/configure:skaffold
Check and configure Skaffold against project standards.
When to Use This Skill
| Use this skill when... | Use another approach when... |
|---|---|
| Checking Skaffold configuration compliance for a Kubernetes project | Project has no k8s/ or helm/ directories (Skaffold is not applicable) |
| Fixing port forwarding security issues (binding to 0.0.0.0) | Managing Kubernetes manifests or Helm charts directly |
| Adding dotenvx hooks for secret generation in Skaffold | Configuring container builds without Kubernetes (use /configure:dockerfile) |
| Upgrading Skaffold API version to latest | Debugging Skaffold runtime errors (use system-debugging agent) |
| Creating a standard skaffold.yaml from template | Setting up a non-Skaffold local dev workflow (e.g., Docker Compose) |
Context
- K8s/Helm directories:!
find. -maxdepth 1 -type d \(-name 'k8s' -o -name 'helm' \) - Skaffold config:!
find. -maxdepth 1 -name \'skaffold.yaml\' - Skaffold API version:!
grep -m1 apiVersion skaffold.yaml - Port forward config:!
grep -m1 address skaffold.yaml - Profiles defined:!
grep -m10 'name:' skaffold.yaml - Generate-secrets script:!
find. -maxdepth 1 -name \'scripts/generate-secrets.sh\' - Dotenvx available:!
command -v dotenvx - Project standards:!
find. -maxdepth 1 -name '.project-standards.yaml' -type f
Skills referenced: skaffold-standards, container-development, skaffold-orbstack
Applicability: Only for projects with Kubernetes deployment (k8s/, helm/ directories)
Parameters
Parse these from $ARGUMENTS:
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
--check-only | Report status without offering fixes |
--fix | Apply fixes automatically |
Version Checking
CRITICAL: Before configuring Skaffold, verify latest versions:
- Skaffold: Check skaffold.dev or GitHub releases
- API version: Current recommended is
skaffold/v4beta13 - dotenvx: Check dotenvx.com for latest patterns
Use WebSearch or WebFetch to verify current Skaffold version and API version.
Execution
Execute this Skaffold compliance check:
Step 1: Check applicability
Check for k8s/ or helm/ directories. If neither is found, report "SKIP: Skaffold not applicable (no Kubernetes manifests)" and stop. If found, proceed to check for skaffold.yaml.
Step 2: Parse configuration
Read skaffold.yaml and extract:
- API version
- Build configuration (local.push, useBuildkit)
- Deploy configuration (kubeContext, statusCheck)
- Port forwarding (addresses)
- Profiles defined
- Hooks (dotenvx integration)
Step 3: Analyze compliance
Check each setting against these standards:
| Check | Standard | Severity |
|---|---|---|
| API version | skaffold/v4beta13 | WARN if older |
| local.push | false | FAIL if true |
| portForward.address | 127.0.0.1 | FAIL if missing/0.0.0.0 |
| useBuildkit | true | WARN if false |
| kubeContext | orbstack | INFO (recommended for local dev) |
| dotenvx hooks | Build or deploy hooks | INFO (recommended for secrets) |
Security-critical: Port forwarding MUST bind to localhost only (127.0.0.1). Never allow 0.0.0.0 or missing address.
Recommended settings:
db-onlyorservices-onlyprofile for local dev workflowstatusCheck: truewith reasonable deadline (180s for init containers)tolerateFailuresUntilDeadline: truefor graceful pod initialization- JSON log parsing for structured application logs
- dotenvx hooks for secrets generation from.env files
Step 4: Report results
Print a compliance report with:
- Skaffold file location and API version
- Each configuration check result (PASS/WARN/FAIL)
- Profiles found
- Scripts status (generate-secrets.sh)
- Overall compliance status
If --check-only, stop here.
Step 5: Apply fixes (if --fix or user confirms)
- Missing skaffold.yaml: Create from standard template in REFERENCE.md
- Security issues: Fix port forwarding addresses to
127.0.0.1 - Missing profiles: Add
db-onlyprofile template - Outdated API: Update apiVersion to v4beta13
- Missing dotenvx hooks: Add secrets generation hook
- Missing scripts: Create
scripts/generate-secrets.shfrom template in REFERENCE.md - Missing kubeContext: Add
orbstackfor local development
Step 6: Update standards tracking
Update .project-standards.yaml:
components:
skaffold: "2025.1"Agentic Optimizations
| Context | Command | |
|---|---|---|
| Quick compliance check | /configure:skaffold --check-only | |
| Auto-fix all issues | /configure:skaffold --fix | |
| Check API version | `head -5 skaffold.yaml \ | grep apiVersion` |
| Check port forwarding security | `grep -A2 'portForward' skaffold.yaml \ | grep address` |
| List profiles | `grep 'name:' skaffold.yaml \ | grep -v metadata` |
Security Note
Port forwarding without address: 127.0.0.1 exposes services to the network. This is a FAIL condition that should always be fixed.
For the standard Skaffold template, dotenvx integration patterns, and generate-secrets script template, see REFERENCE.md.
See Also
/configure:dockerfile- Container configuration/configure:all- Run all compliance checksskaffold-standardsskill - Skaffold patterns