toolkit

K8s Probe Generator

Runs in browser

Generate Kubernetes liveness, readiness, and startup probes

Quick Presets

Container

Liveness Probe
Restarts container if unhealthy
Readiness Probe
Controls traffic routing
Startup Probe
Delays other probes until ready

How to Use

Configure Liveness, Readiness, and Startup probes.

You will see:

  • Generated YAML Config
  • Best Practice Tips
  • One-click Copy
Generated YAML 
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: app-pod
  labels:
    app: app
spec:
  containers:
    - name: app
      image: nginx:latest
      ports:
        - containerPort: 8080
      livenessProbe:
        httpGet:
          path: /healthz
          port: 8080
        initialDelaySeconds: 15
        periodSeconds: 20
        timeoutSeconds: 1
        successThreshold: 1
        failureThreshold: 3
      readinessProbe:
        httpGet:
          path: /ready
          port: 8080
        initialDelaySeconds: 5
        periodSeconds: 10
        timeoutSeconds: 1
        successThreshold: 1
        failureThreshold: 3

Impact Analysis

Liveness Logic: If the app freezes, Kubernetes will wait 75s before killing it.
(Initial Wait: 15s + Detection: 20s × 3 checks)
Traffic Control: If the app gets overloaded, traffic stops after 30s of failure.
It takes 10s of health to receive traffic again.

About Kubernetes Health Probes

Kubernetes probes are health checks that determine if a container is running correctly and ready to receive traffic. Properly configured probes are essential for reliable deployments and self-healing applications.

Types of Probes

Liveness Probe

Checks if the container is alive. If it fails, Kubernetes restarts the container. Use for detecting deadlocks or hung processes.

Readiness Probe

Checks if the container can accept traffic. If it fails, the pod is removed from service endpoints. Use during startup or when temporarily overloaded.

Startup Probe

Checks if the application has started. Disables liveness/readiness checks until it succeeds. Use for slow-starting containers.

Probe Mechanisms

httpGet
HTTP request to endpoint — success if 2xx/3xx
tcpSocket
TCP connection to port — success if port is open
exec
Run command in container — success if exit code 0
grpc
gRPC health check — for gRPC services

Key Parameters

initialDelaySeconds
Wait before first probe (default: 0)
periodSeconds
How often to probe (default: 10)
timeoutSeconds
Probe timeout (default: 1)
failureThreshold
Failures before action (default: 3)
successThreshold
Successes to mark healthy (default: 1)

⚠️ Common Mistakes

  • Same probe for liveness and readiness: They serve different purposes
  • Too aggressive timeouts: Causes unnecessary restarts
  • Missing initialDelaySeconds: Probe fails before app starts
  • Heavy probe endpoints: Don't do database queries in probes

💡 Pro Tips

  • Use startup probe for slow-starting apps instead of high initialDelaySeconds
  • Keep probe endpoints lightweight — just check if app is responsive
  • Readiness probe should check external dependencies; liveness should not
  • Test probes thoroughly before production deployment

References & Further Reading