kubectl

name	kubectl
description	Kubernetes CLI - manage pods, deployments, services, config contexts. Use when user mentions 'kubectl', 'kubernetes', 'k8s', 'pods', or wants to manage Kubernetes clusters.
category	devtools
install_command	brew install kubectl

kubectl

Setup

brew install kubectl

Verify installation:

kubectl version --client

Use -o json or -o yaml for machine-readable output.

Authentication

kubectl config use-context <context-name>

Resources

Viewing Resources

Command	Description
kubectl get pods	List all pods in current namespace
kubectl get pods -A	List pods across all namespaces
kubectl get pods -o wide	List pods with additional details
kubectl get services	List all services
kubectl get deployments	List all deployments
kubectl get nodes	List cluster nodes
kubectl get namespaces	List all namespaces
kubectl get all	List all resources in current namespace
kubectl get ingress	List all ingress resources
kubectl get configmaps	List all config maps
kubectl get secrets	List all secrets

Describing Resources

Command	Description
kubectl describe pod <name>	Show detailed pod info
kubectl describe service <name>	Show detailed service info
kubectl describe deployment <name>	Show detailed deployment info
kubectl describe node <name>	Show detailed node info

Creating and Applying

Command	Description
kubectl apply -f <file.yaml>	Apply a configuration from file
kubectl apply -f <directory>/	Apply all configs from a directory
kubectl apply -k <directory>/	Apply a kustomize configuration
kubectl create namespace <name>	Create a namespace
kubectl create secret generic <name> --from-literal=key=value	Create a secret

Deleting Resources

Command	Description
kubectl delete pod <name>	Delete a pod
kubectl delete -f <file.yaml>	Delete resources defined in file
kubectl delete deployment <name>	Delete a deployment
kubectl delete namespace <name>	Delete a namespace and all its resources

Logs and Debugging

Command	Description
kubectl logs <pod>	View pod logs
kubectl logs -f <pod>	Follow pod logs
kubectl logs <pod> -c <container>	View logs for a specific container
kubectl logs --tail=100 <pod>	View last 100 lines of logs
kubectl exec -it <pod> -- bash	Open a shell in a pod
kubectl exec <pod> -- <command>	Run a command in a pod
kubectl port-forward <pod> 8080:80	Forward local port to pod
kubectl port-forward svc/<service> 8080:80	Forward local port to service

Scaling and Rollouts

Command	Description
kubectl scale deployment <name> --replicas=3	Scale a deployment
kubectl rollout status deployment <name>	Check rollout status
kubectl rollout history deployment <name>	View rollout history
kubectl rollout undo deployment <name>	Rollback to previous revision
kubectl rollout restart deployment <name>	Restart a deployment

Context and Config

Command	Description
kubectl config get-contexts	List all contexts
kubectl config current-context	Show current context
kubectl config use-context <name>	Switch to a context
kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=<ns>	Set default namespace for current context

Global Flags

Flag	Description
-n <namespace>	Specify namespace
-o json	Output as JSON
-o yaml	Output as YAML
-o wide	Output with additional info
--dry-run=client	Preview without applying
-l <key>=<value>	Filter by label
--all-namespaces or -A	Across all namespaces