Introduction

JetBrains Qodana is a continuous code-quality platform and Qodana Self-Hosted is an On-Premises product that allows users to use Qodana in their own infrastructure.
The Self-Hosted edition already ships a Helm chart, but it requires manual value adjustment and offers no API-native way to express higher-level concepts such as SAML or OIDC identity providers, Backup and/or Restore policies, passwords and/or TLS keys rotation. 

Kubernetes Operators encapsulate domain knowledge in code, extending the Kubernetes API through Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs) and a reconciliation loop. Building an Operator for Qodana will provide:

• Git-Ops friendly, declarative management of Qodana instances and their advanced settings. Imperative administration procedures are automated in full by the controller.

• Automated lifecycle operations (install, upgrade, scale, back-up, restore and install from a backup).

• Day-0/Day-2 configuration automation (e.g., enabling SAML by simply applying a QodanaSAML resource).

Goals

1. Design CRDs that model Qodana entities, for example as follows below:
   • QodanaInstance – wraps the Helm release parameters;
   • QodanaSAML – SAML identity provider configuration;
   • QodanaOIDC – OIDC identity provider configuration;
   • QodanaDataResources - stateful services that serve to host application data.

2. Implement an Operator with full reconciliation logic:

   • Translate CRD changes to application reconfiguration;

   • Patch the Qodana ConfigMaps/Secrets with SAML or OIDC settings;

   • Status reporting & error handling;

   • Export metrics.

3. Ship production-grade artefacts:

   • Container image of the Operator;

   • Helm Chart bundle to install the Operator;

   • Examples of deployment & documentation.

4. Testing & CI/CD

   • Kind-based e2e tests in CI;

   • Unit tests for reconciliation logic;

   • Static analysis (yes—run Qodana on the Operator itself).

Deliverables

Git repository with:

• Operator source code;

• CRD YAMLs (v1);

• Sample manifests (samples/);

• Automated tests & workflow files.

• Container images;

Demo video (≤5 min) showing:

• Update flow & status conditions.

Documentation:

• Requirements Analysis Document;

• Technological and Product Baseline Document;

• User Manual Document.

Key Learning Outcomes

• Fundamentals of Platform Engineering; 

• Deep understanding of Kubernetes control-plane mechanics (CRDs, reconciliation, events);

• Kubernetes-native application development; 

• Practical experience with Go (or chosen language), Helm libraries, testing Kubernetes workloads;

• Secure handling of secrets & identity federation protocols (SAML/OIDC) in cloud-native apps;

• CI/CD automation and container image lifecycle;

• Writing developer-facing documentation and producing demos.

Example Resources

# qodana-instance.yaml

apiVersion: qodana.jetbrains.com/v1alpha1

kind: QodanaInstance

metadata:

  name: qodana-prod

spec:

  version: "2024.2.0"

  ingress:

    host: qodana.example.com

    tlsSecret: qodana-tls

  resources:

    limits:

      cpu: "4"

      memory: "8Gi"

  persistence:

    size: 50Gi

# saml.yaml

apiVersion: qodana.jetbrains.com/v1alpha1

kind: QodanaSAML

metadata:

  name: qodana-prod-saml

spec:

  instanceRef: qodana-prod

  idpMetadataURL: https://id.example.com/metadata

  entityID: https://qodana.example.com

  signatureAlgorithm: RSA_SHA512

  groupsAttribute: "memberOf"

# oidc.yaml

apiVersion: qodana.jetbrains.com/v1alpha1

kind: QodanaOIDC

metadata:

  name: qodana-prod-oidc

spec:

  instanceRef: qodana-prod

  issuerURL: https://login.example.com

  clientIDSecretRef:

    name: qodana-oidc-client

    key: clientID

  clientSecretSecretRef:

    name: qodana-oidc-client

    key: clientSecret

  scopes:

    - openid

    - profile

    - email

Notes

The mentor will provide an initialised environment for the development of the product: A Git repository, a Docker and Helm repository for storing the final artefacts. A local Kubernetes cluster where to deploy and test the Operator. There is also a Helm Chart for the Qodana Self-Hosted on Kubernetes. 

It would be great if you:

• are familiar with Docker;

• had some exposure in the past to container orchestrators.

if not, it is fine too! You'll learn with us :)

A few soft skills:

• Goal orientation;

• Autonomy;

• Great sense of humor.