DevOps Shack

100 Kubernetes Commands With

. Examples
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1. kubectl create: This command is used to create Kubernetes resources from

files or stdin. For example:
kubectl create -f pod.yaml

This command creates a pod using the configuration specified in

the pod.yaml file.

2. kubectl get: It is used to retrieve Kubernetes resources. For instance:

kubectl get pods

This command retrieves all pods in the current namespace.

3. kubectl describe: This command provides detailed information about a

Kubernetes resource. For example:
kubectl describe pod my-pod

This command describes the pod named my-pod, displaying detailed

information including its status, containers, and events.

4. kubectl apply: It applies changes to Kubernetes resources defined in YAML or

JSON files. For example:
kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml
 This command applies the changes specified in the deployment.yaml file to
the cluster.

5. kubectl delete: It is used to delete Kubernetes resources. For instance:

kubectl delete pod my-pod

This command deletes the pod named my-pod.

6. kubectl exec: This command executes commands inside a running container

in a pod. For example:
kubectl exec -it my-pod -- /bin/bash

This command starts an interactive shell (/bin/bash) inside the pod

named my-pod.

7. kubectl logs: It retrieves the logs of a pod. For instance:

kubectl logs my-pod

This command displays the logs of the pod named my-pod.

8. kubectl port-forward: This command forwards one or more local ports to a

pod. For example:
kubectl port-forward my-pod 8080:80

This command forwards local port 8080 to port 80 on the pod named my-pod.

9. kubectl scale: It scales the number of replicas of a resource. For instance:

kubectl scale --replicas=3 deployment/my-deployment

This command scales the number of replicas of the deployment named my-
deployment to 3.

10. kubectl edit: This command edits the resource definition in a text editor. For
example:
kubectl edit pod my-pod

This command opens the resource definition of the pod named my-pod in a
text editor, allowing you to make changes.

11. kubectl rollout: This command manages rollouts of updates to Kubernetes

resources. For example:
kubectl rollout status deployment/my-deployment

This command checks the status of the rollout for the deployment named my-
deployment.
12. kubectl label: It adds or updates labels on Kubernetes resources. For instance:
kubectl label pod my-pod app=backend

This command adds the label app=backend to the pod named my-pod.

13. kubectl annotate: This command adds or updates annotations on Kubernetes

resources. For example:
kubectl annotate pod my-pod description="This is my pod"

This command adds the annotation description="This is my pod" to the

pod named my-pod.

14. kubectl cluster-info: It displays cluster info such as server URL and
Kubernetes version. For instance:
kubectl cluster-info

This command displays information about the Kubernetes cluster.

15. kubectl apply -f -: This command applies configuration from the standard
input. For example:
cat pod.yaml | kubectl apply -f -

This command applies the configuration defined in pod.yaml piped from

standard input.

16. kubectl rollout history: This command views rollout history of a deployment.
For instance:
kubectl rollout history deployment/my-deployment

This command displays the rollout history of the deployment named my-
deployment.

17. kubectl rollout undo: It rolls back a deployment to a previous revision. For
example:
kubectl rollout undo deployment/my-deployment

This command rolls back the deployment named my-deployment to the

previous revision.

18. kubectl create namespace: This command creates a new Kubernetes

namespace. For instance:
kubectl create namespace my-namespace

This command creates a new namespace named my-namespace.

19. kubectl apply --dry-run: It simulates the apply of configuration without
actually executing it. For example:
kubectl apply -f pod.yaml --dry-run=client

This command checks if the configuration in pod.yaml can be applied without

actually applying it.

20. kubectl api-resources: This command lists all available API resources. For
instance:
kubectl api-resources

This command lists all the API resources supported by the Kubernetes API
server.

21. kubectl create -f : This command creates resources defined in all .yaml files in
a directory. For example:
kubectl create -f ./my-resources/

This command creates Kubernetes resources defined in all .yaml files located
in the my-resources directory.

22. kubectl get pods -o wide: It retrieves pods with additional details including
node name and IP address. For instance:
kubectl get pods -o wide

This command displays pods along with additional details such as the node
they are running on and their IP addresses.

23. kubectl describe node: This command provides detailed information about a
Kubernetes node. For example:
kubectl describe node my-node

This command describes the node named my-node, displaying detailed

information including its capacity, allocatable resources, and conditions.

