I know you can use ConfigMap properties as environment variables in the pod spec, but can you use environment variables declared in the pods spec inside the configmap?
For example:
I have a secret password which I wish to access in my configmap application.properties. The secret looks like so:
apiVersion: v1
data:
pw: THV3OE9vcXVpYTll==
kind: Secret
metadata:
name: foo
namespace: foo-bar
type: Opaque
so inside the pod spec I reference the secret as an env var. The configMap will be mounted as a volume from within the spec:
env:
- name: PASSWORD
valueFrom:
secretKeyRef:
name: foo
key: pw
...
and inside my configMap I can then reference the secret value like so:
apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
name: application.properties
namespace: foo-bar
data:
application.properties: /
secret.password=$(PASSWORD)
Anything I've found online is just about consuming configMap values as env vars and doesn't mention consuming env vars in configMap values.
Currently it's not a Kubernetes Feature.
There is a closed issue requesting this feature and it's kind of controversial topic because the discussion is ongoing many months after being closed: Reference Secrets from ConfigMap #79224
Referencing the closing comment:
Best practice is to not use secret values in envvars, only as mounted files. if you want to keep all config values in a single object, you can place all the values in a secret object and reference them that way. Referencing secrets via configmaps is a non-goal... it confuses whether things mounting or injecting the config map are mounting confidential values.
I suggest you to read the entire thread to understand his reasons and maybe find another approach for your environment to get this variables.
"OK, but this is Real Life, I need to make this work"
Then I recommend you this workaround:
Import Data to Config Map from Kubernetes Secret
It makes the substitution with a shell in the entrypoint of the container.