Dockerless CI/CD: Building Container Images on Locked-Down Runners

If you’ve ever tried to build container images inside a Kubernetes-based CI/CD pipeline and hit a wall because Docker isn’t available — or isn’t allowed — you’re not alone. Security teams are locking down runners more aggressively than ever, and Docker-in-Docker is often the first thing to go. That leaves a lot of engineering teams scrambling for a reliable way to keep their build pipelines running without punching holes in their security posture.