24. kubectl rollout pause: It pauses a rollout of a deployment. For instance:

kubectl rollout pause deployment/my-deployment

This command pauses the rollout of the deployment named my-deployment.

25. kubectl rollout resume: This command resumes a paused rollout of a

deployment. For example:
kubectl rollout resume deployment/my-deployment
 This command resumes the paused rollout of the deployment named my-
deployment.

26. kubectl delete namespace: It deletes a Kubernetes namespace and all

resources within it. For instance:
kubectl delete namespace my-namespace

This command deletes the namespace named my-namespace along with all
resources within it.

27. kubectl get events: This command retrieves events from the cluster. For
example:
kubectl get events

This command retrieves all events from the cluster, displaying information
such as type, reason, and message.

28. kubectl get pods --show-labels: It displays additional labels associated with
pods. For instance:
kubectl get pods --show-labels

This command displays pods along with all labels associated with them.

29. kubectl exec -it my-pod -- ls /app: This command executes a command (ls
/app) inside a running container in a pod interactively. For example:
kubectl exec -it my-pod -- ls /app

This command lists the contents of the /app directory inside the pod
named my-pod.

30. kubectl create secret: It creates a secret in the cluster. For instance:
kubectl create secret generic my-secret --from-literal=username=admin
--from-literal=password=passw0rd

This command creates a secret named my-secret with two key-value

pairs: username=admin and password=passw0rd.

31. kubectl edit deployment: This command opens the deployment

configuration in a text editor, allowing you to make changes. For example:
kubectl edit deployment/my-deployment

This command opens the configuration of the deployment named my-

deployment in a text editor.

32. kubectl rollout restart: It restarts a rollout of a deployment by reapplying the

current configuration. For instance:
 kubectl rollout restart deployment/my-deployment

This command restarts the rollout of the deployment named my-deployment.

33. kubectl rollout status: This command checks the status of a rollout for a
deployment. For example:
kubectl rollout status deployment/my-deployment

This command checks the status of the rollout for the deployment named my-
deployment.
34. kubectl exec -it my-pod -- sh -c 'echo $ENV_VAR': This command executes
a shell command (echo $ENV_VAR) inside a running container in a pod. For
instance:
kubectl exec -it my-pod -- sh -c 'echo $ENV_VAR'

This command prints the value of the environment variable ENV_VAR inside the
pod named my-pod.

35. kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml --record: It applies changes to a

deployment and records the changes in the revision history. For example:
kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml --record

This command applies the changes specified in the deployment.yaml file to

the deployment and records the changes in the revision history.
36. kubectl get pods --field-selector=status.phase=Running: This command
retrieves pods with a specific status phase, such as Running. For instance:
kubectl get pods --field-selector=status.phase=Running

This command retrieves all pods in the current namespace that are in
the Running phase.

37. kubectl delete pod --grace-period=0 --force my-pod: It forcefully deletes a

pod without waiting for the grace period. For example:
kubectl delete pod --grace-period=0 --force my-pod

This command forcefully deletes the pod named my-pod without waiting for
the grace period to elapse.

38. kubectl describe service: This command provides detailed information about
a Kubernetes service. For instance:
kubectl describe service my-service

This command describes the service named my-service, displaying detailed

information including its endpoints and selectors.

39. kubectl create deployment: It creates a deployment using the specified

image. For example:
 kubectl create deployment my-deployment --image=my-image:tag

This command creates a deployment named my-deployment using the

image my-image:tag.

40. kubectl get deployment -o yaml: This command retrieves deployments and
outputs the result in YAML format. For instance:
kubectl get deployment -o yaml

This command retrieves all deployments in the current namespace and

outputs the result in YAML format.

41. kubectl scale deployment: This command scales the number of replicas of a
deployment. For example:
kubectl scale deployment/my-deployment --replicas=3

This command scales the deployment named my-deployment to have 3 replicas.

42. kubectl rollout history deployment: It displays the revision history of a

deployment. For instance:

kubectl rollout history deployment/my-deployment

This command shows the revision history of the deployment named my-deployment.

43. kubectl rollout undo deployment --to-revision=: This command rolls back
a deployment to a specific revision. For example:

kubectl rollout undo deployment/my-deployment --to-revision=3

This command rolls back the deployment named my-deployment to the third revision.

