Back
Interactive Explainer

ConfigMaps & Secrets Management

Kubernetes ConfigMaps store non-sensitive configuration; Secrets store sensitive data with base64 encoding and RBAC-controlled access.

🎯Key Takeaways
ConfigMap = non-sensitive config
Secret = sensitive data (base64, not encrypted by default)
Use External Secrets Operator for real secret management

ConfigMaps & Secrets Management

Kubernetes ConfigMaps store non-sensitive configuration; Secrets store sensitive data with base64 encoding and RBAC-controlled access.

~1 min read
Be the first to complete!
What you'll learn
  • ConfigMap = non-sensitive config
  • Secret = sensitive data (base64, not encrypted by default)
  • Use External Secrets Operator for real secret management

ConfigMaps vs Secrets

ConfigMap: non-sensitive key-value config (env vars, config files). Secret: sensitive data, base64-encoded (not encrypted by default). For real encryption, use etcd encryption at rest + External Secrets Operator (pulls from Vault, AWS Secrets Manager). Both can be mounted as volumes or injected as env vars.

Key takeaways

  • ConfigMap = non-sensitive config
  • Secret = sensitive data (base64, not encrypted by default)
  • Use External Secrets Operator for real secret management

Related concepts

Explore topics that connect to this one.

Suggested next

Often learned after this topic.

Kubernetes Autoscaling: HPA, VPA, Cluster Autoscaler, and Resource Management

Ready to see how this works in the cloud?

Switch to Career Paths for structured paths (e.g. Developer, DevOps) and provider-specific lessons.

View role-based paths

Sign in to track your progress and mark lessons complete.

Continue learning

Kubernetes Autoscaling: HPA, VPA, Cluster Autoscaler, and Resource Management

Discussion

Questions? Discuss in the community or start a thread below.

Join Discord

In-app Q&A

Sign in to start or join a thread.