Kubectl command guide

Basic Commands

Context configuration

# Set a new context with a specific cluster, namespace, and user
kubectl config set-context <context> --cluster=my-cluster --namespace=development --user=dev-user

# Switch to a specific context to make it the active context for future commands
kubectl config use-context <context>

# Display the current active context
kubectl config current-context

# List all available contexts in the kubeconfig file
kubectl config get-contexts

# Rename an existing context
kubectl config rename-context <old_context> <new_context>

# Delete a context from the kubeconfig file
kubectl config delete-context <old_context>

# Set a default namespace for a specific context
kubectl config set-context <context> --namespace=default

Context configuration using EKS

aws eks --region <region> update-kubeconfig --name <cluster_name> --profile <profile>

Retrieve a list of nodes

A comprehensive guide to essential kubectl commands for effective Kubernetes cluster management.

kubectl get no                # Display a basic list of nodes
kubectl get no -o wide        # List nodes with additional details like IP and role
kubectl describe no           # Detailed information about each node
kubectl get no -o yaml        # Output node list in YAML format

Retrieve nodes with a specific label

kubectl get node --selector=<label_name>   # Filter nodes by a specific label
kubectl get nodes -o=jsonpath='{.items[*].status.addresses[?(@.type=="ExternalIP")].address}'  # Display external IPs

Resource Usage and Monitoring

Monitor the resource usage of nodes and containers.

Display resource usage statistics

kubectl top node <node_name>  # Show resource usage (CPU and memory) for a specific node

Roles and Namespaces

Commands for managing and listing roles and namespaces.

Display roles in all namespaces

kubectl get roles --all-namespaces       # List roles in all namespaces
kubectl get roles -o yaml                # List roles in YAML format for more detail

Display a list of namespaces

kubectl get namespaces                   # List available namespaces
kubectl get ns -o yaml                   # List namespaces in YAML format
kubectl describe ns <namespace_name>     # Detailed information about a specific namespace

Pods Management

Essential commands for listing and managing pods.

Retrieve a list of pods

kubectl get pod                           # List all pods in the current namespace
kubectl get pod -o wide                   # Display additional pod info like IP and node
kubectl describe pod                      # Show detailed pod information
kubectl get pod --show-labels             # List pods with their associated labels
kubectl get pod -l app=<app_name>         # Filter pods by specific label, like "app"
kubectl get pod -o yaml                   # Output pods in YAML format

Save the YAML of a specific pod

kubectl get pod <pod_name> -o yaml --export > <pod_name>.yaml  # Export pod definition to a file

Retrieve running pods only

kubectl get pods --field-selector=status.phase=Running  # List only running pods

Deployments Management

Commands to manage deployments within the cluster.

Retrieve a list of deployments

kubectl get deploy                       # List deployments in the current namespace
kubectl describe deploy <deploy_name>    # Detailed information about a deployment
kubectl get deploy -o wide               # List deployments with extra details
kubectl get deploy -o yaml               # Output deployments in YAML format

Services

Commands to manage and list services, the stable access points to your workloads.

Retrieve a list of services

kubectl get svc                          # List services in the current namespace
kubectl describe svc <service_name>      # Detailed information about a specific service
kubectl get svc -o wide                  # List services with additional details
kubectl get svc -o yaml                  # Output services in YAML format
kubectl get svc --show-labels            # List services along with their labels

DaemonSets

Manage DaemonSets, which ensure each node runs a specific copy of a pod.

Retrieve a list of DaemonSets

kubectl get ds                                        # List DaemonSets in the current namespace
kubectl describe ds <ds_name> -n <namespace_name>     # Detailed information about a specific DaemonSet
kubectl get ds <ds_name> -n <namespace_name> -o yaml  # Output DaemonSet in YAML format

Events

Display recent events in the cluster, useful for troubleshooting.

Display events

kubectl get events                       # List events in the current namespace
kubectl get events -n kube-system        # List events specifically in the kube-system namespace
kubectl get events -w                    # Watch for new events in real-time

Logs

Retrieve logs from pods, essential for debugging applications.