44. kubectl apply -f pod.yaml --namespace=: It applies a YAML file to a specific

namespace. For example:

kubectl apply -f pod.yaml --namespace=my-namespace

This command applies the configuration specified in pod.yaml to the namespace my-
namespace.

45. kubectl logs -f my-pod: This command streams the logs of a pod
continuously. For instance:

kubectl logs -f my-pod

This command continuously streams the logs of the pod named my-pod to the
terminal.
 46. kubectl get svc: It retrieves information about services in the cluster. For
example:

kubectl get svc

This command retrieves information about all services in the current namespace.

47. kubectl get pods -n : This command retrieves pods from a specific
namespace. For instance:

kubectl get pods -n my-namespace

This command retrieves all pods from the namespace my-namespace.

48. kubectl delete -f pod.yaml: It deletes resources specified in a YAML file. For
example:

kubectl delete -f pod.yaml

This command deletes the resources specified in the pod.yaml file.

49. kubectl rollout status deployment/my-deployment: This command checks

the status of a deployment rollout. For instance:

kubectl rollout status deployment/my-deployment

This command checks the status of the rollout for the deployment named my-
deployment.

50. kubectl exec -it my-pod -- /bin/bash: This command starts an interactive
shell inside a pod. For example:

kubectl exec -it my-pod -- /bin/bash

This command opens an interactive shell (/bin/bash) inside the pod named my-pod,
allowing you to execute commands within it.

51. kubectl apply -f --recursive: This command applies all YAML files in a
directory and its subdirectories. For example:

kubectl apply -f ./my-resources/ --recursive

This command applies all YAML files located in the my-resources directory and its
subdirectories.

52. kubectl rollout history deployment/my-deployment --revision=3: It

displays details of a specific revision in the rollout history of a deployment. For
instance:

kubectl rollout history deployment/my-deployment --revision=3

This command shows details of the third revision in the rollout history of the
deployment named my-deployment.

53. kubectl rollout undo deployment/my-deployment --to-revision=2: This

command rolls back a deployment to a specific revision. For example:

kubectl rollout undo deployment/my-deployment --to-revision=2

This command rolls back the deployment named my-deployment to the second
revision.

54. kubectl apply -f pod.yaml --validate: It validates the configuration file

before applying changes. For instance:

kubectl apply -f pod.yaml --validate=true

This command validates the pod.yaml file before applying changes to the cluster.

55. kubectl logs my-pod --tail=100: This command retrieves the last 100 lines of
logs from a pod. For example:

kubectl logs my-pod --tail=100

This command retrieves the last 100 lines of logs from the pod named my-pod.

56. kubectl get services -o wide: It retrieves services with additional details
including node port and cluster IP. For instance:

kubectl get services -o wide

This command retrieves services along with additional details such as node port and
cluster IP.

57. kubectl get pods --field-selector=status.phase!=Running: This command

retrieves pods with a status phase other than Running. For example:

kubectl get pods --field-selector=status.phase!=Running

This command retrieves all pods in the current namespace that are not in
the Running phase.

58. kubectl delete pod my-pod --force --grace-period=0: It forcefully deletes a

pod without waiting for the grace period. For example:

kubectl delete pod my-pod --force --grace-period=0

This command forcefully deletes the pod named my-pod without waiting for the
grace period to elapse.
 59. kubectl describe service my-service: This command provides detailed
information about a Kubernetes service. For instance:

kubectl describe service my-service

This command describes the service named my-service, displaying detailed

information including its endpoints and selectors.

60. kubectl expose deployment my-deployment --type=LoadBalancer --

port=80 --target-port=8080: It exposes a deployment as a service with a
specified type, port, and target port. For example:

kubectl expose deployment my-deployment --type=LoadBalancer --port=80 --

target-port=8080

This command exposes the deployment named my-deployment as a LoadBalancer

service on port 80, targeting port 8080 on the pods.

61. kubectl get deployments -l app=my-app: This command retrieves

deployments labeled with app=my-app. For example:

kubectl get deployments -l app=my-app

This command retrieves all deployments labeled with app=my-app.

62. kubectl rollout pause deployment/my-deployment: It pauses the rollout of

a deployment. For instance:

kubectl rollout pause deployment/my-deployment

This command pauses the rollout of the deployment named my-deployment.

