Metadata

Extended attributes attach named byte values to filesystem objects outside the ordinary file-content stream. Applications can use the user namespace for small metadata, while other namespaces have kernel, security-module, or privileged semantics. Their usefulness depends on the filesystem, access rules, and transfer tools. A metadata tag is reliable only when the workflow preserves and interprets it according to an explicit contract. ...

Annotations attach non-identifying metadata to Kubernetes objects. They can record provenance, ownership notes, or information consumed by a tool. Standard label selectors do not select objects by annotation values, but that does not make annotations inert. A controller, admission component, or deployment tool can interpret a documented annotation and change behavior accordingly. Know the consumer before deciding that a metadata edit is harmless. ...