Master the Kubernetes CLI (kubectl)

This cheatsheet contains a list of most common commands you will use when working with Kubernetes cluster and its resources.

If you're working with Kubernetes on daily basis or if you're just learning about Kubernetes you will run into a set of commands that are used often than the other commands. The ones used more often are also usually easy to remember (especially if you're typing them out multiple times a day).

The problem becomes when you're either trying to do something more advanced or run a command against a resource you're aren't using very often or not too familiar with it. This is where this cheatsheet comes into play - it will help you quickly find the command you want, so you can copy & paste it, run it and move on.

How to use this kubectl Cheatsheet

This cheatsheet is organized into multiple sections that are based on the actions you are trying to perform against Kubernetes resources. Each section contains a table with the command and the explanation of what that command does.

Introduction

Welcome friends! I am glad you've decided to either learn more about kubectl or just trying to find some useful commands or ideas. First things first - since you're here, I am assuming you have a Kubernetes cluster running and have access to it and you also have kubectl installed.

The basics

The commands in this cheatsheet are all using the full name of the Kubernetes CLI - kubectl. If you'll be working with Kubernetes often, I strongly advise you to create an alias for that command - it will save you a lot of typing in the long run. If you want to take this to another level, check out this set of Kubectl aliases.

To create an alias for kubectl, you can run the following command:

alias k='kubectl'

Or just put it directly in your ~/.bash_profile file:

echo "alias k='kubectl'" >> ~/.bash_profile

In most of the example below, I am using a pod resource as an example - you can replace pod with any other Kubernetes resource (unless the commnd is specific to that one reasource only).

I am also using the full resource names such as pod, deployment etc. but you don't have to. Refer to the Resource names section for short resource names such as po, svc or deploy.

Let's get started!

Basic resource information

Command	Explanation
`kubectl get pod mypod`	Lists the pod with name `mypod` in the current namespace
`kubectl get pod`	Lists all pods in the current namespace
`kubectl get pod -n mynamespace`	Lists all pods in `mynamespace` namespace
`kubectl get pod --all-namespaces`	Lists all pods in all namespaces
`kubectl get pod --all-namespaces -o wide`	Lists all pods in all namespaces with IP and Node
`kubectl get all --all-namespaces`	Lists all resources in the cluster
`kubectl describe pod mypod`	Describes the resource in mor details (perfect for diagnosing issues)
`kubectl get pod --show-labels`	Shows the labels next to all pods
`kubectl explain pod`	Shows documentation for the resource (e.g. `pod` in our case)
`kubectl get pod mypod -o yaml`	Shows the YAML representation of the pod called `mypod`
`kubectl get pod mypod -o json`	Shows the JSON representation of the pod called `mypod`
`kubectl cluster-info`	Shows information about the cluster
`kubectl describe`	Lists all resource names
`kubectl get pod -w`	Watches the pods (useful when waiting for e.g. pods to start)

Note

Note 1: replace the pod in above commands with any other resource (e.g. service, deployment, ...)

Note

Note 2: use the short name for resources. For example: po for pods, svc for service, deploy for deployment, etc.

Detailed resource information

Command	Explanation
`kubectl get pod --selector="app=myapp"`	Lists all pods with label `app=myapp`
`kubectl get pod --selector="app=myapp" -o jsonpath='{.items[*].metadata.name}'`	Get the pod names that have the label `app=myapp` set
`kubectl get pod --selector="app=myapp" -o jsonpath='{.items[].spec.containers[].image}'`	Get the image names of pods that have the label `app=myapp` set
`kubectl get pod mypod -o jsonpath='{.items[*].status.podIP}'`	Get the pod IPs of the `mypod`
`kubectl get pod mypod -o jsonpath='{.spec.containers[0].ports[0].containerPort}'`	Get the first container port in the pod
`kubectl -v 9 get pod`	Gets the pods with maximum (`9`) verbosity

Sorting and filtering

Command	Explanation
`kubectl get pod --sory-by=.metadata.name`	Lists the pods and sorts them by their names
`kubectl get pod --sory-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp`	Lists the pods by creation time, oldest first
`kubectl get pod -l app=myapp`	Show pods that have the label `app=myapp` set

Labelling and annotating resources

Command	Explanation
`kubectl label pod mypod mylabel=myvalue`	Adds the label `mylabel=myvalue` to the pod named `mypod`
`kubectl label pod mypod mylabel-`	Removes the `mylabel` from the pod named `mypod`
`kubectl get pod mypod -o jsonpath='{.items[*].metadata.annotations}'`	Get all annotations for the pod named `mypod`
`kubectl annotate pod mypod name=value`	Add an annotation `name=value` to the pod named `mypod`
`kubectl annotate pod mypod name-`	Removes the annotation `name` from the pod named `mypod`

Creating, editing and deleting resources

Command	Explanation
`kubectl create -f ./file.yaml`	Create resources defined in file `file.yaml`
`kubectl delete -f ./file.yaml`	Delete resources defined in file `file.yaml`
`kubectl delete pod mypod`	Delete a pod named `mypod` in the current namespace
`kubectl run mypod --image=myimage`	Creates a pod (and deployment) called `mypod` with image `myimage`
`kubectl run mypod --image=myimage --port=8080`	Creates a pod (and deployment) called `mypod` with image `myimage` and exposes port `8080`

Advanced commands

Command	Explanation
`kubectl run curl --image=radial/busyboxplus:curl -i --tty`	Runs the `radial/busyboxplus:curl` image and gives you a terminal into it (useful for accessing pods/services within the cluster)
`kubectl port-forward mypod 8080:CONTAINER_PORT`	Forwards the local port `8080` to `CONTAINER_PORT` (replace this with actual container port number)
`kubectl expose deployment mydeployment --type="NodePort" --port 8080`	Exposes deployment `mydeployment` to external traffic and makes it available on port `8080`
`kubectl exec -it mypod -- /bin/bash`	Runs the `/bin/bash` (terminal) inside the pod called `mypod`
`kubectl attach mypod`	Watch the standard output of a container in real time
`kubectl cp mypod:/some/path/file.txt .`	Copies the file `/some/path/file.txt` from `mypod` to the current directory

Resource names

Here's the list of all Kubernetes resource names and their shorthand equivalents (if available).

Note

Note: you also run kubectl describe to get a list of these.

Long name	Short name
all
certificatesigningrequests	csr
clusterrolebindings
clusterroles
componentstatuses	cs
configmaps	cm
controllerrevisions
cronjobs
customresourcedefinition	crd
daemonsets	ds
deployments	deploy
endpoints	ep
events	ev
horizontalpodautoscalers	hpa
ingresses	ing, ingress
jobs
limitranges	limits
namepsaces	ns
networkpolicies	netpol
nodes	no
persistentvolumeclaims	pvc
persistentvolumes	pv
poddisruptionbudgets	pdb
podpreset
pods	po, pod
podsecuritypolicies	psp
podtemplates
replicasets	rs
replicationcontrollers	rc
resourcequotas	quota
rolebindings
roles
secrets
serviceaccounts	sa
services	svc
statefulsets	sts
storageclasses	sc