Traces

A trace follows a system to the bottom: one question, one diagram, and the path between them. Each ends with what I still don't know.

• 2026-07-20

  When I run kubectl apply, what really happens between my terminal and a running Pod?

  Following one apply through the API server, etcd, controllers, the scheduler, and the kubelet — and learning that nothing in Kubernetes pushes; everything watches and reacts.

• 2026-07-18

  Once I push to git, how does the change actually reach the cluster — without anyone running kubectl?

  Following a change from a commit through GitHub Actions, Image Updater, ArgoCD, and Helm into the cluster — GitOps as a reconciliation loop, not a deployment pipeline.

• 2026-07-14

  What actually happens after a packet enters a Kubernetes node?

  I stopped fixing networking issues by changing YAML and traced one request end to end instead — through eth0, iptables, conntrack, the CNI bridge, a veth pair, and into the Pod's network namespace.