Channel

Channel manages a single channel object on an existing IBM MQ queue manager — a server-connection channel (SVRCONN), a sender channel (SDR), or a receiver channel (RCVR), selected by spec.type. The operator reconciles the desired attributes through mqweb and reports drift via status conditions; it does not create the queue manager itself, nor does it start or stop the channel.

• API group/version: messaging.mkurator.dev/v1beta1 (also served as v1alpha1 via the conversion webhook — see Custom resources).
• Short name: chl (kubectl get chl).
• Scope: namespaced; spec.connectionRef resolves in the same namespace (ADR-0023).

Channel variants

spec.type	MQ object	Purpose	Notes
svrconn (default)	SVRCONN	Inbound client connections	connName/xmitQueue not valid
sdr	SDR	Outbound message channel to a remote queue manager	requires connName and xmitQueue
rcvr	RCVR	Inbound message channel from a remote sender	connName/xmitQueue not valid (IBM MQ rejects CONNAME on CHLTYPE(RCVR))

Examples

A server-connection channel with TLS and typed attributes:

apiVersion: messaging.mkurator.dev/v1beta1
kind: Channel
metadata:
  name: orders-app
  namespace: mkurator-system
spec:
  connectionRef:
    name: qm1
  channelName: ORDERS.APP
  type: svrconn
  description: Application server-connection channel
  maxMsgLength: 4194304
  transportType: tcp
  shareConv: 10
  mcaUser: appuser
  maxInstances: 100
  maxInstancesClient: 50
  sslCipherSpec: TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256
  sslClientAuth: required

A sender channel adds the outbound connection name and transmission queue:

apiVersion: messaging.mkurator.dev/v1beta1
kind: Channel
metadata:
  name: to-qm2
  namespace: mkurator-system
spec:
  connectionRef:
    name: qm1
  channelName: QM1.QM2
  type: sdr
  connName: qm2.example.com(1414)
  xmitQueue: QM2.XMIT

The svrconn sample is in config/samples/. A typed field and its matching attribute key are mutually exclusive for the same MQSC attribute (admission rejects setting both).

Fields

API version: messaging.mkurator.dev/v1beta1 · Kind: Channel

.spec

Field	Type	Required	Description
adoptionPolicy	enum(Adopt, AdoptIfMatching, FailIfExists)	no	AdoptionPolicy controls behaviour when the MQ object already exists on first reconcile.
attributes	map[string]string	no	Attributes map to MQSC parameters (lowercase keys in mqweb runCommandJSON). Drift-checked vs define-only keys: docs/ATTRIBUTE_RECONCILIATION.md.
channelName	string	yes	ChannelName is the IBM MQ channel name (e.g. ORDERS.APP).
connName	string	no	ConnName is the remote connection name for sender channels (MQSC CONNAME), e.g. qm2.example.com(1414). Required for type sdr when not set via attributes.conname. Not valid on RCVR channels (IBM MQ rejects CONNAME on CHLTYPE(RCVR)). Mutually exclusive with attributes.conname; typed field takes precedence when folded into the attribute map for mqadmin.
connectionRef	object	yes	ConnectionRef names a QueueManagerConnection in the same namespace.
connectionRef.name	string	yes	—
deletionPolicy	enum(Delete, Orphan)	no	DeletionPolicy controls MQ cleanup when the CR is deleted.
description	string	no	Description is the channel description (MQSC DESCR). Mutually exclusive with attributes.descr; typed field takes precedence when folded into the attribute map for mqadmin.
maxInstances	integer	no	MaxInstances is the maximum number of simultaneous channel instances (MQSC MAXINST). Mutually exclusive with attributes.maxinst; typed field takes precedence when folded into the attribute map for mqadmin.
maxInstancesClient	integer	no	MaxInstancesClient is the maximum number of client connections per channel instance (MQSC MAXINSTC). Mutually exclusive with attributes.maxinstc; typed field takes precedence when folded into the attribute map for mqadmin.
maxMsgLength	integer	no	MaxMsgLength is the maximum message length in bytes (MQSC MAXMSGL). Mutually exclusive with attributes.maxmsgl; typed field takes precedence when folded into the attribute map for mqadmin.
mcaUser	string	no	McaUser is the MCA user ID for authority checks on this channel (MQSC MCAUSER). Mutually exclusive with attributes.mcauser; typed field takes precedence when folded into the attribute map for mqadmin.
shareConv	integer	no	ShareConv is the maximum number of conversations shared per TCP/IP connection (MQSC SHARECNV). 0 disables conversation sharing (legacy mode); 1 enables MQ V7+ features without sharing; 2+ allows up to that many shared conversations. Mutually exclusive with attributes.sharecnv; typed field takes precedence when folded into the attribute map for mqadmin.
sslCipherSpec	string	no	SslCipherSpec is the TLS cipher specification for the channel (MQSC SSLCIPH). Use an empty string or omit to disable TLS on the channel. Mutually exclusive with attributes.sslciph; typed field takes precedence when folded into the attribute map for mqadmin.
sslClientAuth	enum(required, optional, asqmgr)	no	SslClientAuth controls whether the remote party must present an X.509 client certificate during TLS handshake (MQSC SSLCAUTH). Only effective when sslCipherSpec is non-empty. Mutually exclusive with attributes.sslcauth; typed field takes precedence when folded into the attribute map for mqadmin.
suspend	boolean	no	Suspend pauses MQ reconciliation for this object. Status shows Synced=False ReasonSuspended.
transportType	enum(tcp, lu62)	no	TransportType is the channel transport protocol (MQSC TRPTYPE). Mutually exclusive with attributes.trptype; typed field takes precedence when folded into the attribute map for mqadmin.
type	enum(svrconn, sdr, rcvr)	no	Type is the channel kind to define. svrconn, sdr, and rcvr are reconciled in v1beta1.
xmitQueue	string	no	XmitQueue is the transmission queue used by a sender channel (MQSC XMITQ). Required for type sdr when not set via attributes.xmitq. Mutually exclusive with attributes.xmitq; typed field takes precedence when folded into the attribute map for mqadmin.

