Kubernetes Explained: How YAML Manifests Become Running Pods in 5 Stages

A technical guide by Zareen Khan on DEV Community breaks down the Kubernetes deployment process into five core stages for clearer understanding. The workflow begins with writing YAML manifests — including Deployments, Services, ConfigMaps, and Secrets — which are then submitted via kubectl apply to the API server for validation. The scheduler assigns workloads to appropriate nodes based on resource availability, affinity rules, and taints, while the kubelet on each node pulls container images and starts the pods. Once running, applications are exposed through Services, Ingress, and DNS, with NetworkPolicy controlling internal traffic. Observability tools such as readiness and liveness probes, logs, metrics, and events are highlighted as essential for maintaining healthy, resilient applications in production.