| Variables |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes (typed, defaults) |
| Loops |
Yes (comprehensions) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes (native for) |
| Conditionals |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes (if, ternary) |
| Human readable |
Moderate (JSON superset) |
Yes (Python-like) |
Yes (modern syntax) |
Yes (HCL syntax) |
| Type system |
Strong (constraints) |
Strong (schema-centric) |
Strong (static) |
Basic (string, number, bool, enum) |
| Modules / Components |
Yes (packages) |
Yes (packages) |
Yes (classes, modules) |
Not yet (planned) |
| K8s-aware |
No (generic config) |
Yes (K8s schemas) |
Yes (K8s templates) |
Yes (deployment-centric) |
| Import existing manifests |
Yes (cue import) |
Yes (kcl import) |
Yes (convert module) |
Yes (kdef import) |
| Image registry |
No |
No |
No |
Yes (images {} block + image()) |
| Local env variables |
No |
No |
No |
Yes (env.HOME, "${env.VAR}") |
| Secret references |
No |
No |
No |
Yes (secret() function) |
| Sealed secrets |
No |
No |
No |
Yes (sealedsecret block + kdef seal) |
| Multi-container pods |
Manual (raw YAML) |
Manual (raw YAML) |
Manual (raw YAML) |
Yes (explicit container blocks) |
| Service/Ingress generation |
No (manual) |
No (manual) |
No (manual) |
Yes (nested service/ingress blocks) |
| Env overrides |
Manual |
Manual |
Manual |
Built-in (--env flag) |
| Ingress defaults |
No |
No |
No |
Yes (ingress_defaults) |
| Escape hatch |
N/A (you write everything) |
N/A |
N/A |
raw block (deep-merge) |
| Learning curve |
Steep |
Moderate |
Low |
Low |
| Philosophy |
General-purpose config constraint language |
General-purpose config language (CNCF) |
General-purpose config language (Apple) |
Purpose-built K8s deployment tool |
