k8s-query

name	k8s-query
description	Query Kubernetes resources (pods, deployments, services, events). Use when checking cluster state and resource status.

Query Kubernetes Resources

Check status of Kubernetes pods, deployments, services, and events.

When to Use

• Checking if pods are running
• Viewing pod/deployment status
• Investigating pod failures or restarts
• Checking resource events and logs

Pre-flight Checks

Authentication and Context

# Check kubectl context
kubectl config current-context || {
  echo "No kubectl context. Run: kubectl config use-context <context>"
  exit 1
}

# Show current context and namespace
CURRENT_CONTEXT=$(kubectl config current-context)
CURRENT_NAMESPACE=$(kubectl config view --minify -o jsonpath='{..namespace}' || echo 'default')
echo "K8s Context: $CURRENT_CONTEXT"
echo "Namespace: $CURRENT_NAMESPACE"

# If context suggests different environment, prompt to switch
# Example: User mentions "production namespace" but current context is "staging-cluster"
# Detect from query context and prompt:
# echo "Query mentions 'production' but current context is '$CURRENT_CONTEXT'"
# echo "Switch to production context? Run: kubectl config use-context prod-cluster"
# read -p "Continue with current context? (y/n) " -n 1 -r

Query Strategy

Follow this approach for effective Kubernetes debugging:

1. Check pod status first: kubectl get pods -n <namespace>
2. Check events if pod failing: kubectl describe pod <pod-name> -n <namespace> (events at bottom)
3. Check logs if pod running: kubectl logs <pod-name> -n <namespace>
4. Check previous logs if crashed: kubectl logs <pod-name> --previous -n <namespace>
5. Correlate with GCP logs: Save K8s events/logs to /tmp, check GCP for service logs

Example Workflow

# Step 1: Check pod status
kubectl get pods -n production -l app=api-gateway

# Step 2: If pod is failing, describe for events
kubectl describe pod api-gateway-abc123 -n production
# Look at Events section at bottom for errors

# Step 3: If pod running but misbehaving, check logs
kubectl logs api-gateway-abc123 -n production --tail=200

# Step 4: If pod crashed/restarted, check previous logs
kubectl logs api-gateway-abc123 --previous -n production

# Step 5: Check namespace events for broader context
kubectl get events -n production --sort-by='.lastTimestamp' | tail -20

Output Management

For large outputs or correlation with other tools, save to tmp file:

# Save pod list to tmp file
kubectl get pods -n production -o json > /tmp/k8s-pods-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).json

# Save logs for offline analysis
kubectl logs api-gateway-xyz -n production --tail=1000 > /tmp/api-gateway-logs-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).log

# Save events for correlation
kubectl get events -n production --sort-by='.lastTimestamp' > /tmp/k8s-events-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).txt

# Then analyze or correlate with GCP logs
grep -i error /tmp/api-gateway-logs-*.log

Benefits:

• Correlate Kubernetes events with GCP logs using timestamps
• Share debugging context with team
• Preserve state for investigation

Common Patterns

For detailed command reference, see:

• kubectl command patterns - Get, describe, logs, events, metrics

Quick Reference

# Get pods in namespace
kubectl get pods -n <namespace>

# Describe pod (includes events)
kubectl describe pod <pod-name> -n <namespace>

# Get pod logs
kubectl logs <pod-name> -n <namespace> --tail=200

# Get previous logs (after crash)
kubectl logs <pod-name> --previous -n <namespace>

# Get events
kubectl get events -n <namespace> --sort-by='.lastTimestamp'

Tips

• Use -n <namespace> for all commands or set default: kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=<namespace>
• Use --all-namespaces or -A to search across all namespaces
• Use -l for label selectors: -l app=api,tier=frontend
• Use --field-selector for field-based filtering (e.g., status.phase=Failed)
• Check pod events with describe before checking logs (events show scheduling/startup issues)
• For debugging sessions, save logs/events to /tmp for correlation with GCP logs
• Use -o wide for additional columns (pod IP, node name)
• Use -o json or -o yaml for full resource definitions