Kubectl Essentials: Must-Know Commands for Kubernetes

 

Kubectl Command Cheat Sheet

Syntax

Basic syntax: kubectl [command] [TYPE] [NAME] [flags]

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
kubectl --help	Display the command usage and list most common options
kubectl <command> --help	Display the command usage and list all available options
kubectl explain <resource>	Get documentation of resources

Cluster & Context Management

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
kubectl config view	Display merged kubeconfig settings
kubectl config current-context	Display the current context
kubectl config use-context <context>	Set the default context
kubectl config set-context <context>	Set a context entry in kubeconfig
kubectl config get-contexts	List all available contexts
kubectl cluster-info	Display cluster information

Resource Management

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
kubectl get <resource>	List resources
kubectl get <resource> -o wide	List resources with more details
kubectl get <resource> -o yaml	List resources in YAML format
kubectl get <resource> -o json	List resources in JSON format
kubectl describe <resource> <name>	Display detailed information about a resource
kubectl create -f <file.yaml>	Create a resource from a file
kubectl apply -f <file.yaml>	Create or update a resource from a file
kubectl delete <resource> <name>	Delete resources
kubectl delete -f <file.yaml>	Delete resources using a file

Workload Resources

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
kubectl run <name> --image=<image>	Create and run a pod from an image
kubectl create deployment <name> --image=<image>	Create a deployment
kubectl scale deployment <name> --replicas=<n>	Scale a deployment
kubectl set image deployment/<name> <container>=<image>	Update container image
kubectl rollout status deployment/<name>	Check the status of a rollout
kubectl rollout history deployment/<name>	View rollout history
kubectl rollout undo deployment/<name>	Rollback to the previous version
kubectl rollout restart deployment/<name>	Restart a deployment

Pod Operations

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
kubectl get pods	List all pods
kubectl get pods -n <namespace>	List pods in a namespace
kubectl get pods --show-labels	List pods with their labels
kubectl get pods -l key=value	List pods with specific labels
kubectl describe pod <pod-name>	Show detailed pod information
kubectl logs <pod-name>	Print pod logs
kubectl logs -f <pod-name>	Stream pod logs
kubectl logs <pod-name> -c <container>	Print container logs from a pod
kubectl exec -it <pod-name> -- <command>	Execute a command in a pod
kubectl port-forward <pod-name> <local-port>:<pod-port>	Forward a port to a pod

Service & Networking

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
kubectl get services	List all services
kubectl expose deployment <name> --port=<port> --target-port=<target-port>	Expose a deployment as a service
kubectl get endpoints	List all endpoints
kubectl get ingress	List all ingresses
kubectl describe ingress <name>	Show detailed ingress information
kubectl get networkpolicies	List all network policies

Configuration & Storage

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
kubectl get configmaps	List all configmaps
kubectl create configmap <name> --from-file=<path>	Create configmap from a file
kubectl create configmap <name> --from-literal=key=value	Create configmap from literal values
kubectl get secrets	List all secrets
kubectl create secret generic <name> --from-file=<path>	Create a secret from a file
kubectl create secret generic <name> --from-literal=key=value	Create a secret from literal values
kubectl get pv	List all persistent volumes
kubectl get pvc	List all persistent volume claims
kubectl get storageclasses	List all storage classes

RBAC & Security

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
kubectl get serviceaccounts	List all service accounts
kubectl create serviceaccount <name>	Create a service account
kubectl get roles	List all roles
kubectl get rolebindings	List all role bindings
kubectl get clusterroles	List all cluster roles
kubectl get clusterrolebindings	List all cluster role bindings
kubectl auth can-i <verb> <resource>	Check if you can perform an action

Namespaces & Resource Quotas

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
kubectl get namespaces	List all namespaces
kubectl create namespace <name>	Create a namespace
kubectl get resourcequotas	List all resource quotas
kubectl get limitranges	List all limit ranges
kubectl -n <namespace> get <resource>	Get resources in specific namespace

Debugging & Troubleshooting

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
kubectl get events	Show events
kubectl get events --sort-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp	Show events sorted by timestamp
kubectl describe node <node-name>	Show detailed node information
kubectl top node	Show node resource usage
kubectl top pod	Show pod resource usage
kubectl get componentstatuses	Check control plane components status
kubectl get podsecuritypolicies	List pod security policies
kubectl debug <pod-name> -it --image=<debugger-image>	Debug a pod with a debug container

Advanced Operations

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
kubectl diff -f <file.yaml>	Preview apply changes
kubectl patch <resource> <name> -p '{}'	Update field(s) of a resource
kubectl cp <pod-name>:/path /local/path	Copy files from pod to local
kubectl cp /local/path <pod-name>:/path	Copy files from local to pod
kubectl taint nodes <node-name> key=value:effect	Add a taint to a node
kubectl cordon <node-name>	Mark node as unschedulable
kubectl drain <node-name>	Drain node in preparation for maintenance
kubectl uncordon <node-name>	Mark node as schedulable
kubectl api-resources	List all supported resources and their API groups
kubectl api-versions	List all supported API versions

Common Options

OPTION	DESCRIPTION
-n, --namespace <namespace>	Specify namespace
-A, --all-namespaces	List resources across all namespaces
-l, --selector <key=value>	Filter resources by label
-o, --output <format>	Output format (json, yaml, wide, etc.)
--dry-run=client	Simulate an operation without making actual changes
--field-selector <field=value>	Filter resources by fields
--force	Force immediate removal of resources
--grace-period=<seconds>	Period of time to wait before force termination
--wait	Wait for completion before returning
--timeout=<duration>	Set timeout for operation

Working with Manifests

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
kubectl kustomize <dir>	Build a kustomization target
kubectl apply -k <dir>	Apply a kustomization directory
kubectl delete -k <dir>	Delete resources using a kustomization directory
kubectl create -f <url>	Create resources from a URL
kubectl replace -f <file>	Replace a resource from a file