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A Stack Profile is a reusable template captured from a real stack. Build a stack once, save it as a profile, and instantiate it on any cluster - with parameters filled in per environment. Profiles are versioned, so you can publish updates, diff versions, and see which deployments have drifted behind the latest.
A profile is a template, not a running deployment. Instantiating a profile produces a stack draft on a target cluster, which you then review and commit like any other stack change.

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Why use profiles

  • Standardise a golden stack (monitoring, ingress, security baseline) and reuse it across clusters.
  • Parameterise the bits that differ per environment - domains, replica counts, sizes - instead of copy-pasting YAML.
  • Version changes with a changelog and channels, and diff any two versions.
  • Track drift: a profile shows how many instantiations are behind its latest version.

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Anatomy of a profile

ConceptDescription
VersionAn immutable snapshot of the stack spec. Versions increment as you publish updates and carry a channel (e.g. stable) and an optional changelog.
ParametersTyped inputs callers fill in at instantiation. Each parameter has a type (string, number, boolean, enum, or secret), and may be required, have a default, an enum list, or a validation pattern.
Visibilityorganisation (default) keeps the profile private to your org; public shares it more widely.
Category & tagsMetadata for organising and searching profiles.
DraftsAn editable working copy used to build or edit a profile before publishing a version.
Secret-typed parameters and other sensitive values are redacted when a profile is captured, so credentials are never baked into a shared template.

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Create a profile

You can create a profile two ways:

From an existing stack

Capture a profile directly from a stack already running on a cluster. Optionally include addon configurations. This is the fastest path - build and validate the stack first, then snapshot it.

Import

Import a profile from exported IaC content, for sharing across organisations or storing in Git.
# Capture from a cluster's stack
POST /org/stack-profiles
{ "name": "platform-baseline", "source_cluster_id": "...", "stack_name": "platform", "include_addon_configurations": true }

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Build with drafts

For more control, work in a draft: create a draft (optionally seeded from a cluster’s stack), edit its spec and parameters, validate it, then publish it as a new version.
1

Create a draft

POST /org/stack-profiles/drafts - optionally seeded from an existing profile or a source cluster stack.
2

Edit and validate

Update the draft’s spec and parameters, then POST /org/stack-profiles/drafts/{draft_id}/validate to surface any issues before publishing.
3

Publish a version

POST /org/stack-profiles/drafts/{draft_id}/publish with a channel and changelog. This creates the profile (or a new version of it).

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Instantiate a profile

Instantiating turns a profile into a stack on a target cluster:
1

Choose a profile and version

Pick the profile and, optionally, a specific version (defaults to latest).
2

Bind parameters

Supply values for the profile’s parameters. Required parameters must be set; others fall back to their defaults.
3

Review the draft

Instantiation creates a stack draft on the cluster (with the resolved addons and manifests). Review it.
4

Commit

Commit the draft to deploy, exactly like any other stack change.

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From the CLI

The Ankra CLI can instantiate a profile directly. Inspect a profile’s parameters first, then apply it to a cluster as a draft (or pass --deploy to deploy in one step): 
# See the profile's versions and parameters
ankra stack-profiles get <profile-id>

# Create a draft on a cluster, binding parameters
ankra stack-profiles apply <profile-id> --cluster production \
  --set replicas=3 \
  --set-env api_token=MONITORING_API_TOKEN

# Or apply a specific version and deploy immediately
ankra stack-profiles apply <profile-id> --cluster production --version 3 --deploy
For secret parameters use --set-file <name=path> or --set-env <name=ENV_VAR> rather than --set so the value never appears in your shell history or process list.

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Versioning, diffing, and updates

  • Save a new version from an updated source stack, or by publishing an edited draft.
  • Diff any two versions to see what changed: GET /org/stack-profiles/{profile_id}/diff?from_version=1&to_version=2.
  • Update tracking: a profile reports outdated_instantiation_count and has_update_available so you can find deployments that are behind and re-instantiate them on the newer version.
  • Export IaC for a version to store the template in Git or move it between organisations.

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API

All endpoints are under /org/stack-profiles and require authentication; write operations require a CSRF header for browser-originated requests.
MethodPathPurpose
GET/org/stack-profilesList profiles (paginated)
POST/org/stack-profilesCreate a profile from a cluster’s stack
POST/org/stack-profiles/importImport a profile from IaC content
GET/org/stack-profiles/{profile_id}Profile detail, versions, and update status
PATCH/org/stack-profiles/{profile_id}Update metadata (name, description, tags, visibility)
DELETE/org/stack-profiles/{profile_id}Delete a profile
POST/org/stack-profiles/{profile_id}/versionsSave a new version from a source stack
GET/org/stack-profiles/{profile_id}/versions/{version}Get a version’s spec and parameters
GET/org/stack-profiles/{profile_id}/versions/{version}/iac-exportExport a version as IaC
GET/org/stack-profiles/{profile_id}/diffDiff two versions
GET/POST/org/stack-profiles/draftsList or create drafts
GET/POST/DELETE/org/stack-profiles/drafts/{draft_id}Get, update, or delete a draft
POST/org/stack-profiles/drafts/{draft_id}/validateValidate a draft
POST/org/stack-profiles/drafts/{draft_id}/publishPublish a draft as a profile version
See Stacks for the deploy/commit flow and the API Reference for full schemas.