kubectl-cli

name	kubectl-cli
description	Use kubectl to manage Kubernetes clusters, deploy applications, inspect pods, view logs, and manage resources.

kubectl (Kubernetes CLI)

Official CLI for Kubernetes. Manage clusters, deployments, pods, services, and configurations.

• Official repo: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubectl
• Docs: https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/

Configuration

kubectl config current-context            # Show active cluster
kubectl config get-contexts               # List all contexts
kubectl config use-context my-cluster     # Switch context
kubectl cluster-info                      # Show cluster info

Common Commands

Viewing Resources

kubectl get pods                          # List pods in default namespace
kubectl get pods -A                       # All namespaces
kubectl get pods -n my-namespace          # Specific namespace
kubectl get deployments
kubectl get services
kubectl get nodes
kubectl get all                           # All resource types
kubectl describe pod my-pod               # Detailed pod info
kubectl top pods                          # Resource usage

Deploying

kubectl apply -f manifest.yaml            # Apply config
kubectl apply -f ./k8s/                   # Apply directory of configs
kubectl create deployment my-app --image=my-app:latest
kubectl set image deployment/my-app my-app=my-app:v2   # Update image
kubectl rollout status deployment/my-app
kubectl rollout undo deployment/my-app    # Rollback
kubectl scale deployment/my-app --replicas=3

Debugging

kubectl logs my-pod                       # Pod logs
kubectl logs my-pod -c my-container       # Specific container
kubectl logs -f my-pod --tail=100         # Follow logs
kubectl exec -it my-pod -- bash           # Shell into pod
kubectl port-forward my-pod 8080:80       # Port forward
kubectl get events --sort-by='.lastTimestamp'

Managing Resources

kubectl delete pod my-pod
kubectl delete -f manifest.yaml
kubectl edit deployment my-app
kubectl patch deployment my-app -p '{"spec":{"replicas":2}}'

Agent Best Practices

• Use -o json or -o jsonpath for structured output
• Always specify namespace with -n to avoid mistakes
• Use kubectl diff -f manifest.yaml before apply to preview changes
• Use --dry-run=client -o yaml to generate manifests without applying
• Use kubectl get pods -o wide for node placement info
• Watch resources with kubectl get pods -w for real-time updates
• Use labels: kubectl get pods -l app=my-app

Example Workflows

Check deployment health

kubectl rollout status deployment/my-app
kubectl get pods -l app=my-app -o json | jq '.items[] | {name: .metadata.name, status: .status.phase}'

Debug a crashing pod

kubectl describe pod my-pod | tail -20
kubectl logs my-pod --previous --tail=50