How to fix ErrImageNeverPull: Container image is not present with pull policy of Never in Kubernetes

Check what images are available in the cluster. For Minikube:

minikube ssh docker images

For Kind, exec into the control plane node:

docker exec -it kind-control-plane crictl images

Look for your image with the exact name and tag specified in your pod spec.

If using Minikube, load your local image:

minikube image load myapp:latest

Or build directly in Minikube's Docker environment:

eval $(minikube docker-env)
docker build -t myapp:latest .

Note: Don't use sudo with docker commands after running eval—it breaks the environment.

For Kind clusters, use the kind load command:

kind load docker-image myapp:latest

For multi-node Kind clusters, load to specific nodes or all nodes:

kind load docker-image myapp:latest --nodes kind-worker,kind-worker2

Verify it loaded: docker exec kind-control-plane crictl images | grep myapp

The image reference must match exactly. Common mismatches:

# If you built as 'myapp:v1', use exactly that
image: myapp:v1  # Correct
image: myapp     # Wrong - defaults to :latest
image: docker.io/library/myapp:v1  # May not match

Check your local image name:

docker images myapp

If the strict Never policy isn't required, IfNotPresent is more flexible:

spec:
  containers:
  - name: myapp
    image: myapp:v1
    imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent

This uses local images when available but falls back to pulling if missing. Better for development workflows where you might forget to load images.

In multi-node clusters, imagePullPolicy: Never requires the image on every node. A local registry is more practical:

# Run a local registry
docker run -d -p 5000:5000 --name registry registry:2

# Tag and push your image
docker tag myapp:latest localhost:5000/myapp:latest
docker push localhost:5000/myapp:latest

Then use localhost:5000/myapp:latest in your pod spec with IfNotPresent.