Training course · OpenAI Codex · Kubernetes & Microservices

OpenAI Codex for Kubernetes and Microservices Teams

Delegate development work with OpenAI Codex: CLI and cloud agent, AGENTS.md, sandboxing, approvals and team PR workflows.

Duration
2 days (14 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

“OpenAI Codex for Kubernetes and Microservices Teams” is a hands-on course for roles such as Platform engineers and Kubernetes administrators, Developers running microservices on Kubernetes and Site reliability engineers with cluster responsibility. Rather than learning OpenAI Codex in the abstract, you work on tasks from your daily routine – with examples, exercises and templates from Kubernetes & Microservices.

OpenAI Codex is a coding agent that runs both locally, as a command-line tool and IDE extension, and as a cloud agent. Locally, Codex reads your repository, proposes changes and runs commands inside a sandboxed environment. In the cloud, it works on delegated tasks in parallel inside isolated containers and returns results as traceable diffs or pull requests. Over two days you will learn how to combine both modes effectively and how to scope tasks so that the agent can complete them reliably and with minimal back-and-forth.

Control and security sit at the heart of the course. With AGENTS.md you hand Codex project knowledge, build and test commands, and conventions. You configure approval modes and sandboxing so that the agent only does what you permit, and you set up cloud environments with suitable setup scripts. You will also integrate Codex into your pull request workflows, use automated code review, and define team rules on which tasks are delegated and how results are checked before they are merged into the main branch.

Kubernetes has become the standard platform for microservices – and with it comes a flood of YAML manifests, Helm charts, Kustomize overlays, operators, service mesh configuration and GitOps repositories. On top of that, failures are distributed across dozens of services. AI coding assistants and agents take a lot of that complexity off your hands: they generate Helm charts with sensible defaults, diagnose CrashLoopBackOff and OOMKilled errors from events and logs, write NetworkPolicies and RBAC rules on the least-privilege principle and help define service boundaries. At the same time, an agent with cluster access needs firm limits. This course teaches you to use AI for manifests, troubleshooting and architecture work without losing control of your clusters.

The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.

Who is this course for?

  • Platform engineers and Kubernetes administrators
  • Developers running microservices on Kubernetes
  • Site reliability engineers with cluster responsibility
  • Software architects designing distributed systems
  • DevOps teams introducing or scaling GitOps

Typical challenges we address

  • Unwieldy amounts of YAML, Helm values and overlays across many environments
  • Difficult troubleshooting of distributed issues spanning services, networking and resource limits
  • Security gaps from overly broad RBAC, missing NetworkPolicies and privileged containers
  • Unclear service boundaries and tight coupling in growing microservice landscapes

What you will be able to do

  • You use Codex locally and in the cloud for the development tasks each mode suits best.
  • You write an AGENTS.md that guides the agent reliably through your project.
  • You configure approval modes and sandboxing to match your security requirements.
  • You delegate tasks to the cloud agent and review the results systematically.
  • Create and review Helm charts, overlays and policies efficiently with AI agents.
  • Diagnose issues in clusters and microservices faster with structured AI support.
  • Restrict agents’ cluster access and enforce security and architecture rules consistently.

Course outline

Day 1

Module 1 Codex at a glance: CLI, IDE and cloud
  • Comparing how Codex works locally and in the cloud
  • Installing the Codex CLI, signing in and starting it in a repository
  • Interactive sessions, non-interactive execution and model choice
  • Distinguishing tasks that suit a coding agent from those that do not
Module 2 Project knowledge with AGENTS.md
  • Building an AGENTS.md with build, test and lint commands
  • Stating conventions, architectural notes and prohibitions precisely
  • Using nested AGENTS.md files for monorepos and sub-projects
  • Checking effectiveness and refining instructions iteratively
Module 3 Sandboxing, approvals and security
  • Choosing approval modes deliberately, from read-only to largely autonomous
  • Understanding sandbox boundaries for file system and network access
  • Handling secrets, dependencies from the internet and prompt injection
  • Configuration files for team standards and safe defaults
Module 4 Delegating tasks to the cloud agent
  • Configuring cloud environments with setup scripts and dependencies
  • Writing tasks with a clear goal, context and acceptance criteria
  • Launching several tasks in parallel and comparing the results
  • Using logs and test output to understand the proposed solutions

Day 2

Module 5 PR workflows and code review in the team
  • Turning results into pull requests and requesting follow-up changes
  • Using automated Codex code review on GitHub
  • Embedding Codex in scripts and CI pipelines
  • Setting team rules for delegation, review duties and accountability
Module 6 Practice lab: Kubernetes & Microservices
  • Creating Helm charts and Kustomize overlays
  • Debugging pods and deployments
  • RBAC and NetworkPolicies
  • Service boundaries and communication
  • Setting up observability
  • Maintaining GitOps repositories
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • Kubeconfigs, service account tokens and secrets must never end up in prompts, and agents should only work with read-only or tightly scoped rights in non-production clusters. Check container images and charts for provenance, signatures and vulnerabilities, and take into account the supply-chain and SBOM requirements of NIS2 and the Cyber Resilience Act.
  • Ground rules for safe AI use in your team
  • Checking results: facts, sources, tests and the four-eyes principle
  • Personal action plan for the next 30 days
  • Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning

Practical scenarios from your field

Creating Helm charts and Kustomize overlays

The agent generates Helm charts or Kustomize overlays with probes, resource requests, pod disruption budgets and security contexts, validates them with helm lint and kubeconform and documents every value.

