Image Pull Policy for Local Development

Beginner

Enforce correct imagePullPolicy settings when using locally loaded images in minikube to prevent ImagePullBackOff errors and unnecessary registry pulls.

File Patterns

**/k8s/**/*.yaml**/deploy/**/*.yaml**/manifests/**/*.yaml**/values*.yaml

This rule applies to files matching the patterns above.

Rule Content

rule-content.md

# Image Pull Policy for Local Development

## Rule
All deployments using locally loaded images MUST set imagePullPolicy to Never or IfNotPresent. Never use Always with local-only images.

## Format
```yaml
containers:
  - name: app
    image: myapp:dev
    imagePullPolicy: Never  # For minikube image load
```

## Requirements
1. **Local images** — set `imagePullPolicy: Never` when using `minikube image load`
2. **Shared images** — set `imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent` when image may come from registry or local
3. **Never use :latest** — without explicit imagePullPolicy (defaults to Always)
4. **Tag convention** — use `:dev` or `:local` tags for locally built images
5. **Deployment templates** — include imagePullPolicy in all Helm values and Kustomize patches

## Examples

### Good
```yaml
# Local development deployment
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: myapp
spec:
  template:
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: myapp
          image: myapp:dev
          imagePullPolicy: Never

# Helm values for local dev
# values-local.yaml
image:
  repository: myapp
  tag: dev
  pullPolicy: Never
```

### Bad
```yaml
# Missing imagePullPolicy with local image
containers:
  - name: myapp
    image: myapp:latest
    # Default: Always — will fail with ImagePullBackOff

# Using Always with local-only image
containers:
  - name: myapp
    image: myapp:dev
    imagePullPolicy: Always  # Tries to pull from registry
```

## Enforcement
Use Kustomize overlays or Helm values files to set imagePullPolicy per environment. Lint YAML in CI to warn about missing imagePullPolicy on non-standard images.

FAQ

Discussion

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# Image Pull Policy for Local Development ## Rule All deployments using locally loaded images MUST set imagePullPolicy to Never or IfNotPresent. Never use Always with local-only images. ## Format ```yaml containers: - name: app image: myapp:dev imagePullPolicy: Never # For minikube image load ``` ## Requirements 1. **Local images** — set `imagePullPolicy: Never` when using `minikube image load` 2. **Shared images** — set `imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent` when image may come from registry or local 3. **Never use :latest** — without explicit imagePullPolicy (defaults to Always) 4. **Tag convention** — use `:dev` or `:local` tags for locally built images 5. **Deployment templates** — include imagePullPolicy in all Helm values and Kustomize patches ## Examples ### Good ```yaml # Local development deployment apiVersion: apps/v1 kind: Deployment metadata: name: myapp spec: template: spec: containers: - name: myapp image: myapp:dev imagePullPolicy: Never # Helm values for local dev # values-local.yaml image: repository: myapp tag: dev pullPolicy: Never ``` ### Bad ```yaml # Missing imagePullPolicy with local image containers: - name: myapp image: myapp:latest # Default: Always — will fail with ImagePullBackOff # Using Always with local-only image containers: - name: myapp image: myapp:dev imagePullPolicy: Always # Tries to pull from registry ``` ## Enforcement Use Kustomize overlays or Helm values files to set imagePullPolicy per environment. Lint YAML in CI to warn about missing imagePullPolicy on non-standard images.