Crossplane Compositions & XRDs Training

Design and build production-grade infrastructure APIs with this 3-day deep dive into Crossplane Compositions. Learn advanced XRD schema design, composition functions, patch transforms, and patterns for building flexible, reusable infrastructure abstractions.

Training Details


Duration	3 days (24 hours)
Level	Intermediate
Delivery	In-person, Live online, Hybrid
Certification	N/A

Who Is This For?

Platform engineers designing infrastructure APIs
Crossplane users building complex compositions
DevOps engineers creating self-service platforms
Teams standardizing infrastructure provisioning

Learning Outcomes

After completing this training, you’ll be able to:

Design robust XRD schemas with OpenAPI validation
Build complex Compositions with advanced patch types
Use Composition Functions for programmatic logic
Implement composition revision and update strategies
Test Compositions with automated validation
Build a library of reusable infrastructure APIs

Detailed Agenda

Day 1: Advanced XRD Design

Module 1: XRD Schema Design Patterns

OpenAPI v3 schema best practices
Required vs optional fields and defaults
Enum constraints and validation
Hands-on: Design XRDs for database, network, and application infrastructure

Module 2: Advanced Patch Transforms

String, math, and map transforms
Combine patches from multiple fields
Convert and format transforms
Hands-on: Build Compositions with complex patch logic

Module 3: Resource References and Dependencies

Cross-resource references and selectors
Connection details propagation
Resource ordering and dependencies
Hands-on: Compose multi-resource infrastructure with connection details

Day 2: Composition Functions

Module 4: Introduction to Composition Functions

Why functions — limitations of patch-and-transform
Function pipeline architecture
Built-in functions (patch-and-transform, go-templating, auto-ready)
Hands-on: Convert patch-based Compositions to function pipelines

Module 5: Go Templating Function

Go template syntax for resource rendering
Conditional resource creation
Looping and dynamic resource generation
Hands-on: Build dynamic Compositions with go-templating

Module 6: Custom Composition Functions

Function SDK and development workflow
Writing functions in Go or Python
Testing and packaging functions
Hands-on: Develop a custom Composition Function

Day 3: Production Patterns

Module 7: Composition Revisions and Updates

Revision policies and update strategies
Breaking vs non-breaking changes
Migration patterns for existing resources
Hands-on: Implement safe Composition updates

Module 8: Testing and Validation

Unit testing Compositions with crossplane-cli render
Integration testing with real providers
Policy validation with Kyverno or OPA
Hands-on: Build a CI pipeline for Composition testing

Module 9: Composition Library Design

Organizing Compositions in packages
Configuration packages for distribution
Versioning and dependency management
Hands-on: Build and publish a Composition library

Prerequisites

Crossplane Fundamentals or equivalent experience
Strong Kubernetes knowledge (CRDs, controllers, RBAC)
Basic programming experience (Go or Python helpful for functions)

Delivery Formats

Format	Description
In-Person	On-site at your company’s location, hands-on with direct interaction
Live Online	Interactive virtual sessions with screen sharing and real-time labs
Hybrid	Combination of on-site and remote sessions, flexible scheduling

All formats include hands-on labs, course materials, and post-training support.