Kubernetes (K8s) Command Cheatsheet

A comprehensive reference for Kubernetes and kubectl commands.

kubectl Basics

Configuration

kubectl version                      # Show client and server version
kubectl cluster-info                 # Display cluster info
kubectl config view                  # Show kubeconfig
kubectl config get-contexts          # List contexts
kubectl config current-context       # Show current context
kubectl config use-context <name>    # Switch context
kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=<ns>  # Set default namespace

Pods

Pod Operations

kubectl get pods                     # List pods in current namespace
kubectl get pods -A                  # List all pods in all namespaces
kubectl get pods -o wide             # List pods with more details
kubectl get pods --show-labels       # Show labels
kubectl get pods -l app=nginx        # Filter by label

kubectl describe pod <name>          # Show pod details
kubectl logs <pod>                   # Show pod logs
kubectl logs <pod> -f                # Follow logs
kubectl logs <pod> -c <container>    # Logs from specific container
kubectl logs <pod> --previous        # Logs from previous instance

kubectl exec -it <pod> -- /bin/bash  # Execute command in pod
kubectl exec <pod> -- ls /           # Run command in pod

kubectl delete pod <name>            # Delete pod
kubectl delete pods --all            # Delete all pods

Pod Creation

kubectl run nginx --image=nginx      # Run pod
kubectl run nginx --image=nginx --dry-run=client -o yaml > pod.yaml  # Generate YAML

Deployments

Deployment Operations

kubectl get deployments              # List deployments
kubectl get deploy                   # Short form
kubectl describe deployment <name>   # Show deployment details

kubectl create deployment nginx --image=nginx  # Create deployment
kubectl create deployment nginx --image=nginx --replicas=3  # With replicas

kubectl scale deployment <name> --replicas=5  # Scale deployment
kubectl autoscale deployment <name> --min=2 --max=10 --cpu-percent=80  # Autoscale

kubectl set image deployment/<name> nginx=nginx:1.16  # Update image
kubectl rollout status deployment/<name>  # Check rollout status
kubectl rollout history deployment/<name>  # Show rollout history
kubectl rollout undo deployment/<name>  # Rollback deployment
kubectl rollout undo deployment/<name> --to-revision=2  # Rollback to specific revision

kubectl delete deployment <name>     # Delete deployment

Services

Service Operations

kubectl get services                 # List services
kubectl get svc                      # Short form
kubectl describe service <name>      # Show service details

kubectl expose deployment nginx --port=80 --type=NodePort  # Expose deployment
kubectl expose pod nginx --port=80 --type=ClusterIP  # Expose pod

kubectl delete service <name>        # Delete service

Service Types

# ClusterIP (default) - Internal only
# NodePort - External access via node IP
# LoadBalancer - External load balancer
# ExternalName - DNS CNAME record

Namespaces

Namespace Operations

kubectl get namespaces               # List namespaces
kubectl get ns                       # Short form
kubectl create namespace <name>      # Create namespace
kubectl delete namespace <name>      # Delete namespace

kubectl get pods -n <namespace>      # List pods in namespace
kubectl get all -n <namespace>       # List all resources in namespace

ConfigMaps & Secrets

ConfigMaps

kubectl get configmaps               # List configmaps
kubectl get cm                       # Short form
kubectl describe configmap <name>    # Show configmap details

kubectl create configmap <name> --from-literal=key=value  # From literal
kubectl create configmap <name> --from-file=config.txt  # From file
kubectl create configmap <name> --from-env-file=.env  # From env file

kubectl delete configmap <name>      # Delete configmap

Secrets

kubectl get secrets                  # List secrets
kubectl describe secret <name>       # Show secret details

kubectl create secret generic <name> --from-literal=password=secret  # From literal
kubectl create secret generic <name> --from-file=ssh-privatekey=~/.ssh/id_rsa  # From file
kubectl create secret docker-registry <name> --docker-server=<server> --docker-username=<user> --docker-password=<pass>  # Docker registry

kubectl delete secret <name>         # Delete secret

Volumes

PersistentVolumes

kubectl get pv                       # List persistent volumes
kubectl get pvc                      # List persistent volume claims
kubectl describe pv <name>           # Show PV details
kubectl describe pvc <name>          # Show PVC details

kubectl delete pvc <name>            # Delete PVC

Nodes

Node Operations

kubectl get nodes                    # List nodes
kubectl get nodes -o wide            # List nodes with details
kubectl describe node <name>         # Show node details
kubectl top node                     # Show node resource usage

kubectl cordon <node>                # Mark node as unschedulable
kubectl uncordon <node>              # Mark node as schedulable
kubectl drain <node>                 # Drain node for maintenance
kubectl drain <node> --ignore-daemonsets --delete-emptydir-data  # Force drain

kubectl label node <node> key=value  # Add label to node
kubectl taint node <node> key=value:NoSchedule  # Add taint

