Build Go container images without a Dockerfile or a Docker daemon — compile, layer, push, and deploy in one fast, reproducible step.

Welcome to ko: Effortless Go Containers.

ko is a container image builder made for one job and made to do it well: turning a Go program into a container image without a Dockerfile and without a Docker daemon. It runs go build on your machine, lays the resulting binary onto a small base image, and pushes the result straight to a registry — producing reproducible, SBOM-friendly, multi-platform images in seconds. This book follows ko from first principles to daily practice. We open with the problem ko was built to escape, then look closely at how it assembles an image layer by layer, how it talks to registries and local clusters, and how it makes container references disappear from your Kubernetes YAML through ko:// import paths and the resolve/apply workflow. From there we turn to supply-chain features — automatic SBOMs, multi-platform builds, reproducible output, and signing — before closing with configuration, CI patterns, and where ko fits in the cloud-native ecosystem.

This title is part of the ShriIra library and is free to read in full, right here — our small contribution to making world-class knowledge easy to reach.

A note on reading it: open the Contents menu at the top of the reader to jump between chapters, use the Aa menu to set a comfortable text size, theme (light, sepia, or night), and single- or two-page layout. Your place is saved automatically, so you can always pick up where you left off.

We hope it serves you well.

— Shriira Press

Contents

1. Chapter 1 — The Problem ko Solves
2. Chapter 2 — How ko Builds an Image
3. Chapter 3 — Registries, References, and Local Workflows
4. Chapter 4 — ko and Kubernetes
5. Chapter 5 — Supply Chain: SBOMs, Multi-Platform, and Signing
6. Chapter 6 — ko in Practice