dev-verify-loop

name	dev-verify-loop
description	Use when iteratively verifying operator changes in development — code edit, stop operator, optionally regenerate manifests or CRDs, restart operator, verify. Use when the user says "verify", "test this change", "restart the operator", or needs a stop-rebuild-run cycle.

Local Dev Verification Loop

Iterative stop-rebuild-restart cycle for the Konflux operator running outside the cluster via make run. Each iteration: stop the operator process, optionally regenerate/install manifests, restart, and verify.

When to Use

• Verifying operator code changes against a running cluster
• The operator is running outside the cluster via make run (development mode)
• You need to stop and restart the operator between iterations

Prerequisites: A Konflux environment is deployed and the operator is running via make run in a backgrounded terminal. For local Kind setup, see the local-dev-setup skill.

The Loop

Each verification iteration follows these steps:

1. Stop the operator — kill the make run process (see "Stopping the Operator" below)
2. If upstream kustomizations changed (operator/upstream-kustomizations/) — rebuild the embedded manifests: bash operator/pkg/manifests/rebuild-upstream-manifests.sh .
3. If API types, RBAC markers, or webhook config changed — run cd operator && make manifests generate
4. If CRD schema changed (fields added/removed/renamed in *_types.go) — run cd operator && make install
5. Start the operator — run cd operator && make run (run in the background)
6. Wait for startup — poll logs for "starting manager" or controller registration messages
7. Verify the change — check logs, inspect resources, confirm expected behavior
8. If not correct — fix the code and go back to step 1

Stopping the Operator

Kill ONLY the operator process — nothing else. NEVER use pkill, killall, or any broad kill command.

bash skills/dev-verify-loop/scripts/stop-operator.sh

The script finds the go run ... ./cmd/main.go process by its command line, kills it and its child processes (the compiled binary), and confirms everything stopped.

When to Regenerate / Rebuild

Rebuild upstream manifests when files in operator/upstream-kustomizations/ changed:

bash operator/pkg/manifests/rebuild-upstream-manifests.sh .

This runs kustomize build for each component and writes the result to operator/pkg/manifests/<component>/manifests.yaml, then extracts upstream-derived CRDs needed by envtest into operator/test/crds/. These YAML files are embedded into the operator binary via //go:embed, so the rebuild must happen before make run for changes to take effect.

Run make manifests generate from operator/ when ANY of these changed:

• operator/api/ — CRD types, marker comments
• RBAC markers (//+kubebuilder:rbac:...) in controller files
• Webhook configurations

Run make install (which applies CRDs to the cluster) when:

• CRD schema changed (fields added/removed/renamed in *_types.go)
• New CRD added

Skip all of the above when only controller logic, reconciler behavior, or non-API code changed.

Starting the Operator

From the operator/ directory, start make run as a background process:

make run

This is a long-running process — run it in the background. Then confirm startup by checking logs for "starting manager" or controller registration messages.

Verifying the Change

Verification is context-dependent — the user will tell you what to check. Examples: run a specific test, inspect operator logs, check a resource with kubectl get, apply a CR, or anything else. Ask the user if they haven't specified a verification method.

Always check operator logs for errors after restart — read the terminal running make run.

Quick Reference

Step	Command	When
Stop operator	bash skills/dev-verify-loop/scripts/stop-operator.sh	Every iteration
Rebuild upstream	bash operator/pkg/manifests/rebuild-upstream-manifests.sh .	Upstream kustomization changes
Regen manifests	cd operator && make manifests generate	API/RBAC changes
Install CRDs	cd operator && make install	CRD schema changes
Start operator	cd operator && make run (background)	Every iteration
Check startup	Poll logs for "starting manager"	After start
Check logs	Read the make run terminal file	After start
Konflux status	kubectl get konflux konflux -o jsonpath='{.status.conditions}'	When needed

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Using pkill or killall to stop operator	Always use the specific pid from the terminal file, or the helper script
Editing upstream kustomizations without rebuilding	Run bash operator/pkg/manifests/rebuild-upstream-manifests.sh . — the YAML is embedded at compile time
Forgetting make install after CRD changes	Operator will fail with validation errors — check logs
Starting make run before previous one stopped	Kill the old process first; port conflicts cause silent failures
Not waiting for startup before verifying	Poll for "starting manager" log line
Running make run from repo root	Must run from operator/ directory