Tilt Setup

Install Tilt and scaffold or audit Tiltfile + tilt/ configurations for local Kubernetes development with ecosystem-aware templates.

Pre-flight

Run the detection script to understand current state:

python3 ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/detect_tilt.py <project-root>

The detector reports: tilt/kubectl binaries, current kubectl context (with production-pattern matching), existing Tiltfile and tilt/ modular layout (also recognizes legacy .tilt/), .tiltignore, tilt_config.json, ecosystems detected (Java/Gradle, Next.js, Python, infra), local cluster tools available, and audit violations (TILT001–TILT025) when a Tiltfile exists.

Decision Flow

Run detector
    |
    ├── tilt_binary.installed = false → Install Tilt first
    |
    ├── kubectl_context.is_production_pattern = true → STOP and warn user
    |
    ├── tiltfile.exists = true → Phase 1: Audit
    |
    └── tiltfile.exists = false → Phase 2: Scaffold

Phase 1: Audit (Existing Tiltfile)

1. Summarize findings — show a status table:

   Component	Status	Detail
   tilt binary	installed/missing	version, path
   kubectl context	safe/production	current context, classification
   Tiltfile	found/not found	path, line count
   Modular layout	yes/no	tilt/ files (config.star, services.star, *.yaml)
   Ecosystems	N detected	java-gradle, nextjs, python, infra
   Service count	N services	k8s_resource calls
   Safety guard	yes/no	allow_k8s_contexts or manual guard
   .tiltignore	yes/no	path

2. Present audit violations grouped by severity (ERROR > WARNING > INFO):

   • Show rule ID, message, fix hint
   • Rules cover: missing safety guard, deprecated restart_container, missing live_update, no watch_settings, no update_settings, missing resource_deps/labels/port_forwards, monolithic Tiltfile, etc.

3. Use AskUserQuestion (multiSelect: true) — ask which violations to fix.

4. Apply selected fixes — see WORKFLOW.md for per-rule fix strategies.

5. Re-run detector to verify fixes were applied.

Phase 2: Scaffold (No Tiltfile)

1. Install tilt if missing — show commands based on os field:

   • macOS: brew install tilt-dev/tap/tilt
   • Linux: curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tilt-dev/tilt/master/scripts/install.sh | bash
   • Verify: tilt version

2. Verify kubectl context is safe — if kubectl_context.is_production_pattern is true, STOP and ask the user to switch contexts before proceeding.

3. Review detected ecosystems — show what was found.

4. Choose Tiltfile pattern — use AskUserQuestion:

   • Single-file (Tiltfile only) — recommended for 1–3 services, single ecosystem
   • Modular (Tiltfile + tilt/config.star + tilt/services.star + tilt/service-config.yaml + tilt/environments.yaml) — recommended for 4+ services, 2+ ecosystems, or 2+ environment presets

5. Choose features — use AskUserQuestion (multiSelect: true):

   Feature	When to enable
   Manual context guard	Always (recommended over allow_k8s_contexts alone)
   PVC persistence toggle	Stateful services (postgres, kafka, opensearch)
   JDWP debug ports	Java/Spring Boot services
   Monitoring stack	Prometheus + Grafana via helm_resource
   Traefik gateway	Multi-service projects with HTTP routing

6. Generate Tiltfile + supporting files — see WORKFLOW.md for templates.

   Always include in the root Tiltfile:

   • Manual validate_cluster_safety() guard at top (blocks arn:aws:eks:, gke_, prod, production, staging)
   • watch_settings(ignore=[...]) with build artifacts and dep dirs
   • update_settings(max_parallel_updates=2) for laptop-friendly CPU usage
   • .tiltignore next to Tiltfile

7. Verify — run tilt alpha tiltfile-result to validate syntax, then re-run detector.

Key Rules

• Never overwrite existing Tiltfile or tilt/ files without asking. Offer merge/replace/skip.
• Detect first — skip steps already configured.
• Use AskUserQuestion for every decision. Do not assume user preferences.
• Always start with safety guard — refuse to scaffold without one. The cost of accidental prod deployment is too high.
• Use ext://restart_process not restart_container() — the latter is deprecated.
• Load extensions only from root Tiltfile — Starlark load() of ext:// from sub-files fails.
• Externalize service definitions to YAML for modular layouts — read_yaml("tilt/service-config.yaml") keeps config team-editable.
• PVC persistence pattern — create persistent PVCs via local("kubectl apply") outside Tilt's lifecycle so they survive tilt down.
• Per-ecosystem live_update:
  • Spring Boot: custom_build + local_resource compile + sync of .class files
  • Next.js: local_resource with serve_cmd (preferred) OR container with WATCHPACK_POLLING=true
  • Python: docker_build + sync + uvicorn --reload (no restart_container needed)

Reference Material

The skill's reference base lives at docs/research/tilt-local-kubernetes-development-setup.md (in this repo). It contains the full Tilt API reference, ecosystem recipes, cluster comparison, audit rule definitions (TILT001–TILT025), and scaffold templates.

References

• Workflow: See WORKFLOW.md for detailed per-step flows and templates
• Examples: See EXAMPLES.md for example setup and audit sessions
• Troubleshooting: See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for common issues
• Detection Script: See scripts/detect_tilt.py for detection logic
• Research base: docs/research/tilt-local-kubernetes-development-setup.md