Kubernetes Cheatsheet

This cheatsheet provides a comprehensive and practical reference for common Kubernetes (kubectl) commands. It covers cluster info, pods, deployments, services, configs, logs, command combos, and more. Use it to boost your productivity in Kubernetes and DevOps workflows.

Use the search bar to quickly find specific Kubernetes commands or browse through categories for a complete reference. Explore the Command Combos section for powerful multi-step workflows.

Cluster Info

kubectl version

Show kubectl version info

kubectl cluster-info

Show cluster info

kubectl config view

Show kubeconfig settings

kubectl config get-contexts

List all contexts

kubectl config use-context [name]

Switch context

kubectl get nodes

List all nodes

kubectl get nodes -o wide

List all nodes with more info

kubectl describe node [name]

Show node details

kubectl get node --selector=[label]

List nodes by label selector

kubectl get nodes -o jsonpath='{.items[*].status.addresses[?(@.type=="ExternalIP")].address}'

Show external IPs of all nodes

kubectl top node [name]

Show node resource usage (metrics-server required)

Namespaces

kubectl get ns

List all namespaces

kubectl get ns -o yaml

List namespaces in YAML format

kubectl describe ns

Show namespace details

kubectl delete ns [name]

Delete a namespace

kubectl edit ns [name]

Edit a namespace

Pods

kubectl get pods

List all pods in current namespace

kubectl get pods -A

List all pods in all namespaces

kubectl get pods -o wide

List pods with node info

kubectl get pods --show-labels

Show pod labels

kubectl get pods -l app=[label]

List pods by label

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

List running pods only

kubectl describe pod [name]

Show pod details

kubectl exec -it [pod] -- bash

Run bash in a pod

kubectl logs [pod]

Show pod logs

kubectl logs --since=1h [pod]

Show pod logs from the last hour

kubectl logs --tail=20 [pod]

Show last 20 lines of pod logs

kubectl logs -f -c [container] [pod]

Follow logs for a specific container in a pod

kubectl delete pod [name]

Delete a pod

kubectl port-forward [pod] 8080:80

Forward port 8080 to pod's 80

kubectl cp [pod]:/src /dest

Copy files from pod to local

kubectl run [pod] --image=nginx --restart=Never

Run a single pod with nginx image

kubectl get pod [name] -o yaml --export > nameoffile.yaml

Export pod YAML to file

kubectl get pods -o json | jq .items[].metadata.name

List pod names using jq

Deployments

kubectl get deployments

List all deployments

kubectl describe deployment [name]

Show deployment details

kubectl get deploy -o wide

List deployments with more info

kubectl get deploy -o yaml

List deployments in YAML format

kubectl create deployment [name] --image=[img]

Create a deployment

kubectl scale deployment [name] --replicas=3

Scale deployment to 3 pods

kubectl set image deployment/[name] [container]=[img]

Update deployment image

kubectl rollout status deployment/[name]

Show rollout status

kubectl rollout undo deployment/[name]

Rollback deployment

kubectl delete deployment [name]

Delete a deployment

kubectl edit deploy [name]

Edit a deployment

kubectl expose deploy [name] --port=80 --type=NodePort

Expose deployment as a NodePort service

ReplicaSets

kubectl get rs

List all ReplicaSets

kubectl describe rs

Show ReplicaSet details

kubectl get rs -o wide

List ReplicaSets with more info

kubectl get rs -o yaml

List ReplicaSets in YAML format

DaemonSets

kubectl get ds

List all DaemonSets

kubectl describe ds --all-namespaces

Show DaemonSets in all namespaces

kubectl describe ds [name] -n [namespace]

Show DaemonSet details in a namespace

kubectl get ds [name] -n [namespace] -o yaml

Get DaemonSet YAML in a namespace

kubectl edit ds [name] -n kube-system

Edit a DaemonSet in kube-system namespace

kubectl delete ds [name]

Delete a DaemonSet

Services

kubectl get svc

List all services

kubectl describe svc [name]

Show service details

kubectl get svc -o wide

List services with more info

kubectl get svc -o yaml

List services in YAML format

kubectl get svc --show-labels

Show service labels

kubectl expose deployment [name] --port=80 --type=NodePort

Expose deployment as a service

kubectl port-forward svc/[name] 8080:80

Forward port 8080 to service's 80

kubectl delete svc [name]

Delete a service

kubectl edit svc [name]

