Kubectl Reference

First PublishedFeb 16, 2026Last UpdatedApr 1, 2026ByAtif Alam

kubectl is the CLI for interacting with a Kubernetes cluster. Commands follow the pattern:

kubectl <verb> <resource> [name] [flags]

Getting Information

kubectl get pods                      # list pods in default namespace
kubectl get pods -n staging           # list pods in "staging" namespace
kubectl get pods -A                   # list pods in all namespaces
kubectl get pods -o wide              # extra columns (node, IP)
kubectl get pods -o yaml              # full YAML output
kubectl get pods -l app=web           # filter by label

kubectl get deployments
kubectl get services
kubectl get nodes
kubectl get namespaces
kubectl get all                       # pods, services, deployments, replicasets

Inspecting Resources

kubectl describe pod my-pod           # detailed info, events, conditions
kubectl describe deployment my-app
kubectl describe node node-1

kubectl get pod my-pod -o yaml        # full spec + status
kubectl explain deployment.spec       # documentation for a field

Logs

kubectl logs my-pod                   # logs from the pod
kubectl logs my-pod -c my-container   # specific container in a multi-container pod
kubectl logs my-pod --tail=50         # last 50 lines
kubectl logs my-pod -f                # follow (stream) logs
kubectl logs -l app=web               # logs from all pods matching label

Exec (Run Commands in a Pod)

kubectl exec my-pod -- ls /app        # run a command
kubectl exec -it my-pod -- /bin/sh    # interactive shell
kubectl exec -it my-pod -c app -- bash  # specific container

Creating and Applying

kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml      # create or update from file
kubectl apply -f ./k8s/               # apply all files in a directory
kubectl apply -f https://example.com/manifest.yaml  # from URL

kubectl create namespace staging      # create imperatively
kubectl create configmap my-config --from-literal=KEY=value
kubectl create secret generic my-secret --from-literal=PASSWORD=abc123

Editing and Patching

kubectl edit deployment my-app        # open in editor, save to apply
kubectl patch deployment my-app -p '{"spec":{"replicas":5}}'
kubectl set image deployment/my-app app=nginx:1.26   # update image

Deleting

kubectl delete pod my-pod
kubectl delete -f deployment.yaml     # delete resources defined in file
kubectl delete deployment my-app
kubectl delete namespace staging      # deletes everything in the namespace

Scaling

kubectl scale deployment my-app --replicas=5
kubectl autoscale deployment my-app --min=2 --max=10 --cpu-percent=80

Context and Namespace

kubectl config get-contexts           # list available clusters/contexts
kubectl config use-context my-cluster # switch context
kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=staging  # set default namespace

Debugging

kubectl get events                    # cluster events (scheduling, errors)
kubectl get events --sort-by='.lastTimestamp'
kubectl top pods                      # CPU/memory usage (requires metrics-server)
kubectl top nodes
kubectl run debug --image=busybox -it --rm -- /bin/sh   # temporary debug pod

For a full production triage sequence, see Troubleshooting and Debugging.

Useful Flags

Flag	Description
-n <namespace>	Target a specific namespace
-A / --all-namespaces	All namespaces
-o wide	Extra columns
-o yaml / -o json	Full output
-l key=value	Filter by label
--watch / -w	Watch for changes
--dry-run=client -o yaml	Generate YAML without creating