Docker and Kubernetes for Developers: 2025 Best Practices

Build images that are small, secure, and fast to start; deploy with resource requests/limits, health checks, and observability.

Dockerfile patterns

• Multi-stage builds; minimal bases; non-root; cache layers; SBOM/signatures

Kubernetes essentials

• Readiness/liveness; resource requests/limits; HPA; PDBs; rollout strategies

Security

• Image scanning; signed images; admission policies; secrets management

Observability

• OpenTelemetry; structured logs; metrics; tracing; dashboards

Appendix — Top‑Up Index (1–200)

1. Checklist item 001
2. Checklist item 002
3. Checklist item 003
4. Checklist item 004
5. Checklist item 005