# Create a Bundle Resource

Bundles are automatically created by Fleet when a `GitRepo` is created. In most cases `Bundles` should not be created
manually by the user. If you want to deploy resources from a git repository use a
[GitRepo](https://fleet.rancher.io/gitrepo-add) instead.


If you want to deploy resources without a git repository follow this guide to create a `Bundle`.

:::note
If you want to deploy resources without running a Fleet controller, also take a look at the [Fleet CLI](ref-bundle-stages#examining-the-bundle-lifecycle-with-the-cli).
:::

When creating a `GitRepo` Fleet will fetch the resources from a git repository, and add them to a Bundle.
When creating a `Bundle` resources need to be explicitly specified in the `Bundle` Spec.
Resources can be compressed with gz. See [here](https://github.com/rancher/rancher/blob/main/pkg/controllers/provisioningv2/managedchart/managedchart.go#L149-L153)
an example of how Rancher uses compression in go code.

If you would like to deploy in downstream clusters, you need to define targets. Targets work similarly to targets in `GitRepo`.
See [Mapping to Downstream Clusters](https://fleet.rancher.io/gitrepo-targets#defining-targets).

The following example creates a nginx `Deployment` in the local cluster:

```yaml
kind: Bundle
apiVersion: fleet.cattle.io/v1alpha1
metadata:
  # Any name can be used here
  name: my-bundle
  # For single cluster use fleet-local, otherwise use the namespace of
  # your choosing
  namespace: fleet-local
spec:
  resources:
  # List of all resources that will be deployed
  - content: |
      apiVersion: apps/v1
      kind: Deployment
      metadata:
        name: nginx-deployment
        labels:
          app: nginx
      spec:
        replicas: 3
        selector:
          matchLabels:
            app: nginx
        template:
          metadata:
            labels:
              app: nginx
          spec:
            containers:
              - name: nginx
                image: nginx:1.14.2
                ports:
                  - containerPort: 80
    name: nginx.yaml
  targets:
  - clusterName: local

```

## Targets

The bundle can target multiple clusters. It uses the same [targeting as the GitRepo](gitrepo-targets#target-matching).
Additional [customization options](ref-fleet-yaml#supported-customizations) can be specified per target:

```yaml
targets:
- clusterSelector:
    matchLabels:
      env: dev
  defaultNamespace: lab-1
  helm:
    values:
      replicas: 1
```

## Limitations

Helm options related to downloading the helm chart will be ignored. The helm chart is downloaded by the fleet-cli, which creates the bundles. The bundle has to contain all the resources from the chart. Therefore the bundle will ignore:

* `spec.helm.repo`
* `spec.helm.charts`

You can't use a `fleet.yaml` in resources, it is only used by the fleet-cli to create bundles.

The `spec.targetRestrictions` field is not useful, as it is an allow list for targets specified in `spec.targets`. It is not needed, since `targets` are explicitly given in a bundle and an empty `targetRestrictions` defaults to allow.

## Convert a Helm Chart into a Bundle

You can use the Fleet CLI to convert a Helm chart into a bundle.

For example, you can download and convert the "external secrets" operator chart like this:
```
cat > targets.yaml <<EOF
targets:
- clusterSelector: {}
EOF

mkdir app
cat > app/fleet.yaml <<EOF
defaultNamespace: external-secrets
helm:
  repo: https://charts.external-secrets.io
  chart: external-secrets
EOF

fleet apply --compress --targets-file=targets.yaml -n fleet-default -o - external-secrets app > eso-bundle.yaml

kubectl apply -f eso-bundle.yaml
```

Make sure you use a cluster selector in `targets.yaml`, that matches all clusters you want to deploy to.

The blog post on [Fleet: Multi-Cluster Deployment with the Help of External Secrets](https://www.suse.com/c/rancher_blog/fleet-multi-cluster-deployment-with-the-help-of-external-secrets/) has more information.