# Tilt — Multi-Service Development for Kubernetes

> Kubernetes dev loop that watches source, rebuilds images, live-updates pods, and shows it all in one dashboard. The standard tool for the 50-microservice laptop problem.

## Install

Save as a script file and run:

# Tilt — Multi-Service Development for Kubernetes

## Quick Use
```bash
# install on macOS / Linux
brew install tilt-dev/tap/tilt     # or: curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tilt-dev/tilt/master/scripts/install.sh | bash

# a minimal Tiltfile (checked into the repo)
cat > Tiltfile <<'EOF'
docker_build('me/api', './services/api')
k8s_yaml(kustomize('./k8s/overlays/dev'))
k8s_resource('api', port_forwards=8080)
EOF

# bring up the dev stack and open the live dashboard
tilt up
```

## Introduction
Tilt solves the "50 microservices on my laptop" problem. Where Docker Compose stalls and raw kubectl becomes a maintenance nightmare, Tilt turns your Kubernetes manifests into a reactive dev loop — edit a source file, Tilt rebuilds only the affected image, reloads the pod, and streams merged logs to a single UI. It is the standard tool at companies that ship dozens of services into a shared cluster.

## What Tilt Does
- Watches source trees and rebuilds images incrementally with BuildKit or Buildpacks
- Live-updates running pods via `docker cp`-style file syncs — no full rebuild needed
- Aggregates logs, events, and resource status into one web dashboard
- Automates `kubectl apply`, `helm template`, `kustomize build`, and custom commands
- Re-runs tests and linters on save with configurable trigger modes

## Architecture Overview
Tilt is a Go binary that reads a `Tiltfile` — a Starlark script exposing build, deploy, and resource primitives. It launches a long-running controller which reconciles the declared state with Kubernetes, watches filesystem changes with fsnotify, and talks to a local container runtime for builds. The web UI is a separate React app served on a local port and updated over a streaming API.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- `Tiltfile` is pure Starlark — loops, functions, and imports work as you expect
- `docker_build` supports `live_update` steps that sync files into a running container
- Define resource dependencies so backend starts before frontend
- Works with kind, k3d, minikube, and remote clusters via `allow_k8s_contexts`
- Shared team dev environment: `tilt up --host=0.0.0.0` and forward the UI port

## Key Features
- Live-update skips full image rebuilds for 10x faster inner-loop iteration
- Resource graph visualizer makes dependency chains obvious
- Built-in support for Helm, Kustomize, ytt, and raw manifests in one Tiltfile
- Extension registry at tilt.dev/extensions for Postgres, cert-manager, Redis, and more
- Snapshot feature captures a dev session for bug reports

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Skaffold** — Google's alternative; similar scope, YAML-config-first vs Starlark
- **Garden** — focuses on full-stack envs incl. tests; heavier config
- **Okteto** — cloud-hosted dev envs; great UX but not self-hosted
- **DevSpace** — declarative YAML, similar hot-reload goals
- **Docker Compose** — simple but Kubernetes-free; no service mesh / operators

## FAQ
**Q: Does Tilt work with a remote cluster?**
A: Yes — whitelist the context with `allow_k8s_contexts("my-dev-cluster")`. Many teams run a shared dev cluster this way.

**Q: How is live-update different from a rebuild?**
A: Live-update copies changed files into the running pod and optionally runs a restart command, skipping the entire image build/push cycle.

**Q: Can I use Tilt in CI?**
A: The `tilt ci` mode runs the Tiltfile once, waits for readiness, and exits non-zero on failure — perfect for smoke tests.

**Q: Does Tilt replace Helm?**
A: No. Tilt invokes Helm (or Kustomize) and adds the dev loop around it.

## Sources
- https://github.com/tilt-dev/tilt
- https://docs.tilt.dev/


---
Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/55c41d88-3900-11f1-9bc6-00163e2b0d79
Author: Script Depot