diff --git a/roles/kubernetes-apps/defaults/main.yml b/roles/kubernetes-apps/defaults/main.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b794a98f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/roles/kubernetes-apps/defaults/main.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+---
+namespace: kube-system
diff --git a/roles/kubernetes-apps/vars/main.yml b/roles/kubernetes-apps/vars/main.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..88f4a3068
--- /dev/null
+++ b/roles/kubernetes-apps/vars/main.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+---
+kubectl_apply_stdin: "{{ kubectl }} apply -f - -n {{ namespace }}"