CLI References

Skaffold command-line interface provides the following commands:

End-to-end pipelines:

skaffold run - to build & deploy once
skaffold dev - to trigger the watch loop build & deploy workflow with cleanup on exit

Pipeline building blocks for CI/CD:

skaffold build - to just build and tag your image(s)
skaffold deploy - to deploy the given image(s)
skaffold delete - to cleanup the deployed artifacts

Getting started with a new project:

skaffold init - to bootstrap Skaffold config
skaffold fix - to upgrade from

Utilities:

skaffold help - print help
skaffold version - get Skaffold version
skaffold completion - setup tab completion for the CLI
skaffold config - manage context specific parameters
skaffold diagnose - diagnostics of Skaffold works in your project

Global flags

Flag	Description
`-h, --help`	Prints the HELP file for the current command.
`-v, --verbosity LOG-LEVEL`	Uses a specific log level. Available log levels are `info`, `warn`, `error`, `fatal`. Default value is `warn`.

Global environment variables

Flag	Description
`SKAFFOLD_UPDATE_CHECK`	Enables checking for latest version of the Skaffold binary. By default it’s `true`.

Skaffold commands

skaffold build

Builds the artifacts

Usage:
  skaffold build [flags]

Flags:
  -b, --build-image stringArray      Choose which artifacts to build. Artifacts with image names that contain the expression will be built only. Default is to build sources for all artifacts
  -d, --default-repo string          Default repository value (overrides global config)
  -f, --filename string              Filename or URL to the pipeline file (default "skaffold.yaml")
  -n, --namespace string             Run deployments in the specified namespace
  -o, --output *flags.TemplateFlag   Format output with go-template. For full struct documentation, see https://godoc.org/github.com/GoogleContainerTools/skaffold/cmd/skaffold/app/cmd#BuildOutput (default {{range .Builds}}{{.ImageName}} -> {{.Tag}}
                                     {{end}})
  -p, --profile stringArray          Activate profiles by name
  -q, --quiet                        Suppress the build output and print image built on success
      --skip-tests                   Whether to skip the tests after building
      --toot                         Emit a terminal beep after the deploy is complete

Global Flags:
      --color int          Specify the default output color in ANSI escape codes (default 34)
  -v, --verbosity string   Log level (debug, info, warn, error, fatal, panic) (default "warning")

Env vars:

SKAFFOLD_BUILD_IMAGE (same as –build-image)
SKAFFOLD_DEFAULT_REPO (same as –default-repo)
SKAFFOLD_FILENAME (same as –filename)
SKAFFOLD_NAMESPACE (same as –namespace)
SKAFFOLD_OUTPUT (same as –output)
SKAFFOLD_PROFILE (same as –profile)
SKAFFOLD_QUIET (same as –quiet)
SKAFFOLD_SKIP_TESTS (same as –skip-tests)
SKAFFOLD_TOOT (same as –toot)

skaffold completion

Output shell completion for the given shell (bash or zsh)

Usage:
  skaffold completion SHELL [flags]

Global Flags:
      --color int          Specify the default output color in ANSI escape codes (default 34)
  -v, --verbosity string   Log level (debug, info, warn, error, fatal, panic) (default "warning")

Env vars:

skaffold config

A set of commands for interacting with the Skaffold config.

Usage:
  skaffold config [command]

Available Commands:
  list        List all values set in the global Skaffold config
  set         Set a value in the global Skaffold config
  unset       Unset a value in the global Skaffold config

Global Flags:
      --color int          Specify the default output color in ANSI escape codes (default 34)
  -v, --verbosity string   Log level (debug, info, warn, error, fatal, panic) (default "warning")

Use "skaffold config [command] --help" for more information about a command.

