kubeconform "could not find schema for" error in CI
kubeconform had no JSON Schema for a resource's apiVersion/kind, so it could not validate it. This is normal for CustomResourceDefinitions whose schemas are not in the default set.
What this error means
kubeconform reports "could not find schema for CustomResource" (or a specific kind) and, by default, treats it as an error that fails the run.
certificate.yaml - Certificate my-cert failed validation: could not find schema for CertificateCommon causes
A CRD kind has no bundled schema
The default schema store covers core Kubernetes types, not third-party CRDs like cert-manager or Argo resources.
A custom schema location was not provided
kubeconform only looks where you tell it; without a -schema-location for CRDs, it finds nothing.
How to fix it
Point kubeconform at a CRD schema location
Add a -schema-location for your CRD schemas (for example the datreeio CRD catalog) so custom kinds validate.
kubeconform \
-schema-location default \
-schema-location 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/datreeio/CRDs-catalog/main/{{.Group}}/{{.ResourceKind}}_{{.ResourceAPIVersion}}.json' \
certificate.yamlSkip or ignore kinds you cannot schema
When a CRD schema is genuinely unavailable, skip that kind or tolerate missing schemas explicitly rather than failing.
kubeconform -ignore-missing-schemas certificate.yaml
# or skip a specific kind
kubeconform -skip Certificate certificate.yamlHow to prevent it
- Register a CRD schema catalog for every custom kind you deploy.
- Decide per repo whether missing schemas should skip or fail.
- Keep schema locations pinned so CI results are reproducible.