Use a custom nginx.conf file

You can specify a custom nginx.conf file by creating a ConfigMap or Secret and mounting it inside your container that contains an nginx_kong.lua template.

The deployment.userDefinedVolumes field in values.yaml takes an array of objects that get appended as-is to the existing spec.template.spec.volumes array in the Kong Gateway deployment resource. The deployment.userDefinedVolumeMounts field is appended as-is to the existing spec.template.spec.containers[].volumeMounts and spec.template.spec.initContainers[].volumeMounts arrays.

The volumes to mount are provided under the deployment key in your Helm values.yaml file. The structure of the configuration matches the Kubernetes ConfigMapVolumeSource or SecretVolumeSource structure.

Create a ConfigMap

kubectl create configmap custom-template --from-file=nginx_kong.lua=./nginx_kong.lua -n kong

Mount the ConfigMap

gateway:
  deployment:
    userDefinedVolumes:
      - name: custom-template
        configMap:
          name: custom-template
          items:
            - key: "nginx_kong.lua"
              path: "nginx_kong.lua"
    userDefinedVolumeMounts:
      - name: custom-template
        subPath: "nginx_kong.lua"
        mountPath: "/usr/local/share/lua/5.1/kong/templates/nginx_kong.lua"
        readOnly: true

Validate your configuration

To ensure that your changes are working, you can cat the nginx file inside the container.

kubectl exec -n kong kong-gateway-POD_NAME -c proxy -- cat /usr/local/share/lua/5.1/kong/templates/nginx_kong.lua

The output should show the custom configuration file that you placed inside the ConfigMap.