--- title: "Objects" slug: "objects" updated: 2026-07-09T11:15:18Z published: 2026-07-09T11:15:18Z canonical: "resources.realtheory.io/objects" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://resources.realtheory.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Objects ### Overview For each type of Kubernetes object, RealTheory provides two complementary objects: a **Summary** object and a **Kubernetes** object. Together, these two objects offer different levels of detail about the same underlying Kubernetes object. The Summary object provides a high-level, aggregated view that is optimized for visualization and quick insights, while the Kubernetes object provides the concrete, detailed state of the object, including the raw resource returned by the Kubernetes API. ### Summary Objects Summary objects provide a high-level summary of a Kubernetes object and form the basis for the visualizations and quick views within the RealTheory console. Summary objects are available through the [K8sSummary](https://api-dev.realtheory.io/swagger/k8ssummary/index.html) API endpoint, where each object type has its own resource path: ``` /theory/api/v1/k8ssummary/clustersummaries /theory/api/v1/k8ssummary/namespacesummaries ... /theory/api/v1/k8ssummary/podsummaries ``` A Summary object aggregates key information about an object into a single, easy-to-consume record, typically including: - **metadata**: Common [metadata](/v1/docs/metadata) used to identify the object and its relationships to other objects, such as its cluster, namespace, and owners. - **manifest**: Counts of the objects contained within or associated with the object, such as the number of pods, containers, or deployments. - **metrics**: Current resource usage, requests, and limits, such as CPU, memory, and network metrics. - **cost**: Cost information associated with the object over various time windows. - **synopsis**: Health, performance, governance, and cost scores, along with aggregated alert and recommendation counts. Because Summary objects are pre-aggregated, they are well suited to powering dashboards, lists, and other views where a concise overview is more useful than the full underlying detail. ### Kubernetes Objects Kubernetes objects provide the concrete details that show the current state of an object. Each Kubernetes object references the actual object returned by the Kubernetes API through its `object` property, providing the raw data that forms the basis of much of the Summary data. Kubernetes objects are available through the [K8s](https://api-dev.realtheory.io/swagger/k8s/index.html) API endpoint, where each object type has its own resource path: ``` /theory/api/v1/k8s/clusters /theory/api/v1/k8s/namespaces ... /theory/api/v1/k8s/pods ``` A Kubernetes object typically includes: - **metadata**: The same common [metadata](/v1/docs/metadata) used to identify the object and its relationships to other objects. - **object**: The raw Kubernetes resource, exactly as returned by the Kubernetes API. - **extensions**: Additional RealTheory-specific data derived from the object that is not part of the raw Kubernetes resource. Kubernetes objects are best suited to scenarios that require the full, authoritative detail of an object, such as inspecting an individual object's configuration or state. ### Object Pairs Every Summary object has a corresponding Kubernetes object. The table below lists the available object pairs: | Summary Object | Kubernetes Object | | --- | --- | | ClusterSummary | Cluster | | NodeSummary | Node | | CustomResourceDefinitionSummary | CustomResourceDefinition | | NamespaceSummary | Namespace | | ServiceSummary | Service | | DeploymentSummary | Deployment | | ReplicaSetSummary | ReplicaSet | | StatefulSetSummary | StatefulSet | | DaemonSetSummary | DaemonSet | | CustomResourceSummary | CustomResource | | PodSummary | Pod | ### Querying Related Objects Both the [K8sSummary](https://api-dev.realtheory.io/swagger/k8ssummary/index.html) and [K8s](https://api-dev.realtheory.io/swagger/k8s/index.html) APIs support [metadata](/v1/docs/metadata) [queries](/v1/docs/queries), making it easy to discover and query related objects. Because objects share a common set of [metadata](/v1/docs/metadata), you can query one object type by the identifiers of a related object. For example, to get all the namespace summaries associated with a given cluster, call the NamespaceSummary endpoint with a query using the cluster's ID: ``` metadata.clusterId = ``` for example: ``` metadata.clusterId = f99e055f-b35d-208b-63b1-f4222b80151a ``` Queries can also combine multiple conditions to narrow the results further. As a second example, to find all the pod summaries within a given cluster and namespace, call the PodSummary endpoint with a query combining the cluster and namespace IDs: ``` metadata.clusterId = AND metadata.namespaceId = ``` for example: ``` metadata.clusterId = f99e055f-b35d-208b-63b1-f4222b80151a AND metadata.namespaceId = 568490d7-9f0e-41ad-b416-8392056cb455 ``` The same queries also work against the [K8s](https://api-dev.realtheory.io/swagger/k8s/index.html) APIs, allowing you to discover and navigate related objects consistently across both Summary and Kubernetes objects. **Note:** While these queries can be written against either the name or ID metadata fields, it is always better to use IDs, as they are guaranteed to be unique across the data plane and are indexed for fast lookups. **Note:** When looking up IDs from names — for example, resolving the ID for a cluster or namespace — it is recommended to use the [K8sSummary](https://api-dev.realtheory.io/swagger/k8ssummary/index.html) APIs rather than the [K8s](https://api-dev.realtheory.io/swagger/k8s/index.html) APIs. Summary objects are an order of magnitude smaller in size, which means less network transfer and lower latency.