.status

Field	Type	Required	Description
conditions	[]object	no	Conditions represent the current state of the channel.
desiredMQSC	string	no	DesiredMQSC is a debug/GitOps aid: the DEFINE CHANNEL REPLACE line equivalent to what the operator applies via mqweb. Not authoritative; do not use this field to drive cluster apply or drift detection.
lastSyncTime	string	no	LastSyncTime is set when the object last reconciled successfully.
message	string	no	Message is a short, user-facing summary of reconcile state (especially when Synced=False).
mqObjectExists	boolean	no	MQObjectExists is true when the IBM MQ object was last observed on the queue manager.
observedGeneration	integer	no	ObservedGeneration reflects the generation last successfully synced.

MQSC mapping and drift

Typed fields fold into MQSC attributes; anything without a typed field can be set through the free-form spec.attributes map. The operator drift-checks the attributes it manages and re-applies on divergence. The full per-attribute matrix — including which DISPLAY capabilities are probed at runtime — lives in ATTRIBUTE_RECONCILIATION.md.

Typed field	MQSC attribute	Notes
description	DESCR (descr)	Free-text channel description
maxMsgLength	MAXMSGL (maxmsgl)	Maximum message length in bytes
transportType	TRPTYPE (trptype)	tcp / lu62 transport protocol
shareConv	SHARECNV (sharecnv)	Shared conversations per TCP/IP connection (svrconn)
mcaUser	MCAUSER (mcauser)	MCA user ID for authority checks
maxInstances	MAXINST (maxinst)	Maximum simultaneous channel instances (svrconn)
maxInstancesClient	MAXINSTC (maxinstc)	Maximum client connections per instance (svrconn)
sslCipherSpec	SSLCIPH (sslciph)	TLS cipher spec; empty disables TLS
sslClientAuth	SSLCAUTH (sslcauth)	Require a client certificate (only with sslCipherSpec)
connName	CONNAME (conname)	Remote connection name — sdr only
xmitQueue	XMITQ (xmitq)	Transmission queue — sdr only

Drift keys are type-aware: sdr channels track conname/xmitq, while rcvr channels omit them (IBM MQ rejects CONNAME on CHLTYPE(RCVR)). Sender channels require connName and xmitQueue (or their conname/xmitq attribute equivalents); admission rejects an sdr channel missing either.

Typed field and matching attributes key are mutually exclusive for the same MQSC attribute; admission rejects setting both (ADR-0021, ADR-0025).

See also

• Custom resources index
• Install and use — resource reference
• Attribute reconciliation