Typed Operators

Orkestra operators are declarative by default — no Go required. Typed operators are the escape hatch for the cases that genuinely need code.

A typed operator references compiled Go types. Everything else — informers, workqueues, drift correction, status, metrics — works exactly as it does for a pure YAML operator.

When to use typed operators

Use a typed operator when your reconcile logic needs:

• External calls the external: block cannot express — the external: block handles HTTP calls declaratively (GET/POST, bearer tokens, response gating). Use hooks when you need non-HTTP protocols, SDK calls, database connections, or multi-step interactions that can’t be expressed as “call a URL and gate on the response”. If you need to provision a user inside PostgreSQL, call an AWS SDK, or run a gRPC call, that needs a hook.
• Complex computed fields — deriving values from multiple sources, running logic that template expressions cannot express
• A fully custom reconciler — integrating an existing operator’s logic without rewriting it

If your operator only creates Kubernetes resources and applies rules, stay declarative.

The patterns

→ Hooks — hybrid (recommended) — declare everything Orkestra handles well in the Katalog; write Go only for what templates cannot express. Orkestra runs declared templates first, then the hook.

→ Hooks — hooks only — the hook manages all child resources in Go. Use when type-safe control over every resource matters more than keeping declarations in YAML.

→ Constructor — replace the reconciler entirely. Your Go code owns the full reconcile loop; declared templates are not applied. Use when migrating an existing controller-runtime operator or running a custom state machine.

→ Mixing all three — a declarative operator, a hooks operator, and a constructor operator composed into one runtime from a single Komposer.

→ Migrating from controller-runtime — have a working controller-runtime operator? The from-controller-runtime pack shows the same operator expressed five ways, and ork migrate automates the constructor path.