Resource Management

Apply & Create

kubectl apply -f file.yaml           # Apply configuration
kubectl apply -f directory/          # Apply all files in directory
kubectl apply -f https://url/file.yaml  # Apply from URL

kubectl create -f file.yaml          # Create from file
kubectl delete -f file.yaml          # Delete from file

kubectl replace -f file.yaml         # Replace resource
kubectl replace --force -f file.yaml # Force replace

Get Resources

kubectl get all                      # Get all resources
kubectl get all -A                   # Get all in all namespaces
kubectl get <resource>               # Get specific resource type
kubectl get <resource> <name>        # Get specific resource
kubectl get <resource> -o yaml       # Output as YAML
kubectl get <resource> -o json       # Output as JSON
kubectl get <resource> -o wide       # Output with more details

Labels & Selectors

Label Operations

kubectl label pod <pod> env=prod     # Add label
kubectl label pod <pod> env=dev --overwrite  # Update label
kubectl label pod <pod> env-         # Remove label

kubectl get pods -l env=prod         # Select by label
kubectl get pods -l 'env in (prod,dev)'  # Multiple values
kubectl get pods -l env!=prod        # Not equal

Troubleshooting

Debug Commands

kubectl describe <resource> <name>   # Detailed resource info
kubectl logs <pod>                   # Pod logs
kubectl logs <pod> --previous        # Previous pod logs
kubectl logs -l app=nginx            # Logs from pods with label

kubectl exec -it <pod> -- sh         # Shell into pod
kubectl exec <pod> -- env            # Show environment variables

kubectl port-forward <pod> 8080:80   # Forward port
kubectl port-forward svc/<service> 8080:80  # Forward service port

kubectl top pod                      # Pod resource usage
kubectl top node                     # Node resource usage

kubectl get events                   # Show events
kubectl get events --sort-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp  # Sorted events

Resource Inspection

kubectl explain pod                  # Show pod specification
kubectl explain pod.spec             # Show pod spec details
kubectl explain deployment.spec.template.spec.containers  # Nested fields

YAML Manifests

Pod YAML

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: nginx
  labels:
    app: nginx
spec:
  containers:
  - name: nginx
    image: nginx:1.14.2
    ports:
    - containerPort: 80

Deployment YAML

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: nginx-deployment
spec:
  replicas: 3
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: nginx
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: nginx
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: nginx
        image: nginx:1.14.2
        ports:
        - containerPort: 80

Service YAML

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: nginx-service
spec:
  selector:
    app: nginx
  ports:
  - protocol: TCP
    port: 80
    targetPort: 80
  type: LoadBalancer

Shortcuts

Resource Abbreviations

po  = pods
deploy = deployments
svc = services
ns  = namespaces
no  = nodes
cm  = configmaps
pv  = persistentvolumes
pvc = persistentvolumeclaims
sa  = serviceaccounts
rs  = replicasets
ds  = daemonsets
sts = statefulsets
ing = ingresses

Quick Reference

Command	Description
kubectl get pods	List pods
kubectl describe pod <name>	Pod details
kubectl logs <pod>	Pod logs
kubectl exec -it <pod> -- sh	Shell into pod
kubectl apply -f file.yaml	Apply config
kubectl delete pod <name>	Delete pod
kubectl get svc	List services
kubectl get nodes	List nodes
kubectl scale deploy <name> --replicas=3	Scale deployment
kubectl rollout undo deploy/<name>	Rollback

Common Patterns

Create Deployment

kubectl create deployment nginx --image=nginx:latest
kubectl expose deployment nginx --port=80 --type=LoadBalancer
kubectl scale deployment nginx --replicas=3

Update Deployment

kubectl set image deployment/nginx nginx=nginx:1.16
kubectl rollout status deployment/nginx
kubectl rollout history deployment/nginx

Debug Pod

kubectl describe pod <pod>
kubectl logs <pod>
kubectl exec -it <pod> -- sh
kubectl get events --field-selector involvedObject.name=<pod>

Tips

1. Use aliases for common commands
2. Always specify namespace or set default
3. Use labels for organization
4. Check logs when troubleshooting
5. Use dry-run to generate YAML
6. Learn selectors for filtering
7. Monitor resource usage with top
8. Use kubectl explain for documentation
9. Version control your YAML files
10. Test in dev before production

Resources

• Official Documentation: https://kubernetes.io/docs/
• kubectl Cheat Sheet: https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/cheatsheet/
• Kubernetes by Example: https://kubernetesbyexample.com/
• Play with Kubernetes: https://labs.play-with-k8s.com/