# How do you remove a container from a base Deployment with a strategic merge patch?

Kustomize, Medium (Advanced), Mutation. https://k8wiz.com/uquiz/how-do-you-remove-a-container-from-a-base-deployment-with-a-strategic-merge-patch

- A. Set the container's image to an empty string
- B. List the container's name under a remove: field in the patch file
- C. Set replicas: 0 on that container in the patch
- D. Add $patch: delete to that container's entry in the patch

**Answer:** Add $patch: delete to that container's entry in the patch

**Explanation:** The $patch directive changes how a strategic merge patch treats an element: delete removes the matching entry and replace swaps it out entirely. Both work in patch files and in inline patches.