Image pull policy
An image pull policy is a Kubernetes container setting that determines when its image is pulled from a registry onto a node.
Kubernetes for Developers
An image pull policy is a Kubernetes Pod setting that determines when a container image is pulled from a registry.
- How it is used
- Uses Never to run locally built images without pushing them to a registry during development.
- How deep it goes
- Explains the local-image configuration and ErrImageNeverPull failure, but does not compare other pull-policy values.
- Examples
- Demonstrates timeserver:latest with imagePullPolicy: Never and Minikube image loading.
- What you can do after
- Operate local Kubernetes deployments using locally built images and diagnose ErrImageNeverPull when images are unavailable.
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Kubernetes in Action, Second Edition
An image pull policy is a Kubernetes container setting that determines when its container image is pulled onto a node.
- How it is used
- Controls whether container startup uses a registry, a worker-node cache, or both.
- How deep it goes
- Explains three policies, tag-based defaults, restart behavior, caching, and registry failures without descending into image internals.
- Examples
- Uses Always, Never, and IfNotPresent scenarios involving cached images, failed restarts, corrected tags, and unavailable registries.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure container startup by selecting a policy and anticipating its cache, restart, and registry effects.
Read how Kubernetes in Action, Second Edition explains image pull policy →
Related concepts
- container imageconfigures · A container image is a packaged filesystem and configuration artifact from which a container can be created and run.
- container registryuses · A container registry is a service or repository for storing, managing, and distributing container images and related artifacts.
- Kubernetes Deploymentconfigures · A Kubernetes Deployment is a declarative API resource that manages the desired state, scaling, and updates of a replicated application workload.
- image pull commandconfigures · An image pull command retrieves a container image from a registry into local image storage.
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