Minikube Local Deployment Pattern

Deploy and debug applications on local Minikube cluster.

Assumptions

•Minikube is already running (do NOT run minikube start unless explicitly asked)
•User has kubectl configured for minikube context

Core Workflow

1. Load Local Image

Always use minikube image load for local Docker images:

bash

# Build and load (preferred for local development)
docker build -t myapp:dev .
minikube image load myapp:dev

# Verify image is loaded
minikube image ls | grep myapp

Important: Set imagePullPolicy: Never in Deployment YAML when using local images.

2. Apply Manifests

bash

kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml
kubectl apply -f service.yaml

# Or apply all in directory
kubectl apply -f ./k8s/

3. Expose Service Locally

Option A: minikube service (recommended)

bash

# Opens browser automatically
minikube service <service-name>

# Get URL only
minikube service <service-name> --url

Option B: kubectl port-forward

bash

# Forward service
kubectl port-forward svc/<service-name> 8080:80

# Forward specific pod
kubectl port-forward pod/<pod-name> 8080:3000

4. Verify Deployment

bash

kubectl get pods -w              # Watch pod status
kubectl get svc                  # List services
kubectl get all                  # Overview of resources

Debugging Commands

Command	Purpose
`kubectl logs <pod>`	View container logs
`kubectl logs <pod> -f`	Stream logs
`kubectl logs <pod> --previous`	Logs from crashed container
`kubectl describe pod <pod>`	Detailed pod info + events
`kubectl exec -it <pod> -- /bin/sh`	Shell into container
`kubectl get events --sort-by=.lastTimestamp`	Recent cluster events
`minikube dashboard`	Open K8s dashboard UI
`minikube ip`	Get cluster IP

Quick Troubleshooting

Status	Likely Cause	Fix
`ImagePullBackOff`	Image not in minikube	`minikube image load <image>` + set `imagePullPolicy: Never`
`CrashLoopBackOff`	App crashing on start	`kubectl logs <pod> --previous` to see crash reason
`Pending`	Resource constraints	`kubectl describe pod` → check Events section
`0/1 Ready`	Readiness probe failing	Check probe path/port matches app

For detailed troubleshooting scenarios: See references/troubleshooting.md

Local Image Deployment Template

yaml

# Minimal deployment for local image
spec:
  containers:
    - name: myapp
      image: myapp:dev
      imagePullPolicy: Never  # REQUIRED for minikube image load

Common Patterns

Full redeploy after code change:

bash

docker build -t myapp:dev . && \
minikube image load myapp:dev && \
kubectl rollout restart deployment/<deployment-name>

Quick cleanup:

bash

kubectl delete -f ./k8s/