InitContainerStatuses

InitContainerStatuses is a field in a Kubernetes PodStatus that records the status of the pod’s init containers. It is an array of ContainerStatus objects, one entry for each init container defined in the Pod spec, listed in the same order as the init containers. The kubelet populates this array as initialization proceeds, before the main application containers start.

Each entry describes the corresponding init container’s current state and basic identifying information. Typical fields include the container name, the current state (Waiting, Running, or Terminated), the last termination state, a readiness indicator, restart count, the image and image ID, and the container ID if the container has started. The exact fields reflect the standard ContainerStatus structure used for regular containers, adapted for init containers.

Behavioral significance: the pod will not begin running its application containers until all init containers have completed successfully. If an init container fails and cannot recover within the pod’s restart policy, the pod may enter a failed state, and initialization will halt until the issue is resolved.

Observability and debugging: InitContainerStatuses provides visibility into the progress and outcome of the initialization phase, aiding operators in diagnosing issues by correlating statuses with events and logs. When an init container terminates, the Terminated state can include details such as exit code, reason, and message. This field is maintained by the system and is generally read rather than modified by users.