Let's take a look at how to mount the same secrets as files. We will use the following pod definition to demonstrate how this can be done:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: secret-using-volume
spec:
  containers:
  - name: nginx
    image: nginx
    volumeMounts:
    - name: secretvolume
      mountPath: "/etc/secrets"
      readOnly: true
  volumes:
  - name: secretvolume
    secret:
      secretName: myapi-url-token

The preceding definition tells us that the volumeMounts section should mount a volume called secretvolume. The mountPath where it should be mounted is /etc/secrets; additionally, it is readOnly.

Note that this is more succinct than the env definition, as you don't have to define a name for each and every secret. However, applications need to have a special code to read the contents of the file in order to load it properly. This method is suited for loading entire config files.

Let's see whether the secrets made it through:

1. Save the preceding file as pod-with-vol-secret.yaml. Then, create the pod using the following command:

kubectl create -f pod-with-vol-secret.yaml

2. Echo the contents of the files in the mounted volume:

kubectl create -f secret-using-volume bash
ls /etc/secrets/ | xargs -I {}  cat /etc/secrets/{}
/x~Lhx
Az!,;.Vk%[#n+";9p%jGF6[
https://my-secret-url-location.topsecret.com