context-manage

name	context-manage
description	Manage Kurtosis contexts for connecting to different Kurtosis instances. Add, list, switch, and remove contexts. Use when working with multiple Kurtosis environments (local, remote, team shared).
compatibility	Requires kurtosis CLI.
metadata	{"author":"ethpandaops","version":"1.0"}

Context Manage

Manage Kurtosis contexts for connecting to different Kurtosis instances.

What are contexts?

Contexts define which Kurtosis instance the CLI talks to. The default context is default which connects to the local engine (Docker or Kubernetes).

List contexts

kurtosis context ls

Shows all configured contexts and which one is active.

Add a context

kurtosis context add <context-name>

Switch context

kurtosis context set <context-name>

After switching, restart the engine or portal as needed.

Remove a context

kurtosis context rm <context-name>

Common workflow

# Check which context is active
kurtosis context ls

# Switch to a different environment
kurtosis context set staging

# Verify the switch succeeded
kurtosis context ls

# Start portal if using a remote context
kurtosis portal start

# Switch back to local
kurtosis context set default

Error handling

Scenario	Behavior	Resolution
Switch to non-existent context	Command fails with error	Run kurtosis context ls to see available contexts
Remove active context	Command fails — cannot remove active	Switch to another context first with kurtosis context set
Engine running after switch	Engine still connected to old context	Run kurtosis engine restart after switching contexts