Debugging pods and deployments

From kubectl output, events and container logs, the AI narrows down causes of CrashLoopBackOff, OOMKilled, ImagePullBackOff or failing readiness probes and proposes concrete fixes. The team reviews every proposed fix before applying it.

RBAC and NetworkPolicies

The AI analyses existing roles and traffic flows, writes least-privilege RBAC rules and creates NetworkPolicies that allow only the traffic services genuinely need. Changes are tested in a non-production cluster first.

Service boundaries and communication

The assistant helps define service boundaries along business domains, weigh synchronous against asynchronous communication and implement patterns such as outbox, circuit breaker or saga properly.

Setting up observability

Services get OpenTelemetry instrumentation, Prometheus metrics, ServiceMonitors and alert rules, plus dashboards that make latency, error rate and saturation visible. Alerts are aligned with service level objectives so that only relevant incidents escalate.

Maintaining GitOps repositories

The AI structures repositories for Argo CD or Flux, separates environments cleanly, automates image updates and explains sync failures using status output and diffs. Drift between repository and cluster becomes visible.

Possible hands-on projects

Manifest linter with a rule set

A tool that checks Kubernetes manifests for missing limits, probes, labels and insecure settings and produces a report for pull requests.

Microservice demo with tracing

Two or three small services instrumented with OpenTelemetry, deployed via Helm to a local cluster, including a dashboard for distributed traces.

Cluster hygiene report

A CLI that finds unused ConfigMaps, orphaned PersistentVolumes and deployments without resource settings and suggests clean-up actions. Nothing is deleted without human approval.

Prerequisites

You have hands-on programming experience, are comfortable with Git and the command line, and know pull-request-based workflows. Practical experience with containers, kubectl and core Kubernetes objects, plus a working knowledge of Helm, YAML and Git.

Technical requirements

Your own laptop with a terminal, Git and a Node.js runtime; a ChatGPT plan with Codex access or an OpenAI API key, plus a GitHub account for the cloud exercises.

Data protection & compliance

Kubeconfigs, service account tokens and secrets must never end up in prompts, and agents should only work with read-only or tightly scoped rights in non-production clusters. Check container images and charts for provenance, signatures and vulnerabilities, and take into account the supply-chain and SBOM requirements of NIS2 and the Cyber Resilience Act.

Suggested dates

All dates are suggestions – your preferred date is always possible.

  • Mon, 23 November 2026 – Tue, 24 November 2026 Online Request
  • Wed, 2 December 2026 – Thu, 3 December 2026 Kaiserslautern Request
  • Mon, 7 December 2026 – Tue, 8 December 2026 Online Request
  • Tue, 12 January 2027 – Wed, 13 January 2027 Augsburg Request
  • Mon, 18 January 2027 – Tue, 19 January 2027 Online Request
  • Thu, 4 February 2027 – Fri, 5 February 2027 Salzburg Request

Frequently asked questions

When should I use Codex locally and when in the cloud?

Locally you work interactively and close to the code, for example when debugging or making exploratory changes where you want to follow every step. The cloud agent suits well-defined tasks that can run independently, such as adding tests or fixing smaller bugs. You can start several of these in parallel and review each one as a pull request.

What belongs in a good AGENTS.md?

A good AGENTS.md explains how the project is built, tested and checked, which conventions apply and which areas must not be touched. It is concise, concrete and kept up to date. Notes on architecture and common pitfalls also help. During the course you write an AGENTS.md for a project of your own and test how it changes the agent’s behaviour.

How safe is it to let Codex run commands?

By default Codex works inside a sandbox with restricted file and network access and asks for approval before risky steps. You decide how much autonomy to grant through approval modes and configuration. In the course you learn to choose these settings deliberately and to limit risks such as prompt injection or running unfamiliar dependencies.

Should an AI agent have direct access to my cluster?

Only in a controlled way. For analysis and troubleshooting, read-only rights in selected namespaces are usually enough, while changes should go through GitOps repositories and reviews. On the course you set up dedicated service accounts, local test clusters and approval processes so the agent is useful without creating production risk.

Does the course also cover microservice architecture questions?

Yes. Beyond manifests and operations, we look at how AI can support defining service boundaries, weighing communication patterns and assessing architecture options. The AI provides options and arguments, while the decision stays with the team and is documented transparently. That keeps decisions accountable.

How much does “OpenAI Codex for Kubernetes and Microservices Teams” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 2 training day(s) with a live trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.

Can I suggest my own date?

Yes. Our suggested dates are just a guide. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and confirm within one working day.

Is the course online or on-site?

Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart or Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.

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