# GoogleContainerTools/skaffold

Easy and Repeatable Kubernetes Development

Repository: https://github.com/GoogleContainerTools/skaffold
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/skaffold
Homepage: https://skaffold.dev/
Language: Go
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: kubernetes, developer-tools, docker, containers
Last push: 2026-08-24T18:45:03+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 97/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 94, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3144, "days_push": 9, "days_rel": 41, "gap_med": 18, "n_releases_24m": 20}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 15887, forks 1705 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:14.393228+00:00)

## What it is
Skaffold is a command-line tool from Google that automates the build, push, test, and deploy workflow for containerized Kubernetes applications. It provides fast local development loops with file syncing, port-forwarding, and log aggregation, plus building blocks for CI/CD and GitOps pipelines.

## Use cases
- iterate on kubernetes apps locally with auto rebuild and redeploy on code changes
- set up a ci/cd pipeline for building and deploying container images
- render kubernetes manifests for gitops workflows
- share a kubernetes project so teammates can clone and run it with one command
- port-forward and stream logs from deployed kubernetes resources during development
- deploy to helm or kustomize with a pluggable build and deploy toolchain

## When to choose
- you develop applications that run on kubernetes and want a fast inner dev loop
- you want a declarative, portable skaffold.yaml config shared across environments and CI
- you need pluggable integration with docker, buildpacks, kaniko, helm, or kustomize
- you want client-side tooling with no cluster-side component to maintain

## When to avoid
- your applications do not target kubernetes or containers
- you need a full CD platform with UI, approvals, and environment management rather than a CLI workflow
- you prefer an all-in-one IDE-managed experience without touching the command line

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: deployment, build-tool, developer-tools, ci-cd, container-runtime
- domain: developer-tools, cloud-computing
- platform: windows, cli, cross-platform
- tags: kubernetes, docker, inner-loop, gitops, helm, kustomize, google, devops, containers, automation, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- GoogleContainerTools/skaffold (main) score 97

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:14.393228+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:05:20.067608+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/GoogleContainerTools/skaffold (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:14.393228+00:00, sha 61a04fa8c90c)
  - homepage: https://skaffold.dev/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:03:16.784546+00:00, sha 9d33e31a388c)
  - site_page: https://skaffold.dev/docs/resources (fetched 2026-08-29T08:03:16.787206+00:00, sha 20aed2f7e205)
  - site_page: https://skaffold.dev/docs (fetched 2026-08-29T08:03:16.788810+00:00, sha b7f4112a4d5e)
  - site_page: https://skaffold.dev/docs/references/yaml (fetched 2026-08-29T08:03:16.790517+00:00, sha 07724d7a25a4)
  - site_page: https://skaffold.dev/docs/install (fetched 2026-08-29T08:03:16.791985+00:00, sha 44f5418e2bf6)
  - site_page: https://skaffold.dev/docs/quickstart (fetched 2026-08-29T08:03:16.793840+00:00, sha 48b74fd1f9e3)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.