| 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:
- Stop the operator — kill the
make run process (see "Stopping the Operator" below)
- If upstream kustomizations changed (
operator/upstream-kustomizations/) — rebuild the embedded manifests: bash operator/pkg/manifests/rebuild-upstream-manifests.sh .
- If API types, RBAC markers, or webhook config changed — run
cd operator && make manifests generate
- If CRD schema changed (fields added/removed/renamed in
*_types.go) — run cd operator && make install
- Start the operator — run
cd operator && make run (run in the background)
- Wait for startup — poll logs for
"starting manager" or controller registration messages
- Verify the change — check logs, inspect resources, confirm expected behavior
- 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 |
