Mid-levelMid (3–6 yrs)DockerKubernetesGoogleSpotifyShopify

Docker Compose dev to Kubernetes prod

How do you keep dev Docker Compose and production Kubernetes deployments aligned?

Answers use simple, clear English.

Audio N/A

Quick interview answer

Same container images in both — Compose only wires services locally. Helm/Kustomize for K8s manifests. CI builds immutable image tag once; dev pulls same tag.

Detailed answer

Same container images in both — Compose only wires services locally. Helm/Kustomize for K8s manifests. CI builds immutable image tag once; dev pulls same tag. Environment-specific values via ConfigMaps/secrets not rebuilt images. Integration tests run Compose or kind cluster in CI.

Real example & use case

CI publishes api:1.4.2; dev compose and prod Helm chart both reference 1.4.2 digest.

Pros & cons

Pros: parity reduces 'works on my machine'. Cons: Compose lacks K8s probes/HPA — document gaps.

#docker#kubernetes#devops