Config Connector is an open-source Kubernetes add-on that allows operators to manage Google Cloud resources using native Kubernetes configuration files, APIs, and Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs). By deploying Config Connector within a GKE cluster, infrastructure components such as a Cloud SQL instance or Pub/Sub topics are declared natively as Kubernetes objects.
This model aligns with GitOps delivery patterns (e.g., using ArgoCD or Flux). When a Helm release bundling these manifests is deleted or uninstalled from the cluster, the GKE control plane processes the deletion event, and the Config Connector controller automatically triggers downstream calls to delete the corresponding Google Cloud infrastructure. This design avoids the operational complexity of writing, maintaining, and debugging a custom Go-based operator. It also provides a cleaner, more native Kubernetes reconciliation loop compared to running externalized Terraform pipelines or wrappers inside the cluster.
References: Cloud Architect (GCP) Study Guide topics: " Config Connector Integration with GKE " , " Declarative Infrastructure Management " , " GitOps Implementation Patterns " , and " Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs) " .