Skaffold with OrbStack - Port-Forward-Free Development

Overview

OrbStack provides superior local Kubernetes networking compared to other tools (minikube, kind, Docker Desktop). Services are accessible directly from macOS without port-forward.

Key OrbStack Advantages

Service Access Methods

Method 1: LoadBalancer Services (Simplest)

Change service type from ClusterIP to LoadBalancer:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: my-app
spec:
  type: LoadBalancer  # OrbStack auto-provisions external IP
  ports:
    - port: 80
      targetPort: 8080
  selector:
    app: my-app

Access: curl http://my-app.default.svc.cluster.local from macOS

Method 2: Ingress with Wildcard DNS (Recommended)

One-time setup - Install Ingress controller:

# Ingress-NGINX (recommended)
kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes/ingress-nginx/controller-v1.8.1/deploy/static/provider/cloud/deploy.yaml

# OR Traefik
helm repo add traefik https://traefik.github.io/charts
helm install traefik traefik/traefik

Create Ingress for your service:

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: my-app
spec:
  ingressClassName: nginx
  rules:
    - host: my-app.k8s.orb.local
      http:
        paths:
          - path: /
            pathType: Prefix
            backend:
              service:
                name: my-app
                port:
                  number: 80

Access: http://my-app.k8s.orb.local (auto-resolves)

Method 3: Direct Service DNS (cluster.local)

OrbStack exposes cluster DNS to macOS:

# Access any service directly
curl http://my-app.default.svc.cluster.local:8080

# Full DNS pattern
curl http://<service>.<namespace>.svc.cluster.local:<port>

Skaffold Configuration for OrbStack

Minimal skaffold.yaml (No Port-Forward Needed)

apiVersion: skaffold/v4beta11
kind: Config
metadata:
  name: my-app

build:
  local:
    push: false
    useBuildkit: true
  artifacts:
    - image: my-app
      docker:
        dockerfile: Dockerfile

deploy:
  kubeContext: orbstack
  kubectl:
    manifests:
      - k8s/*.yaml
  statusCheck: true
  statusCheckDeadlineSeconds: 180

# Port-forward REMOVED - use LoadBalancer/Ingress instead

Profile: Local with Ingress

profiles:
  - name: local-ingress
    deploy:
      kubeContext: orbstack
      kubectl:
        manifests:
          - k8s/base/*.yaml
          - k8s/ingress/*.yaml  # Ingress resources

Profile: Services-Only (Frontend Local Dev)

profiles:
  - name: services-only
    build:
      artifacts: []  # Don't build frontend
    deploy:
      kubeContext: orbstack
      kubectl:
        manifests:
          - k8s/namespace.yaml
          - k8s/database/*.yaml
          - k8s/api/*.yaml

Access backend at http://api.k8s.orb.local while running npm run dev locally.

Kubernetes Manifest Templates

LoadBalancer Service Template

# k8s/service.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: {{ .name }}
  labels:
    app: {{ .name }}
spec:
  type: LoadBalancer
  ports:
    - name: http
      port: 80
      targetPort: {{ .containerPort | default 8080 }}
  selector:
    app: {{ .name }}

Ingress Template

# k8s/ingress.yaml
apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: {{ .name }}
  annotations:
    nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/rewrite-target: /
spec:
  ingressClassName: nginx
  rules:
    - host: {{ .name }}.k8s.orb.local
      http:
        paths:
          - path: /
            pathType: Prefix
            backend:
              service:
                name: {{ .name }}
                port:
                  number: 80

Migration: Port-Forward to LoadBalancer

Before (Traditional)

# skaffold.yaml with port-forward
portForward:
  - resourceType: service
    resourceName: api
    port: 8080
    localPort: 8080
    address: 127.0.0.1
  - resourceType: service
    resourceName: frontend
    port: 3000
    localPort: 3000
    address: 127.0.0.1

skaffold dev  # Services at localhost:8080, localhost:3000

After (OrbStack Native)

# k8s/services.yaml - Change service types
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: api
spec:
  type: LoadBalancer  # Changed from ClusterIP
  ports:
    - port: 8080
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: frontend
spec:
  type: LoadBalancer  # Changed from ClusterIP
  ports:
    - port: 3000

# skaffold.yaml - Remove portForward section entirely
deploy:
  kubeContext: orbstack
  kubectl:
    manifests:
      - k8s/*.yaml
# No portForward needed!

skaffold dev  # Services at api.default.svc.cluster.local:8080
              #            frontend.default.svc.cluster.local:3000

Common Patterns

Database Access

# k8s/postgresql.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: postgresql
spec:
  type: LoadBalancer  # Access from local tools (DBeaver, pgAdmin)
  ports:
    - port: 5432

Connection string: postgres://user:pass@postgresql.default.svc.cluster.local:5432/db

Multi-Service Application

# k8s/ingress.yaml - Single Ingress for all services
apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: app-ingress
spec:
  ingressClassName: nginx
  rules:
    - host: api.k8s.orb.local
      http:
        paths:
          - path: /
            pathType: Prefix
            backend:
              service:
                name: api
                port:
                  number: 8080
    - host: web.k8s.orb.local
      http:
        paths:
          - path: /
            pathType: Prefix
            backend:
              service:
                name: frontend
                port:
                  number: 3000
    - host: admin.k8s.orb.local
      http:
        paths:
          - path: /
            pathType: Prefix
            backend:
              service:
                name: admin-panel
                port:
                  number: 8000

Security Considerations

Default: Localhost Only

OrbStack restricts services to localhost by default - safe on untrusted networks.

Expose to LAN (Use with Caution)

Settings → Kubernetes → "Expose services to local network devices"

Only enable when:

• Testing from mobile devices on same network
• Sharing local environment with team
• On trusted network

Troubleshooting

Service Not Accessible

1. Check service type: kubectl get svc
2. Verify LoadBalancer has EXTERNAL-IP (not <pending>)
3. Test DNS: nslookup my-app.default.svc.cluster.local

Ingress Not Working

1. Verify Ingress controller is running:

   kubectl -n ingress-nginx get pods
   

2. Check Ingress controller has LoadBalancer IP:

   kubectl -n ingress-nginx get svc
   

3. Verify Ingress resource:

   kubectl describe ingress my-app
   

DNS Resolution Issues

# Test cluster DNS from macOS
nslookup my-service.default.svc.cluster.local

# If short names fail, use full domain
# ❌ my-service.default.svc
# ✅ my-service.default.svc.cluster.local

Pod IP Direct Access (Debugging)

# Get pod IP
kubectl get pods -o wide

# Connect directly (OrbStack routes pod network to macOS)
curl http://10.42.0.15:8080

Quick Setup Checklist

1. Install Ingress controller (one-time)
2. Change service types to LoadBalancer
3. Create Ingress resources for pretty URLs
4. Remove portForward from skaffold.yaml
5. Set kubeContext: orbstack in deploy config
6. Update local .env/config to use .k8s.orb.local URLs

Commands Reference

# Start development (no --port-forward needed)
skaffold dev --kube-context=orbstack

# Run specific profile
skaffold dev -p services-only --kube-context=orbstack

# Check service accessibility
kubectl get svc -o wide

# Verify Ingress
kubectl get ingress