Crossplane lets a platform team define an interface for requesting infrastructure, such as the resources an application needs from a cloud provider. Application teams submit that desired configuration through Kubernetes, and Crossplane works to create and maintain the matching external resources. It is useful for making repeated infrastructure requests consistent and controlled. The controller still needs carefully scoped provider credentials, because those Kubernetes requests can change real cloud infrastructure.
Chart ownership
The Crossplane project documents the crossplane chart from https://charts.crossplane.io/stable. The controller chart and the providers, functions and configurations it loads have separate versions and permissions. A successful controller installation does not establish that a provider is configured safely.
Before adoption
Restrict cloud credentials and decide which identities may create resources. Review deletion and orphaning behavior before importing existing infrastructure. Budget for reconciliation failures and provider API limits. Follow the project's one-minor-at-a-time upgrade guidance, and check provider compatibility at each step. Start with a disposable resource and demonstrate recovery from a failed reconciliation before managing production assets.
Use the installation guide and upgrade guide for the selected release.
Sources & further reading
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