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Skaffold dev command

The skaffold dev command is a primary feature of the skaffold CLI tool used to facilitate local development cycles for Kubernetes applications.^[400-devops__01-Concepts-of-Software-Development__skaffold.md] It is designed to handle the automated building and deployment of container images to a local cluster, streamlining the workflow for developers.

Functionality

When executed, skaffold dev automates the end-to-end development loop^[400-devops__01-Concepts-of-Software-Development__skaffold.md]. This involves triggering local builds for Docker images and automatically deploying the resulting artifacts to a local Kubernetes cluster^[400-devops__01-Concepts-of-Software-Development__skaffold.md].

The command supports a "hot reload" capability, which allows the application to update dynamically as code changes are made, without requiring a full manual redeployment^[400-devops__01-Concepts-of-Software-Development__skaffold.md].

Usage Context

skaffold dev is typically contrasted with skaffold run. While skaffold run is often used for pulling manifests from remote charts for deployment, skaffold dev is intended for the iterative development process^[400-devops__07-Monitoring-and-Observability__k8s-istio__samples__cicd__skaffold__README.md].

In a development context, it is commonly used with local cluster environments such as minikube^[400-devops__01-Concepts-of-Software-Development__skaffold.md] or [[kind]].

Sources

^[400-devops__01-Concepts-of-Software-Development__skaffold.md] ^[400-devops__07-Monitoring-and-Observability__k8s-istio__samples__cicd__skaffold__README.md]