Kubernetes Commands Reference
This reference guide provides commonly used kubectl commands organized by category, with examples and explanations.
Cluster Information
Cluster Status
# Get cluster info
kubectl cluster-info
# Check component status
kubectl get componentstatuses
# Get nodes with details
kubectl get nodes -o wide
# Node details
kubectl describe node <node-name>
API Resources
# List all API resources
kubectl api-resources
# List API resources with specific verbs
kubectl api-resources --verbs=list,get
# Get API versions
kubectl api-versions
# Explain resource
kubectl explain <resource>
kubectl explain pod.spec.containers
Resource Management
Basic Operations
# Create resources
kubectl create -f <file-or-dir>
# Apply manifests (create or update)
kubectl apply -f <file-or-dir>
# Delete resources
kubectl delete -f <file-or-dir>
# Scale resources
kubectl scale deployment <name> --replicas=<count>
# Edit resources
kubectl edit <resource> <name>
# Replace resource
kubectl replace -f <file>
# Patch resource
kubectl patch <resource> <name> --type=json -p='[{"op":"replace","path":"/spec/replicas","value":3}]'
Viewing Resources
# Get resources of a specific type
kubectl get <resource-type>
# Get all resources
kubectl get all -n <namespace>
# Get resources with more details
kubectl get <resource-type> -o wide
# Watch for changes
kubectl get <resource-type> -w
# Format output as YAML
kubectl get <resource-type> <name> -o yaml
# Custom columns
kubectl get pods -o custom-columns=NAME:.metadata.name,STATUS:.status.phase,NODE:.spec.nodeName
# Sorting
kubectl get pods --sort-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp
# Filtering with field selectors
kubectl get pods --field-selector=status.phase=Running
# Filtering with label selectors
kubectl get pods -l app=nginx,tier=frontend
Resource Details
# Describe resources
kubectl describe <resource-type> <name>
# Get specific fields using jsonpath
kubectl get <resource> <name> -o jsonpath='{.spec.replicas}'
# View resource hierarchy
kubectl get deployment <name> -o jsonpath='{.metadata.ownerReferences}'
Pods and Containers
Pod Operations
# Create pod from image
kubectl run <name> --image=<image>
# Get pod logs
kubectl logs <pod-name>
kubectl logs <pod-name> -c <container-name>
kubectl logs -f <pod-name> # Follow logs
kubectl logs <pod-name> --tail=100 # Last 100 lines
kubectl logs <pod-name> --since=1h # Logs from last hour
# Execute commands in containers
kubectl exec -it <pod-name> -- /bin/bash
kubectl exec <pod-name> -- <command>
# Copy files to/from pods
kubectl cp <file> <pod-name>:/<path>
kubectl cp <pod-name>:/<path> <local-path>
# Port forwarding
kubectl port-forward <pod-name> <local-port>:<pod-port>
# Get pod resource usage
kubectl top pod <pod-name>
Pod Troubleshooting
# Force delete pod
kubectl delete pod <pod-name> --force --grace-period=0
# Check pod events
kubectl get events --field-selector involvedObject.name=<pod-name>
# Get previous container logs
kubectl logs <pod-name> --previous
# Debug with ephemeral container (K8s 1.23+)
kubectl debug <pod-name> -it --image=busybox
Deployment Management
# Create deployment
kubectl create deployment <name> --image=<image>
# Update deployment image
kubectl set image deployment/<name> <container>=<new-image>
# View rollout status
kubectl rollout status deployment/<name>
# Rollout history
kubectl rollout history deployment/<name>
# Rollback to previous version
kubectl rollout undo deployment/<name>
kubectl rollout undo deployment/<name> --to-revision=<revision>
# Pause/Resume rollout
kubectl rollout pause deployment/<name>
kubectl rollout resume deployment/<name>
# Restart deployment
kubectl rollout restart deployment/<name>
Service Management
# Create service
kubectl expose deployment <name> --port=<port> --target-port=<target-port>
# Get endpoints
kubectl get endpoints <service-name>
# Test service DNS
kubectl run -it --rm debug --image=busybox -- nslookup <service-name>
# Test service connection
kubectl run -it --rm debug --image=busybox -- wget -O- <service-name>:<port>
Namespace Operations
# Create namespace
kubectl create namespace <name>
# Set default namespace
kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=<namespace>
# List resources across all namespaces
kubectl get <resource> --all-namespaces
# Delete namespace and all contents
kubectl delete namespace <name>
# Get resources that aren't namespaced
kubectl api-resources --namespaced=false
Config and Context
# View kubeconfig
kubectl config view
# Get contexts
kubectl config get-contexts
# Switch context
kubectl config use-context <context-name>
# Rename context
kubectl config rename-context <old-name> <new-name>
# Delete context
kubectl config delete-context <context-name>
# Set cluster/user/namespace for a context
kubectl config set-context <context-name> --cluster=<cluster-name> --user=<user-name> --namespace=<namespace>
Resource Quotas and Limits
# View resource quotas
kubectl get resourcequota -n <namespace>
# Describe quota usage
kubectl describe resourcequota <quota-name> -n <namespace>
# Get limit ranges
kubectl get limitrange -n <namespace>
RBAC Management
# Create service account
kubectl create serviceaccount <name>
# Create role
kubectl create role <name> --verb=get,list,watch --resource=pods
# Create rolebinding
kubectl create rolebinding <name> --role=<role-name> --serviceaccount=<namespace>:<sa-name>
# Check permissions
kubectl auth can-i <verb> <resource> --as=system:serviceaccount:<namespace>:<serviceaccount>
ConfigMaps and Secrets
# Create configmap
kubectl create configmap <name> --from-file=<path> --from-literal=key=value
# Create secret
kubectl create secret generic <name> --from-file=<path> --from-literal=key=value
# Decode secret
kubectl get secret <name> -o jsonpath='{.data.<key>}' | base64 --decode
Batch Operations
# Delete all pods in a namespace
kubectl delete pods --all -n <namespace>
# Apply manifests recursively
kubectl apply -f <directory> --recursive
# Get all resources with a specific label
kubectl get all -l app=<app-label>
# Delete resources based on label
kubectl delete all -l app=<app-label>
Cluster Administration
# Drain node for maintenance
kubectl drain <node-name> --ignore-daemonsets
# Cordon/uncordon node
kubectl cordon <node-name> # Mark node as unschedulable
kubectl uncordon <node-name> # Mark node as schedulable
# Taint nodes
kubectl taint nodes <node-name> key=value:effect
# Manage static pods
# Edit files in /etc/kubernetes/manifests/ on the node
See Also