63. kubectl rollout resume deployment/my-deployment: This command

resumes the rollout of a deployment. For example:

kubectl rollout resume deployment/my-deployment

This command resumes the paused rollout of the deployment named my-deployment.

64. kubectl logs my-pod --container=nginx: It retrieves logs from a specific

container within a pod. For instance:

kubectl logs my-pod --container=nginx

This command retrieves logs from the container named nginx within the pod my-pod.

65. kubectl apply -f pod.yaml --dry-run=client: This command validates the

configuration file without actually applying changes. For example:

kubectl apply -f pod.yaml --dry-run=client

This command checks if the configuration in pod.yaml can be applied without
actually applying it.

66. kubectl get pods --sort-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp: It retrieves

pods sorted by creation timestamp. For instance:

kubectl get pods --sort-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp

This command retrieves all pods in the current namespace sorted by their creation
timestamp in ascending order.

67. kubectl describe persistentvolumeclaim my-pvc: This command provides

detailed information about a persistent volume claim. For example:

kubectl describe persistentvolumeclaim my-pvc

This command describes the persistent volume claim named my-pvc, displaying
detailed information including its status and storage class.

68. kubectl rollout status deployment/my-deployment --watch: It

continuously monitors the status of a deployment rollout. For instance:

kubectl rollout status deployment/my-deployment --watch

This command continuously monitors the status of the rollout for the deployment
named my-deployment.

69. kubectl get pods --field-selector=status.phase=Pending: This command

retrieves pods with a status phase of Pending. For example:

kubectl get pods --field-selector=status.phase=Pending

This command retrieves all pods in the current namespace that are in
the Pending phase.

70. kubectl create secret generic my-secret --from-file=./my-secret-file: It

creates a generic secret from a file. For instance:

kubectl create secret generic my-secret --from-file=./my-secret-file

This command creates a generic secret named my-secret from the contents of the
file my-secret-file.

71. kubectl rollout restart deployment/my-deployment: This command

restarts a rollout of a deployment by reapplying the current configuration. For
example:

kubectl rollout restart deployment/my-deployment

This command restarts the rollout of the deployment named my-deployment.

72. kubectl label namespace my-namespace env=dev: It adds a label to a

namespace. For instance:

kubectl label namespace my-namespace env=dev

This command adds the label env=dev to the namespace named my-namespace.

73. kubectl delete deployment my-deployment: This command deletes a

deployment. For example:

kubectl delete deployment my-deployment

This command deletes the deployment named my-deployment.

74. kubectl get pods --namespace=my-namespace: It retrieves pods from a

specific namespace. For instance:

kubectl get pods --namespace=my-namespace

This command retrieves all pods from the namespace my-namespace.

75. kubectl describe secret my-secret: This command provides detailed

information about a secret. For example:

kubectl describe secret my-secret

This command describes the secret named my-secret, displaying detailed

information including its type and data.

76. kubectl delete service my-service: It deletes a service. For instance:

kubectl delete service my-service

This command deletes the service named my-service.

77. kubectl get nodes: This command retrieves information about nodes in the
cluster. For example:

kubectl get nodes

This command retrieves information about all nodes in the cluster.

78. kubectl create configmap my-config --from-literal=key1=value1 --from-

literal=key2=value2: It creates a config map from literal values. For instance:

kubectl create configmap my-config --from-literal=key1=value1 --from-

literal=key2=value2
This command creates a config map named my-config with two key-value
pairs: key1=value1 and key2=value2.

79. kubectl rollout history deployment/my-deployment --revision=3: This

command displays details of a specific revision in the rollout history of a
deployment. For example:

kubectl rollout history deployment/my-deployment --revision=3

This command shows details of the third revision in the rollout history of the
deployment named my-deployment.

80. kubectl top pods: It displays resource usage (CPU and memory) of pods in
the cluster. For instance:

kubectl top pods

This command displays resource usage of all pods in the cluster.

81. kubectl explain pod: This command provides documentation about the Pod
resource, including all its fields and their descriptions. For example:

kubectl explain pod

This command displays detailed documentation about the Pod resource.

82. kubectl delete namespace my-namespace: It deletes a namespace and all

resources within it. For instance:

kubectl delete namespace my-namespace

This command deletes the namespace named my-namespace along with all resources
within it.