Env vars:

skaffold delete

Delete the deployed resources

Usage:
  skaffold delete [flags]

Flags:
  -d, --default-repo string   Default repository value (overrides global config)
  -f, --filename string       Filename or URL to the pipeline file (default "skaffold.yaml")
  -n, --namespace string      Run deployments in the specified namespace
  -p, --profile stringArray   Activate profiles by name
      --skip-tests            Whether to skip the tests after building
      --toot                  Emit a terminal beep after the deploy is complete

Global Flags:
      --color int          Specify the default output color in ANSI escape codes (default 34)
  -v, --verbosity string   Log level (debug, info, warn, error, fatal, panic) (default "warning")

Env vars:

SKAFFOLD_DEFAULT_REPO (same as –default-repo)
SKAFFOLD_FILENAME (same as –filename)
SKAFFOLD_NAMESPACE (same as –namespace)
SKAFFOLD_PROFILE (same as –profile)
SKAFFOLD_SKIP_TESTS (same as –skip-tests)
SKAFFOLD_TOOT (same as –toot)

skaffold deploy

Deploys the artifacts

Usage:
  skaffold deploy [flags]

Flags:
  -d, --default-repo string   Default repository value (overrides global config)
  -f, --filename string       Filename or URL to the pipeline file (default "skaffold.yaml")
      --images strings        A list of pre-built images to deploy
  -l, --label stringArray     Add custom labels to deployed objects. Set multiple times for multiple labels.
  -n, --namespace string      Run deployments in the specified namespace
  -p, --profile stringArray   Activate profiles by name
      --skip-tests            Whether to skip the tests after building
      --tail                  Stream logs from deployed objects
      --toot                  Emit a terminal beep after the deploy is complete

Global Flags:
      --color int          Specify the default output color in ANSI escape codes (default 34)
  -v, --verbosity string   Log level (debug, info, warn, error, fatal, panic) (default "warning")

Env vars:

SKAFFOLD_DEFAULT_REPO (same as –default-repo)
SKAFFOLD_FILENAME (same as –filename)
SKAFFOLD_IMAGES (same as –images)
SKAFFOLD_LABEL (same as –label)
SKAFFOLD_NAMESPACE (same as –namespace)
SKAFFOLD_PROFILE (same as –profile)
SKAFFOLD_SKIP_TESTS (same as –skip-tests)
SKAFFOLD_TAIL (same as –tail)
SKAFFOLD_TOOT (same as –toot)

skaffold dev

Runs a pipeline file in development mode

Usage:
  skaffold dev [flags]

Flags:
      --cleanup                   Delete deployments after dev mode is interrupted (default true)
  -d, --default-repo string       Default repository value (overrides global config)
      --experimental-gui          Experimental Graphical User Interface
  -f, --filename string           Filename or URL to the pipeline file (default "skaffold.yaml")
  -l, --label stringArray         Add custom labels to deployed objects. Set multiple times for multiple labels
  -n, --namespace string          Run deployments in the specified namespace
      --port-forward              Port-forward exposed container ports within pods (default true)
  -p, --profile stringArray       Activate profiles by name
      --skip-tests                Whether to skip the tests after building
      --tail                      Stream logs from deployed objects (default true)
      --toot                      Emit a terminal beep after the deploy is complete
      --trigger string            How are changes detected? (polling, manual or notify) (default "polling")
  -w, --watch-image stringArray   Choose which artifacts to watch. Artifacts with image names that contain the expression will be watched only. Default is to watch sources for all artifacts
  -i, --watch-poll-interval int   Interval (in ms) between two checks for file changes (default 1000)

Global Flags:
      --color int          Specify the default output color in ANSI escape codes (default 34)
  -v, --verbosity string   Log level (debug, info, warn, error, fatal, panic) (default "warning")

Env vars:

SKAFFOLD_CLEANUP (same as –cleanup)
SKAFFOLD_DEFAULT_REPO (same as –default-repo)
SKAFFOLD_EXPERIMENTAL_GUI (same as –experimental-gui)
SKAFFOLD_FILENAME (same as –filename)
SKAFFOLD_LABEL (same as –label)
SKAFFOLD_NAMESPACE (same as –namespace)
SKAFFOLD_PORT_FORWARD (same as –port-forward)
SKAFFOLD_PROFILE (same as –profile)
SKAFFOLD_SKIP_TESTS (same as –skip-tests)
SKAFFOLD_TAIL (same as –tail)
SKAFFOLD_TOOT (same as –toot)
SKAFFOLD_TRIGGER (same as –trigger)
SKAFFOLD_WATCH_IMAGE (same as –watch-image)
SKAFFOLD_WATCH_POLL_INTERVAL (same as –watch-poll-interval)

skaffold diagnose

Run a diagnostic on Skaffold

Usage:
  skaffold diagnose [flags]

