CEL-YAML Templating Specification (v1.0)

1. Core Principles

1. Directives are Reserved: All keys starting with $ are engine instructions. All other keys are treated as data.
2. Top-Down Evaluation: The engine traverses the YAML tree from root to leaves.
3. Scoped Environments: Variables are stored in a stack. Child nodes inherit the parent's environment.
4. ${{ }} is Runtime-Only: The ${{ }} interpolation syntax in regular data values is never processed by the compile engine — it passes through untouched for runtime expression resolution.
5. Explicit Compile-Time Evaluation: Use the $eval directive to explicitly evaluate ${{ }} expressions at compile time.
6. Order of Operations: In any YAML Mapping (object), directives are processed in strict priority order:
   1. $let (Context Expansion)
   2. $assert (Validation)
   3. $if (Conditional Logic)
   4. $for (Iteration)
   5. $eval (Compile-Time Evaluation)
   6. $key/$value (Dynamic Key-Value Pairs)
   7. $include (Composition)
   8. Regular Keys (Data Passthrough)

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2. Compile-Time Evaluation ($eval)

The $eval directive explicitly marks a value for compile-time CEL evaluation. It uses the same ${{ }} syntax as runtime expressions, but wrapped in $eval to opt-in to compile-time resolution.

# Compile-time evaluation (explicit):
endpoint:
  $eval: "${{ base_url }}/users"

# Runtime expression (passes through untouched):
handler: "${{ request.path }}"

• Exact match: When the entire $eval string is a single ${{ expr }}, the result preserves the expression's type (number, boolean, etc.).
• Mixed string: When ${{ }} appears alongside literal text, all interpolations are stringified and concatenated.

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3. Directives Reference

3.1. Context Definition ($let)

Defines variables scoped to the current object (siblings) and all descendants.

• Syntax: Map of variable_name: cel_expression.
• Behavior: Evaluated before any other key in the same map.
• Scope: Variables defined here shadow global/parent variables of the same name.
• Values: Can be bare CEL expressions, quoted strings, or $eval objects.

server:
  $let:
    cpu_request: "'250m'"
    is_prod: "env == 'production'"
    full_name:
      $eval: "${{ svc.name }}-${{ region }}"

  resources:
    limits:
      cpu:
        $eval: "${{ cpu_request }}"

  metadata:
    annotations:
      production:
        $eval: "${{ is_prod }}"

3.2. Conditionals ($if / $then / $else)

Conditionally includes or excludes a block.

• Syntax:
  • $if: CEL expression (must evaluate to Boolean).
  • $then: Object/Value to render if true.
  • $else: (Optional) Object/Value to render if false.
• Behavior: The result of the block replaces the parent key's value.

database:
  $if: "enable_persistence"
  $then:
    type: "postgres"
    storage: "100gi"
  $else:
    type: "sqlite"
    storage: "0"

3.3. Iteration ($for / $do)

Generates lists or maps by iterating over a collection.

• Syntax:
  • $for: String iterator format.
    • List: "item in list"
    • Map: "key, val in map"
  • $do: The template body to render for each iteration.
• Behavior:
  • If used in a List, the results are appended/flattened into the parent list.
  • If used in a Map, the results are merged into the parent map.

# List Generation
ingress:
  - $for: "host in hosts"
    $do:
      name:
        $eval: "${{ host }}"
      url:
        $eval: "https://${{ host }}.example.com"

3.4. Dynamic Key-Value Pairs ($key / $value)

Used within $for/$do for object-mode iteration when keys need to be computed at compile time.

# Map Key Generation
labels:
  $for: "k, v in extra_tags"
  $do:
    $key:
      $eval: "custom-${{ k }}"
    $value:
      $eval: "${{ v }}"

3.5. Modularity ($include / $with)

Loads and renders an external YAML file.

• Syntax:
  • $include: File path string.
  • $with: (Optional) Map of variables to inject into the included file's root scope.
• Behavior: The rendered result of the external file replaces the current node.

service:
  $include: "./templates/microservice.yaml"
  $with:
    name: "user-auth"
    port: 8080

3.6. Validation ($assert)

Stops processing and returns an error if a condition is not met.

• Syntax:
  • $assert: CEL expression (must evaluate to Boolean).
  • $msg: (Optional) Error string.

$assert: "replicas <= 10"
$msg: "You cannot request more than 10 replicas."

3.7. Schema Definition ($schema)

Validates the structure and types of data inherited from the parent scope.

• Syntax: JSON Schema format where object schemas define keys as properties.
• Scope: Validates data from parent scope that flows into the current object and its descendants.

$schema:
  env:
    type: string
  region:
    type: string

metadata:
  environment:
    $eval: "${{ env }}"

• Properties:
  • type: Primitive types (string, number, integer, boolean, array, object).
  • items: For arrays, specifies the element schema.
  • properties: For objects, defines keyed sub-schemas.
  • pattern: Regex validation for string types.
  • enum: Allowed values.
  • minimum, maximum: Numeric bounds.

---

4. Full Example: "The Kitchen Sink"

Input Context:

{
  "env": "prod",
  "region": "us-east-1",
  "services": [
    { "name": "cart", "ha": true },
    { "name": "catalog", "ha": false }
  ]
}

Template:

$let:
  domain: "'acme.com'"
  default_tags:
    $eval: "${{ { owner: 'platform', team: 'sre' } }}"

apiVersion: v1
kind: List
items:
  - $for: "svc in services"
    $do:
      $let:
        full_name: "svc.name + '-' + region"
        is_ha: "svc.ha && env == 'prod'"

      kind: Service
      metadata:
        name:
          $eval: "${{ full_name }}"
        labels:
          $for: "k, v in default_tags"
          $do:
            $key:
              $eval: "${{ k }}"
            $value:
              $eval: "${{ v }}"

      $if: "is_ha"
      $then:
        type: LoadBalancer
        replicas: 3
      $else:
        type: ClusterIP
        replicas: 1

      ports:
        - port: 80
          targetPort: 8080

  - $include: "common/monitoring-agent.yaml"
    $with:
      cluster_domain:
        $eval: "${{ domain }}"