kubectl

name	kubectl
description	Manage Kubernetes resources, contexts, and workloads with kubectl. Use when tasks mention kubectl, Kubernetes resources, kubeconfig, kubectl apply, kubectl get pods, Kubernetes contexts, or KUBECONFIG.
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"greedychipmunk","version":"1.0"}

kubectl

Use this skill to keep Kubernetes resource management deterministic and safe across clusters and namespaces.

Intent Router

Request	Reference	Load When
Install, kubeconfig setup, contexts, env vars	resources/install-and-setup.md	User needs to install kubectl or configure KUBECONFIG/contexts
Core commands: get/describe/apply/delete/logs/exec	resources/command-cookbook.md	User needs daily kubectl operations
Resources, labels, namespaces, explain	resources/resource-management.md	User asks about resource types, labels, selectors, or declarative workflows
Pod crashes, ImagePull errors, events, debug	resources/troubleshooting.md	User encounters CrashLoopBackOff, OOMKilled, or needs cluster diagnostics

Quick Start

# Verify connectivity
kubectl cluster-info
kubectl get nodes

# Confirm active context and namespace
kubectl config current-context
kubectl config view --minify

# List pods in all namespaces
kubectl get pods -A

# Apply a manifest
kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml --dry-run=client
kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml

Core Command Tracks

• Read state: kubectl get/describe <resource> — inspect current cluster state
• Apply changes: kubectl apply -f — declarative reconciliation
• Logs: kubectl logs <pod> [-c <container>] [-f] [--previous]
• Shell: kubectl exec -it <pod> -- bash
• Port forward: kubectl port-forward <pod> 8080:80
• Rollout: kubectl rollout status/history/undo deployment/<name>
• Scale: kubectl scale deployment/<name> --replicas=3
• Output formats: -o wide, -o json, -o yaml, -o jsonpath

Safety Guardrails

• Always confirm active context (kubectl config current-context) before applying changes to prevent applying to the wrong cluster.
• Always specify namespace explicitly with -n <namespace> for production operations; never rely on default namespace alone.
• Use --dry-run=client -o yaml to preview resources before applying.
• Use kubectl diff -f <file> to see what will change before applying.
• Confirm before running kubectl delete — especially with label selectors (-l) which can match many resources.
• Never run kubectl delete namespace <name> without explicit user confirmation; it deletes all resources in the namespace.
• Prefer kubectl rollout undo over direct manifest rewrites for reverting deployments.

# Troubleshoot a crashing pod: check recent events then inspect previous container logs
kubectl get events --sort-by=.lastTimestamp -n my-namespace
kubectl logs my-pod --previous -n my-namespace

Workflow

1. Confirm context: kubectl config current-context and kubectl config get-contexts.
2. Inspect current state with kubectl get and kubectl describe before making changes.
3. Preview changes with kubectl diff -f <file> or --dry-run=client.
4. Apply changes with kubectl apply -f <file>.
5. Monitor rollout with kubectl rollout status deployment/<name>.
6. On failure, check events with kubectl get events --sort-by=.lastTimestamp.

Related Skills

• helm — package manager for Kubernetes applications
• docker — container image building for Kubernetes workloads

References

• resources/install-and-setup.md
• resources/command-cookbook.md
• resources/resource-management.md
• resources/troubleshooting.md
• Official docs: https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/
• Command reference: https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/generated/kubectl/kubectl-commands