Tools

kubectl Cheat Sheet — Kubernetes Commands Reference

The kubectl commands you use daily to inspect, deploy, and debug workloads on a Kubernetes cluster.

Put it into practice with the matching tool.

Contexts and namespaces

kubectl config get-contextsList clusters/contexts

kubectl config use-context nameSwitch cluster

kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=appChange the default namespace

-n app / -ATarget one namespace / all namespaces

kubectl get podsList pods (also deploy, svc, ingress, nodes)

kubectl get pods -o wideInclude node and IP

kubectl get pod p -o yamlFull resource definition

kubectl describe pod pDetails and recent events — first stop when debugging

kubectl get events --sort-by=.lastTimestampRecent cluster events

kubectl top podsCPU and memory use (needs metrics-server)

kubectl logs -f pFollow a pod's logs

kubectl logs p --previousLogs from the crashed previous container

kubectl logs deploy/web -c appLogs from a deployment's pod, one container

kubectl exec -it p -- shOpen a shell in a container

kubectl port-forward svc/web 8080:80Reach a service on localhost:8080

kubectl cp p:/path ./localCopy files out of a pod

kubectl apply -f manifest.yamlCreate or update resources from a file

kubectl apply -k ./overlayApply a Kustomize directory

kubectl diff -f manifest.yamlPreview what apply would change

kubectl delete -f manifest.yamlDelete the resources in a file

kubectl create deploy web --image=nginx --dry-run=client -o yamlGenerate a manifest skeleton

kubectl scale deploy/web --replicas=3Change the replica count

kubectl set image deploy/web app=img:v2Update a container image

kubectl rollout status deploy/webWatch a rollout finish

kubectl rollout undo deploy/webRoll back to the previous version

kubectl rollout restart deploy/webRestart all pods gracefully

CrashLoopBackOffContainer keeps exiting — check logs --previous

ImagePullBackOffWrong image name/tag or missing registry credentials

PendingNot scheduled — not enough resources or no matching node

OOMKilledExceeded its memory limit

YAML vs JSON: When to Use Each