Edit a service

Config & Secrets

kubectl get configmap

List all configmaps

kubectl get configmap --all-namespaces

List configmaps in all namespaces

kubectl get configmap --all-namespaces -o yaml

List configmaps in YAML format

kubectl describe configmap [name]

Show configmap details

kubectl create configmap [name] --from-literal=key=val

Create configmap from literal

kubectl get secret

List all secrets

kubectl get secret --all-namespaces

List secrets in all namespaces

kubectl get secret -o yaml

List secrets in YAML format

kubectl describe secret [name]

Show secret details

kubectl create secret generic [name] --from-literal=key=val

Create secret from literal

kubectl get serviceaccounts

List all service accounts

kubectl get serviceaccounts default -o yaml > ./sa.yaml

Export default service account to YAML

kubectl replace serviceaccount default -f ./sa.yaml

Replace default service account from YAML

kubectl edit sa [name]

Edit a service account

kubectl delete sa [name]

Delete a service account

Events & Logs

kubectl get events

List cluster events

kubectl get events -n kube-system

List events in kube-system namespace

kubectl get events -w

Watch events in real time

kubectl describe pod [name]

Show pod events and details

kubectl logs [pod]

Show logs for a pod

kubectl logs -f [pod]

Follow logs for a pod

kubectl logs [pod] -c [container]

Show logs for a specific container

kubectl logs --since=1h [pod]

Show pod logs from the last hour

kubectl logs --tail=20 [pod]

Show last 20 lines of pod logs

kubectl logs [pod] > pod.log

Save pod logs to a file

Resource Management

kubectl get all

List all resources in current namespace

kubectl get all --all-namespaces

List all resources in all namespaces

kubectl get svc,po

List services and pods

kubectl get deploy,no

List deployments and nodes

kubectl delete node [name]

Delete a node

kubectl delete pod [name]

Delete a pod

kubectl edit node [name]

Edit a node

kubectl edit pod [name]

Edit a pod

kubectl edit deploy [name]

Edit a deployment

kubectl delete deploy [name]

Delete a deployment

kubectl scale deploy [name] --replicas=5

Scale deployment to 5 pods

kubectl expose deploy [name] --port=80 --type=NodePort

Expose deployment as NodePort service

Labels, Taints & Annotations

kubectl label nodes <node-name> <label-key>=<label-value>

Add a label to a node

kubectl label nodes <node-name> <label-key>-

Remove a label from a node

kubectl label nodes <node-name> <label-key>=<label-value> --overwrite

Overwrite a label on a node

kubectl taint [node] [taint]

Add a taint to a node

kubectl cordon [node]

Mark node as unschedulable (cordon)

kubectl uncordon [node]

Mark node as schedulable (uncordon)

kubectl drain [node]

Drain a node (evict all pods)

kubectl annotate po [pod] [annotation]

Add annotation to a pod

kubectl annotate no [node] [annotation]

Add annotation to a node

Ingress & Storage

kubectl get ing

List all ingresses

kubectl get ing --all-namespaces

List ingresses in all namespaces

kubectl get pv

List all persistent volumes

kubectl describe pv

Show persistent volume details

kubectl get pvc

List all persistent volume claims

kubectl describe pvc

Show persistent volume claim details

kubectl get sc

List all storage classes

kubectl get sc -o yaml

List storage classes in YAML format

Resource Creation & Export

kubectl create -f [file]

Create resource from file

kubectl apply -f [file]

Apply resource from file

kubectl run [pod] --image=nginx --restart=Never

Run a pod with nginx image

kubectl create svc nodeport [name] --tcp=8080:80

Create a NodePort service

kubectl create deploy [name] --image=nginx

Create a deployment with nginx image

kubectl create deploy [name] --image=nginx --dry-run -o yaml > deploy.yaml

Generate deployment YAML without creating it

kubectl get po [name] -o yaml --export > pod.yaml

Export pod YAML to file

kubectl run nginx --image=nginx:alpine --dry-run -o yaml > deploy.yaml

Generate deployment YAML with alpine image

Interactive & Help

kubectl run [pod] --image=busybox --rm -it --restart=Never -- sh

Run an interactive shell in a pod

kubectl -h

Show kubectl help

kubectl create -h

Show help for create command

kubectl run -h

Show help for run command

kubectl explain deploy.spec

Explain deployment spec fields

API & Cluster Status

kubectl get --raw /apis/metrics.k8s.io/

Raw API call to metrics server

kubectl config

Show kubeconfig help

kubectl cluster-info

Show cluster info

kubectl get componentstatus

Show cluster component status

Command Combos