Condition Validation

The condition type checks whether a Kubernetes resource has a specific condition set to the expected status. It's the most straightforward way to verify that a resource is healthy.

When to use

Use condition when you want to verify that a resource has reached a desired lifecycle state — for example, that a Pod is Ready, a Deployment is Available, or a Job is Complete.

Conditions are the canonical Kubernetes signal for resource health. Unlike checking status fields with operators, condition checks are declarative and map directly to what Kubernetes reports.

This type is almost always appropriate for validating that the user's fix resulted in a healthy, running workload.

Spec reference

ConditionCheck

Examples

Check that a Pod is Ready

The most common use case: verify the pod is running and all containers are healthy.

- key: pod-ready
  title: "Pod Ready"
  description: "The application pod must be in a Ready state"
  order: 1
  type: condition
  spec:
    target:
      kind: Pod
      labelSelector:
        app: my-app
    checks:
      - type: Ready
        status: "True"

Check that a Deployment is Available

Deployment conditions reflect the aggregate health of all replicas. Use Available to confirm the desired number of replicas are up and serving.

- key: deployment-available
  title: "Deployment Available"
  description: "The deployment must have available replicas"
  order: 1
  type: condition
  spec:
    target:
      kind: Deployment
      name: web-server
    checks:
      - type: Available
        status: "True"

Check multiple conditions on the same Pod

You can check multiple conditions in a single objective. All must match for the objective to pass.

- key: pod-fully-ready
  title: "Pod Fully Ready"
  description: "The pod must be initialized, scheduled, and ready"
  order: 1
  type: condition
  spec:
    target:
      kind: Pod
      labelSelector:
        app: my-app
    checks:
      - type: Ready
        status: "True"
      - type: ContainersReady
        status: "True"

Check that a Job completed successfully

- key: job-done
  title: "Job Completed"
  description: "The migration job must have completed"
  order: 2
  type: condition
  spec:
    target:
      kind: Job
      name: db-migration
    checks:
      - type: Complete
        status: "True"

Common conditions by resource kind

Pod

Deployment

Use Available: "True" to confirm the deployment is healthy. Use ReplicaFailure: "False" to assert no failures occurred.

StatefulSet

Job

Use Complete: "True" and Failed: "False" together to assert a successful job.

Tips

• Prefer condition over status for lifecycle state checks — it's more readable and directly reflects what Kubernetes reports in kubectl describe.
• When targeting multiple pods via labelSelector, all matched pods must pass all condition checks.
• For Deployments, Available: "True" is usually more meaningful than Progressing: "True" — progressing can be true even during a failed rollout.
• Combine condition with event to both verify the pod is healthy and that no crash events occurred recently.