Kubernetes Probe Builder

Build a livenessProbe, readinessProbe, or startupProbe spec with any handler (httpGet, tcpSocket, exec, grpc). See the exact time to detect failure that the kubelet will use — periodSeconds × failureThreshold + timeoutSeconds — plus a check-timing timeline so you can tell at a glance when the pod restarts (liveness), leaves the Service endpoints (readiness), or fails to start (startup).

Probe kind & handler

probe kind

handler

path

port (name or number)

scheme

host override (optional)

HTTP headers

port (name or number)

host override (optional)

command (one arg per line)

port

service (optional)

Timing

initialDelaySeconds

periodSeconds

timeoutSeconds

failureThreshold

successThreshold

terminationGracePeriodSeconds
(liveness only, k8s ≥ 1.27)

preset: strict (5s / 2s / 2) defaults (10s / 1s / 3) slow starter (30s / 5s / 3) startup for legacy app (10s × 30 = 5min budget)

Effective timing

successThreshold must be 1 for liveness and startup. readiness accepts >1. terminationGracePeriodSeconds on a probe overrides the pod's for the SIGKILL after a liveness failure — useful when the app needs quicker draining than the rest of the pod.

Generated YAML

Notes for this probe kind

Reference

httpGet success = HTTP status >=200 and <400. Redirects are followed as normal responses (302 → success). host defaults to the pod IP; a header Host: foo is preferred over the field.
exec is billed to the container's CPU quota — if the container is CPU-throttled, the probe can time out with the app healthy. Prefer httpGet when possible.
grpc uses the standard grpc.health.v1.Health/Check RPC. Requires --feature-gates=GRPCContainerProbe=true before 1.24 and the app to implement it.
startupProbe disables both liveness and readiness until it succeeds once. Perfect for JVM / Rails / Django apps that take minutes to warm up — you can set liveness aggressive (fast restart on lockup) without gambling on the first minute.
Only tune terminationGracePeriodSeconds on the probe if you want liveness-triggered kills to have a different grace than pod-triggered ones. Feature is GA in 1.27.