Flags:
  -f, --filename string   Filename or URL to the pipeline file (default "skaffold.yaml")

Global Flags:
      --color int          Specify the default output color in ANSI escape codes (default 34)
  -v, --verbosity string   Log level (debug, info, warn, error, fatal, panic) (default "warning")

Env vars:

SKAFFOLD_FILENAME (same as –filename)

skaffold fix

Converts old Skaffold config to newest schema version

Usage:
  skaffold fix [flags]

Flags:
  -f, --filename string   Filename or URL to the pipeline file (default "skaffold.yaml")
      --overwrite         Overwrite original config with fixed config

Global Flags:
      --color int          Specify the default output color in ANSI escape codes (default 34)
  -v, --verbosity string   Log level (debug, info, warn, error, fatal, panic) (default "warning")

Env vars:

SKAFFOLD_FILENAME (same as –filename)
SKAFFOLD_OVERWRITE (same as –overwrite)

skaffold init

Automatically generate Skaffold configuration for deploying an application

Usage:
  skaffold init [flags]

Flags:
  -a, --artifact stringArray   '='-delimited dockerfile/image pair to generate build artifact
                               (example: --artifact=/web/Dockerfile.web=gcr.io/web-project/image)
      --compose-file string    Initialize from a docker-compose file
  -f, --filename string        Filename or URL to the pipeline file (default "skaffold.yaml")
      --force                  Force the generation of the Skaffold config
      --skip-build             Skip generating build artifacts in Skaffold config

Global Flags:
      --color int          Specify the default output color in ANSI escape codes (default 34)
  -v, --verbosity string   Log level (debug, info, warn, error, fatal, panic) (default "warning")

Env vars:

SKAFFOLD_ARTIFACT (same as –artifact)
SKAFFOLD_COMPOSE_FILE (same as –compose-file)
SKAFFOLD_FILENAME (same as –filename)
SKAFFOLD_FORCE (same as –force)
SKAFFOLD_SKIP_BUILD (same as –skip-build)

skaffold run

Runs a pipeline file

Usage:
  skaffold run [flags]

Flags:
  -d, --default-repo string   Default repository value (overrides global config)
  -f, --filename string       Filename or URL to the pipeline file (default "skaffold.yaml")
  -l, --label stringArray     Add custom labels to deployed objects. Set multiple times for multiple labels.
  -n, --namespace string      Run deployments in the specified namespace
  -p, --profile stringArray   Activate profiles by name
      --skip-tests            Whether to skip the tests after building
  -t, --tag string            The optional custom tag to use for images which overrides the current Tagger configuration
      --tail                  Stream logs from deployed objects
      --toot                  Emit a terminal beep after the deploy is complete

Global Flags:
      --color int          Specify the default output color in ANSI escape codes (default 34)
  -v, --verbosity string   Log level (debug, info, warn, error, fatal, panic) (default "warning")

Env vars:

SKAFFOLD_DEFAULT_REPO (same as –default-repo)
SKAFFOLD_FILENAME (same as –filename)
SKAFFOLD_LABEL (same as –label)
SKAFFOLD_NAMESPACE (same as –namespace)
SKAFFOLD_PROFILE (same as –profile)
SKAFFOLD_SKIP_TESTS (same as –skip-tests)
SKAFFOLD_TAG (same as –tag)
SKAFFOLD_TAIL (same as –tail)
SKAFFOLD_TOOT (same as –toot)

skaffold version

Print the version information

Usage:
  skaffold version [flags]

Flags:
  -o, --output *flags.TemplateFlag   Format output with go-template. For full struct documentation, see https://godoc.org/github.com/GoogleContainerTools/skaffold/pkg/skaffold/version#Info (default {{.Version}}
                                     )

Global Flags:
      --color int          Specify the default output color in ANSI escape codes (default 34)
  -v, --verbosity string   Log level (debug, info, warn, error, fatal, panic) (default "warning")

Env vars:

SKAFFOLD_OUTPUT (same as –output)

Last modified February 14, 2019: Merge pull request #1655 from balopat/v0230 (2590e9d)