83. kubectl get pv: This command retrieves information about persistent volumes
in the cluster. For example:

kubectl get pv

This command retrieves information about all persistent volumes in the cluster.

84. kubectl rollout status deployment/my-deployment --timeout=2m: It

checks the status of a rollout and waits for a specific timeout before exiting.
For instance:

kubectl rollout status deployment/my-deployment --timeout=2m

This command checks the status of the rollout for the deployment named my-
deployment and waits for a maximum of 2 minutes.
 85. kubectl apply -f pod.yaml --namespace=my-namespace: This command
applies a configuration file to a specific namespace. For example:

kubectl apply -f pod.yaml --namespace=my-namespace

This command applies the configuration specified in pod.yaml to the namespace my-
namespace.

86. kubectl get secrets: It retrieves information about secrets in the cluster. For
instance:

kubectl get secrets

This command retrieves information about all secrets in the current namespace.

87. kubectl create service nodeport my-service --tcp=80:8080: This command

creates a NodePort service to expose a deployment on a specific port. For
example:

kubectl create service nodeport my-service --tcp=80:8080

This command creates a NodePort service named my-service to expose a

deployment on port 8080.

88. kubectl rollout undo deployment/my-deployment --to-revision=2 --dry-

run: It simulates rolling back a deployment to a specific revision without
actually performing the rollback. For example:

kubectl rollout undo deployment/my-deployment --to-revision=2 --dry-run

This command simulates rolling back the deployment named my-deployment to the
second revision without actually performing the rollback.

89. kubectl create -f pod.yaml --dry-run=client: This command validates a

configuration file without actually creating the resource. For example:

kubectl create -f pod.yaml --dry-run=client

This command validates the configuration in pod.yaml without actually creating the
pod.

90. kubectl exec -it my-pod --container=my-container -- /bin/bash: This

command starts an interactive shell inside a specific container within a pod.
For example:

kubectl exec -it my-pod --container=my-container -- /bin/bash

This command opens an interactive shell (/bin/bash) inside the container named my-
container within the pod named my-pod.
 91. kubectl create role: This command creates a role within a namespace. For
example:

kubectl create role my-role --verb=get --resource=pods

This command creates a role named my-role with permissions to get pods within the
namespace.

92. kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml --namespace=my-namespace --record:

It applies changes to a deployment within a specific namespace and records
the changes. For example:

kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml --namespace=my-namespace --record

This command applies the changes specified in deployment.yaml to the deployment

in the namespace my-namespace and records the changes.

93. kubectl describe persistentvolume my-pv: This command provides detailed

information about a persistent volume. For example:

kubectl describe persistentvolume my-pv

This command describes the persistent volume named my-pv, displaying detailed
information including its capacity and access modes.

94. kubectl create serviceaccount my-service-account: It creates a service

account within a namespace. For instance:

kubectl create serviceaccount my-service-account

This command creates a service account named my-service-account within the

current namespace.

95. kubectl get events --sort-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp: This

command retrieves events sorted by creation timestamp. For example:

kubectl get events --sort-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp

This command retrieves all events in the current namespace sorted by their creation
timestamp in ascending order.

96. kubectl describe ingresses.extensions: It provides detailed information

about an Ingress resource. For instance:

kubectl describe ingresses.extensions

This command describes all Ingress resources in the current namespace, displaying
detailed information about each Ingress.
 97. kubectl rollout undo deployment/my-deployment --dry-run=client: It
simulates rolling back a deployment to the previous revision without actually
performing the rollback. For example:

kubectl rollout undo deployment/my-deployment --dry-run=client

This command simulates rolling back the deployment named my-deployment to the
previous revision without actually performing the rollback.

98. kubectl scale deployment/my-deployment --replicas=5 --record: This

command scales the number of replicas of a deployment to 5 and records the
change. For example:

kubectl scale deployment/my-deployment --replicas=5 --record

This command scales the deployment named my-deployment to have 5 replicas and
records the change.

99. kubectl delete secret my-secret: It deletes a secret. For instance:

kubectl delete secret my-secret

This command deletes the secret named my-secret.

100. kubectl get ingress: This command retrieves information about Ingress
resources in the cluster. For example:

kubectl get ingress

This command retrieves information about all Ingress resources in the current
namespace.