Display logs for a pod

kubectl logs <pod_name>                  # View logs for a specific pod
kubectl logs <pod_name> --since=1h       # Logs from the past hour
kubectl logs --tail=20 <pod_name>        # Last 20 lines of logs
kubectl logs <pod_name> -c <container_name>  # Logs of a specific container in a pod

Save logs to a file

kubectl logs <pod_name> > pod.log        # Save pod logs to a file for future reference

Service Accounts

Commands to manage service accounts that provide identities for processes within the cluster.

Display a list of service accounts

kubectl get sa                           # List service accounts in the current namespace
kubectl get sa -o yaml                   # Service accounts in YAML format
kubectl get sa default -o yaml > sa.yaml # Save the default service account configuration to a file

ReplicaSets

Manage ReplicaSets, which ensure a specified number of pod replicas are running.

Retrieve a list of ReplicaSets

kubectl get rs                           # List ReplicaSets in the current namespace
kubectl describe rs <replicaset_name>    # Detailed information about a ReplicaSet
kubectl get rs -o wide                   # List ReplicaSets with extra details
kubectl get rs -o yaml                   # Output ReplicaSets in YAML format

Multiple Resources

Retrieve multiple types of resources at once, useful for broad cluster overview

Retrieve multiple resources at once

kubectl get svc,pod                       # List services and pods
kubectl get deploy,node                    # List deployments and nodes
kubectl get all                          # List all resources in the current namespace
kubectl get all --all-namespaces         # List all resources across all namespaces

Secrets and ConfigMaps

Commands to manage Secrets and ConfigMaps, essential for configuration and sensitive data.

Retrieve secrets

kubectl get secrets                      # List secrets in the current namespace
kubectl get secrets --all-namespaces     # List secrets in all namespaces
kubectl get secrets -o yaml              # Output secrets in YAML format

Retrieve ConfigMaps

kubectl get cm                           # List ConfigMaps in the current namespace
kubectl get cm --all-namespaces          # List ConfigMaps across namespaces
kubectl get cm --all-namespaces -o yaml  # ConfigMaps in YAML format

Ingress and Persistent Volume Claims

Manage Ingress resources for HTTP routing and Persistent Volume Claims (PVCs) for storage.

Retrieve ingresses

kubectl get ing                          # List ingresses in the current namespace
kubectl get ing --all-namespaces         # List ingresses across all namespaces

Retrieve Persistent Volume Claims

kubectl get pvc                                      # List PVCs in the current namespace
kubectl describe pvc <pvc_name> -n <namespace_name>  # Detailed information about a PVC

StorageClass

Manage StorageClasses, which define storage provisions within the cluster.

Retrieve StorageClasses

kubectl get sc                           # List all storage classes in the cluster
kubectl get sc -o yaml                   # Storage classes in YAML format

Cluster Info

Retrieve configuration details and check the status of cluster components.

Cluster configuration and status

kubectl config view                      # View the current configuration details
kubectl cluster-info                     # Display information about the cluster
kubectl get componentstatuses            # Status of Kubernetes components

Node Operations

Perform node operations such as tainting, labeling, scheduling, and maintenance.

Label, taint, and schedule nodes

kubectl taint node <node_name> <taint_name>  # Apply a taint to a node to restrict scheduling
kubectl label node <node_name> disktype=ssd  # Add a label to a node
kubectl cordon <node_name>                   # Mark a node as unschedulable
kubectl uncordon <node_name>                 # Mark a node as schedulable
kubectl drain <node_name>                    # Drain a node for maintenance
kubectl delete node <node_name>              # Remove a node from the cluster
kubectl edit node <node_name>                # Edit a node's configuration directly

Namespace and Deployment Operations

Namespace and Deployment operations for management and scaling.

Namespace operations

kubectl delete namespace <namespace_name>    # Delete a specific namespace
kubectl edit namespace <namespace_name>      # Edit namespace settings

Deployment operations

kubectl delete deploy <deploy_name>          # Remove a deployment
kubectl edit deploy <deploy_name>            # Modify a deployment's configuration
kubectl expose deploy <deploy_name> --type=NodePort  # Expose a deployment via NodePort
kubectl scale deploy

Create and Apply Resources

Create and apply resources

kubectl create -f <file_name>                # Create resources from a file
kubectl apply -f <file_name>                 # Apply changes from a file
kubectl run <pod_name> --image=nginx --restart=Never  # Run a single Nginx pod
kubectl create svc nodeport <svc_name> --tcp=8080:80  # Create a NodePort service

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