kubectl cheatsheet: essential commands for Kubernetes

24 September 2026 In Posts 702 words 4 min

Lead DevOps

kubectl is the primary interface to a Kubernetes cluster. This cheatheet covers routine operations — from context setup to pod debugging and namespace switching. All commands are verified against current kubectl versions (1.28+).

Installation and Context Setup

Installation depends on your OS. On Linux, use the package manager or the binary directly:

curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl"
chmod +x kubectl && sudo mv kubectl /usr/local/bin/
kubectl version --client

Configuration lives in ~/.kube/config. A context defines the cluster, user, and default namespace.

kubectl config current-context
kubectl config use-context production-cluster
kubectl config view --minify   # show current context
kubectl config get-contexts    # list all contexts

Tip

If you work with multiple clusters, store configs in the KUBECONFIG variable separated by colons: export KUBECONFIG=~/.kube/config:~/.kube/prod-config.

Working with Pods

Basic operations:

kubectl get pods                          # all pods in the current namespace
kubectl get pods -A                       # all namespaces
kubectl describe pod <pod-name>           # details and events
kubectl logs <pod-name>                   # container logs
kubectl logs <pod-name> -c <container>    # logs for a specific container in a multi-container pod
kubectl exec -it <pod-name> -- /bin/sh    # enter a pod
kubectl delete pod <pod-name>             # delete a pod

Deployments, StatefulSets, and DaemonSets

kubectl get deployments,statefulsets,daemonsets
kubectl rollout status deployment/<name>       # update status
kubectl rollout history deployment/<name>      # revision history
kubectl rollout undo deployment/<name>         # rollback to previous revision
kubectl rollout undo deployment/<name> --to-revision=2   # rollback to a specific revision
kubectl scale deployment/<name> --replicas=5   # scale replicas

For StatefulSets, startup order and stable identities are critical. For DaemonSets, a guaranteed instance runs on every node.

Warning

Do not run kubectl delete on a Deployment without checking kubectl get deployment first. Deleting the controller does not automatically remove pods — they will be recreated unless you use --cascade=orphan (in older versions) or delete through kubectl delete deployment.

Services, Ingress, and ConfigMap

kubectl get svc                      # services
kubectl expose deployment/<name> --port=80 --type=NodePort   # create svc from a deployment
kubectl get ingress                  # ingress resources
kubectl describe ingress <name>      # rules and events
kubectl apply -f ingress.yaml        # apply ingress from a file

ConfigMap and Secret for configuration:

kubectl create configmap app-config --from-file=config.yaml
kubectl get configmap app-config -o yaml
kubectl create secret generic db-creds --from-literal=password='s3cr3t'
kubectl get secret db-creds -o jsonpath='{.data.password}' | base64 -d

Debugging and Diagnostics

When a pod is not working, follow this sequence:

kubectl get pods -o wide             # status and node
kubectl describe pod <pod-name>      # events, reason for CrashLoopBackOff
kubectl logs <pod-name> --previous   # logs from a crashed container
kubectl top pod <pod-name>           # CPU/memory consumption (requires metrics-server)
kubectl attach -it <pod-name> -- /bin/sh   # alternative to exec

To test network connectivity from inside the cluster:

kubectl run debug-pod --image=busybox --rm -it --restart=Never -- wget -O- http://<svc-name>.<namespace>.svc.cluster.local:80

Note

If kubectl top returns an error, metrics-server is not installed. Installation depends on your provider: kubectl apply -f https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/metrics-server/releases/latest/download/components.yaml.

Labels, Selectors, and Output Formatting

Labels let you group resources and select them in bulk:

kubectl get pods --show-labels
kubectl label pods <pod-name> app=frontend tier=web
kubectl get pods -l app=frontend       # label selector
kubectl get pods -l 'app in (frontend,backend)'
kubectl get pods -l '!tier=web'        # negative selector

Output formatting:

kubectl get pods -o wide
kubectl get pods -o json               # full JSON
kubectl get pods -o jsonpath='{.items[*].metadata.name}'
kubectl get pods -o custom-columns=NAME:.metadata.name,STATUS:.status.phase

Flag	Description
`-n, --namespace`	Specify namespace
`-o, --output`	Format: `json`, `yaml`, `wide`, `custom-columns`
`-l, --selector`	Label selector
`-f, --filename`	Configuration file (YAML/JSON)
`--show-labels`	Show labels column
`-w, --watch`	Streaming update mode
`--all-namespaces, -A`	All namespaces

Managing Namespaces and Switching Contexts

kubectl get namespace
kubectl create namespace staging
kubectl delete namespace staging        # deletion is asynchronous
kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=staging   # default namespace in context

For convenience, create a shell alias or function:

# ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
kswitch() { kubectl config use-context "$1" && kubectl config set-context --current --namespace="$2"; }
# usage: kswitch production-cluster default

Tip

kubectl config rename-context, kubectl config unset, and kubectl config set let you edit the config without manually editing YAML. Verify the result with kubectl config view.

kubectl is more than a CLI — it is an abstraction layer over the Kubernetes API. Knowing formatting flags and selectors cuts diagnostic time significantly. Keep this cheatheet handy and update it as new versions ship.