--- title: Deploying to Kubernetes Clusters with No Access | daily.dev description: Gravity 7.0, an open-source Kubernetes application packaging tool, introduces 'application images' - a lighter alternative to full cluster images that lets... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/deploying-to-kubernetes-clusters-with-no-access-kwha9908w twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Deploying to Kubernetes Clusters with No Access | daily.dev og:description: Gravity 7.0, an open-source Kubernetes application packaging tool, introduces 'application images' - a lighter alternative to full cluster images that lets... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/deploying-to-kubernetes-clusters-with-no-access-kwha9908w og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/kwhA9908W.png og:image:alt: Deploying to Kubernetes Clusters with No Access og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Deploying to Kubernetes Clusters with No Access **[Teleport](https://daily.dev/sources/teleport)** · 7 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Gravity 7.0, an open-source Kubernetes application packaging tool, introduces 'application images' - a lighter alternative to full cluster images that lets developers package Helm chart-based apps along with their Docker images into a single deployable tarball, without bundling Kubernetes itself. This allows deploying, upgrading, and rolling back applications into existing Kubernetes clusters owned by third parties, cloud providers (GKE, OpenShift), or air-gapped environments where the developer has no direct access, using the 'tele build' and 'gravity app install/upgrade' CLI commands. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How do you deploy a Kubernetes application to a cluster you don't have direct access to, like a customer's on-premise environment? Gravity 7.0 introduces application images, a lighter alternative to full cluster images that package your Helm chart, application resources, and Docker images into a single tarball without bundling Kubernetes itself. You build it with 'tele build ./chart -o app-0.0.1.tar' and install it with 'gravity app install app-0.0.1.tar --registry=registry.customer.internal:5000', pushing images to the customer's internal Docker registry so no external registry access is needed. _daily.dev surfaces practical packaging patterns for teams shipping to customer-owned or air-gapped kubernetes clusters._ ### What is the difference between a Gravity cluster image and an application image? A cluster image bundles an application, its dependencies, and the full Kubernetes runtime so an entire cluster can be stood up from scratch, useful for environments with no pre-existing Kubernetes. An application image is a lighter package containing only the application resources and Docker images, meant to be deployed into an already-existing Kubernetes cluster such as GKE, OpenShift, or another vendor's setup. _developers choosing between packaging strategies for kubernetes delivery can track tradeoffs like these on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Cloud native application challenges: installing the walking skeleton](https://daily.dev/posts/cloud-native-application-challenges-installing-the-walking-skeleton-ew7cvjwvj) · The New Stack · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Declarative clusters: GitOps deployment of hosted control planes on Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization](https://daily.dev/posts/declarative-clusters-gitops-deployment-of-hosted-control-planes-on-red-hat-openshift-virtualization-cl5axwh9l) · Red Hat Developer · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Deploying Harbor on Kubernetes using Helm](https://daily.dev/posts/deploying-harbor-on-kubernetes-using-helm-pomvb1zpq) · CNCF · 6 upvotes · 0 comments - [A new Kubernetes package installer](https://daily.dev/posts/a-new-kubernetes-package-installer-zjnfclumz) · ITNEXT · 6 upvotes · 0 comments - [How to Support Your App on Kubernetes Environments You Don’t Control](https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-support-your-app-on-kubernetes-environments-you-don-t-control-m2xxilefm) · Fairwinds Blog · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#kubernetes](https://daily.dev/tags/kubernetes), [#helm](https://daily.dev/tags/helm) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/deploying-to-kubernetes-clusters-with-no-access-kwha9908w) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Deploying to Kubernetes Clusters with No Access","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/deploying-to-kubernetes-clusters-with-no-access-kwha9908w","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/deploying-to-kubernetes-clusters-with-no-access-kwha9908w"},"datePublished":"2026-08-23T12:23:12.832Z","dateModified":"2026-08-23T12:52:55.685Z","description":"Gravity 7.0, an open-source Kubernetes application packaging tool, introduces 'application images' - a lighter alternative to full cluster images that lets...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--P4t4XyoV--/f_auto/v1722860399/public/Placeholder%2001","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--P4t4XyoV--/f_auto/v1722860399/public/Placeholder%2001","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Teleport","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Teleport","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--Dw-Bbw6O--/c_limit,w_256/f_auto,q_auto/v1787487494/logos/teleport?_a=BAMAMicg0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/teleport"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/deploying-to-kubernetes-clusters-with-no-access-kwha9908w","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"kubernetes,helm","timeRequired":"PT7M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Teleport","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/teleport"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Deploying to Kubernetes Clusters with No Access"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/deploying-to-kubernetes-clusters-with-no-access-kwha9908w#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How do you deploy a Kubernetes application to a cluster you don't have direct access to, like a customer's on-premise environment?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Gravity 7.0 introduces application images, a lighter alternative to full cluster images that package your Helm chart, application resources, and Docker images into a single tarball without bundling Kubernetes itself. 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