Tilt — Multi-Service Development for Kubernetes

What it is

Tilt is a development environment tool for Kubernetes that automates the inner dev loop for multi-service applications. It watches your source code, rebuilds container images, live-updates running pods, and displays logs and status for all services in a single dashboard. When you save a file, Tilt detects the change, rebuilds only what changed, and syncs it to the cluster in seconds.

Tilt targets teams running multiple microservices on Kubernetes who struggle with the slow rebuild-push-deploy cycle during local development. It solves what is commonly called the '50-microservice laptop problem.'

How it saves time or tokens

The traditional Kubernetes dev loop involves editing code, building a Docker image, pushing it to a registry, updating the deployment, and waiting for the pod to restart. This can take minutes per change. Tilt's live-update feature bypasses the full rebuild by syncing changed files directly into the running container, reducing the feedback loop to seconds. The unified dashboard eliminates the need to run kubectl logs in multiple terminals.

How to use

1. Install Tilt:

brew install tilt-dev/tap/tilt

1. Create a Tiltfile in your project root:

# Tiltfile
docker_build('my-api', './api')
k8s_yaml('k8s/api-deployment.yaml')
k8s_resource('api', port_forwards=8080)

docker_build('my-frontend', './frontend')
k8s_yaml('k8s/frontend-deployment.yaml')
k8s_resource('frontend', port_forwards=3000)

1. Run Tilt:

tilt up

Open the dashboard at http://localhost:10350 to see all services, logs, and build status.

Example

A Tiltfile with live-update for fast iteration:

docker_build(
  'my-api',
  './api',
  live_update=[
    sync('./api/src', '/app/src'),
    run('npm install', trigger='./api/package.json'),
  ]
)
k8s_yaml('k8s/api.yaml')
k8s_resource('api', port_forwards=8080)

With this config, editing a source file syncs it directly into the container without rebuilding the image.

Related on TokRepo

• AI Tools for DevOps — more Kubernetes and infrastructure development tools
• Automation Tools — build and deployment automation

Common pitfalls

• Live-update requires the container to support file syncing (e.g., a running process that watches for file changes); statically compiled binaries need a rebuild step
• Tilt's Tiltfile uses Starlark (a Python dialect), not standard Python; some Python features like imports are not available
• Running many services locally on Kubernetes requires significant CPU and memory; consider using k3d or minikube with adequate resource allocation