: true
  api_endpoint: https://api.example.com

blueprint.yaml¶

The blueprint.yaml file outlines references and configuration specific to the context. See Blueprint Reference for details.

Located at: contexts/<context-name>/blueprint.yaml

Directory Structure¶

`.aws/`¶

Contains the AWS config file for authenticating with the context's AWS API.

`.kube/`¶

Contains the kubectl config file used for authenticating with the context's Kubernetes API.

`.talos/`¶

Contains the talosctl config file for authenticating with the context's Talos API endpoint.

`.terraform/`¶

Contains files typically used by the Terraform CLI such as modules and providers. Additionally, the TF_DATA_DIR resides here, along with terraform plans and state metadata files.

`.tf_state/`¶

Used as the local file Terraform backend state. This is the default state until a proper remote state has been configured, or while working in a local development environment.

`terraform/`¶

Contains terraform variables as .tfvars files. These are automatically passed to corresponding terraform projects deployed in the current context. These are explicitly referenced in the blueprint.yaml file. See the Terraform Guide for more details.

Context Management¶

Creating Contexts¶

Create new contexts by running:

windsor init <context-name>

This creates: - A new folder at contexts/<context-name>/ - A basic blueprint.yaml file - Adds a new entry to your project's windsor.yaml file at contexts.<context-name>

Note: Contexts named local or that begin with local- assume that you will be running a local cloud virtualization, setting defaults accordingly.

Switching Contexts¶

Switch contexts by running:

windsor context set <context-name>

View the current context:

windsor context get

The current context is also available via the WINDSOR_CONTEXT environment variable.