Kubernetes Commands Cheatsheet
This cheatsheet provides a comprehensive cheatsheet of commonly used kubectl commands for managing Kubernetes clusters. Use this guide as a quick reference to efficiently interact with your Kubernetes environment.
Cluster Management
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
kubectl cluster-info | Display endpoint information about the master and services in the cluster |
kubectl version | Display the Kubernetes version running on the client and server |
kubectl config view | Get the configuration of the cluster |
kubectl api-resources | List the API resources that are available |
kubectl api-versions | List the API versions that are available |
kubectl get all --all-namespaces | List everything |
Common Commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
kubectl run <name> --image=<image_name> | Run a container within a pod in default namespace |
Daemonsets
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
kubectl get daemonset | List one or more daemonsets |
kubectl edit daemonset <daemonset_name> | Edit and update the definition of one or more daemonsets |
kubectl delete daemonset <daemonset_name> | Delete a daemonset |
kubectl create daemonset <daemonset_name> | Create a new daemonset |
kubectl rollout daemonset | Manage the rollout of a daemonset |
kubectl describe ds <daemonset_name> -n <namespace_name> | Display the detailed state of daemonsets within a namespace |
Deployments
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
kubectl get deployment | List one or more deployments |
kubectl describe deployment <deployment_name> | Display the detailed state of one or more deployments |
kubectl edit deployment <deployment_name> | Edit and update the definition of one or more deployments |
kubectl create deployment <deployment_name> | Create a new deployment |
kubectl delete deployment <deployment_name> | Delete deployments |
kubectl rollout status deployment <deployment_name> | See the rollout status of a deployment |
Events
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
kubectl get events | List recent events for all resources in the system |
kubectl get events --field-selector type=Warning | List Warnings only |
kubectl get events --field-selector involvedObject.kind!=Pod | List events but exclude Pod events |
kubectl get events --field-selector involvedObject.kind=Node, involvedObject.name=<node_name> | Pull events for a single node with a specific name |
kubectl get events --field-selector type!=Normal | Filter out normal events from a list of events |
Logs
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
kubectl logs <pod_name> | Print the logs for a pod |
kubectl logs --since=1h <pod_name> | Print the logs for the last hour for a pod |
kubectl logs --tail=20 <pod_name> | Get the most recent 20 lines of logs |
kubectl logs -f <service_name> [-c <$container>] | Get logs from a service and optionally select a container |
kubectl logs -f <pod_name> | Print the logs for a pod and follow new logs |
kubectl logs -c <container_name> <pod_name> | Print the logs for a container in a pod |
kubectl logs <pod_name> pod.log | Output the logs for a pod into a file named ‘pod.log’ |
kubectl logs --previous <pod_name> | View the logs for a previously failed pod |
Manifest Files
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
kubectl apply -f manifest_file.yaml | Apply a configuration to an object by filename or stdin. Overrides the existing configuration. |
kubectl create -f manifest_file.yaml | Create objects |
kubectl create -f ./dir | Create objects in all manifest files in a directory |
kubectl create -f ‘url’ | Create objects from a URL |
kubectl delete -f manifest_file.yaml | Delete an object |
Namespaces
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
kubectl create namespace <namespace_name> | Create a namespace |
kubectl get namespace [<namespace_name>] | List one or more namespaces |
kubectl describe namespace <namespace_name> | Display the detailed state of one or more namespaces |
kubectl delete namespace <namespace_name> | Delete a namespace |
kubectl edit namespace <namespace_name> | Edit and update the definition of a namespace |
kubectl top namespace <namespace_name> | Display Resource (CPU/Memory/Storage) usage for a namespace |
Nodes
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
kubectl taint node <node_name> | Update the taints on one or more nodes |
kubectl get node | List one or more nodes |
kubectl delete node <node_name> | Delete a node or multiple nodes |
kubectl top node | Display Resource usage (CPU/Memory/Storage) for nodes |
kubectl describe nodes (use grep Allocated -A 5) | Resource allocation per node |
kubectl get pods -o wide (use grep <node_name>) | Pods running on a node |
kubectl annotate node <node_name> | Annotate a node |
kubectl cordon node <node_name> | Mark a node as unschedulable |
kubectl uncordon node <node_name> | Mark node as schedulable |
kubectl drain node <node_name> | Drain a node in preparation for maintenance |
kubectl label node | Add or update the labels of one or more nodes |
Pods
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
kubectl explain pod | Gives the information about YAML file for pods |
kubectl get pod [-o wide] | List one or more pods in detail |
kubectl delete pod <pod_name> | Delete a pod |
kubectl describe pod <pod_name> | Display the detailed state of pods |
kubectl create pod <pod_name> | Create a pod |
kubectl exec <pod_name> -c <container_name> <command> | Execute a command against a container in a pod |
kubectl exec -it <pod_name> /bin/sh | Get interactive shell on a single-container pod |
kubectl top pod | Display Resource usage (CPU/Memory/Storage) for pods |
kubectl annotate pod <pod_name> <annotation> | Add or update the annotations of a pod |
kubectl label pod <pod_name> | Add or update the label of a pod |
Replication Controllers
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
kubectl get rc | List the replication controllers |
kubectl get rc --namespace="<namespace_name>" | List the replication controllers by namespace |
ReplicaSets
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
kubectl get replicasets | List ReplicaSets |
kubectl describe replicasets <replicaset_name> | Display the detailed state of one or more ReplicaSets |
kubectl scale --replicas=[x] | Scale a ReplicaSet |
Secrets
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
kubectl create secret | Create a secret |
kubectl get secrets | List secrets |
kubectl describe secrets | List details about secrets |
kubectl delete secret <secret_name> | Delete a secret |
Services
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
kubectl get services | List one or more services |
kubectl describe services | Display the detailed state of a service |
kubectl expose deployment [deployment_name] | Expose a replication controller, service, deployment, or pod as a new Kubernetes service |
kubectl edit services | Edit and update the definition of one or more services |
Service Accounts
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
kubectl get serviceaccounts | List service accounts |
kubectl describe serviceaccounts | Display the detailed state of one or more service accounts |
kubectl replace serviceaccount | Replace a service account |
kubectl delete serviceaccount <service_account_name> | Delete a service account |
StatefulSet
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
kubectl get statefulset | List StatefulSet |
kubectl delete statefulset/[stateful_set_name] --cascade=false | Delete StatefulSet only (not pods) |
Common Options
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
kubectl get pods -o wide | List all of the pods in ps output format with more information |
kubectl get pods --namespace=[namespace_name] | List all the Pods in a specific Namespace |
kubectl get pods -n=[namespace_name] | Alternative command to list Pods in a Namespace |
kubectl create -f ./newpod.json | Create a pod using data in a file named newpod.json |
kubectl -l | Selector to filter on, supports '=', '==', and '!=' |
kubectl -h | Help for kubectl |