Skaffold

Skaffold is an open-source command-line tool that facilitates continuous development for Kubernetes applications. It automates the build, push, and deploy workflow, allowing developers to focus on writing code rather than managing infrastructure. Skaffold detects changes in your source code, automatically rebuilds images, pushes them to a registry, and redeploys your application to a Kubernetes cluster, significantly speeding up the development loop. It streamlines the process of iterating on applications deployed to Kubernetes, whether for local development, CI/CD pipelines, or production deployments. Skaffold's value lies in its simplicity and flexibility. It integrates seamlessly with existing workflows and tools, supporting various build tools (like Docker, Jib, Buildpacks), image registries, and deployment strategies (like kubectl, Helm, Kustomize). This makes it adaptable to different project setups and reduces the complexity associated with Kubernetes application development and deployment. Common use cases include local development on Minikube/Kind/Docker Desktop, continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines within platforms like Jenkins or GitLab CI, and simplifying deployments to production Kubernetes clusters.