Complete List of `kubectl` Commands with Explanations

Overview

kubectl is the command-line tool for interacting with Kubernetes clusters. It allows you to deploy applications, inspect resources, manage cluster components, and troubleshoot issues.

General Syntax

kubectl [COMMAND] [TYPE] [NAME] [FLAGS]

COMMAND: The action you want to perform (e.g., get, describe, delete).
TYPE: The resource type (e.g., pod, deployment, service).
NAME: The name of the resource (optional).
FLAGS: Additional options for fine-tuning commands.

To see the full list of commands, run:

kubectl --help

1. Basic Kubernetes Commands

Command	Description	Example
`kubectl version`	Display client and server version	`kubectl version --short`
`kubectl cluster-info`	Display cluster information	`kubectl cluster-info`
`kubectl get`	List resources	`kubectl get pods`
`kubectl describe`	Show detailed information about a resource	`kubectl describe pod my-pod`
`kubectl delete`	Delete resources	`kubectl delete pod my-pod`
`kubectl explain`	Show API documentation for a resource	`kubectl explain pod`

2. Pod and Deployment Management

Command	Description	Example
`kubectl run`	Create a new pod	`kubectl run my-pod --image=nginx`
`kubectl expose`	Expose a resource as a new Kubernetes service	`kubectl expose deployment my-app --port=80 --target-port=8080`
`kubectl scale`	Scale the number of pod replicas	`kubectl scale deployment my-app --replicas=3`
`kubectl autoscale`	Set up autoscaling for a deployment	`kubectl autoscale deployment my-app --min=2 --max=5 --cpu-percent=80`

3. Interacting with Running Pods

Command	Description	Example
`kubectl logs`	Fetch logs from a pod	`kubectl logs my-pod`
`kubectl exec`	Run a command inside a pod	`kubectl exec -it my-pod -- /bin/sh`
`kubectl attach`	Attach to a running pod’s process	`kubectl attach my-pod -i`
`kubectl cp`	Copy files between a container and local machine	`kubectl cp my-pod:/path/to/file ./localfile`
`kubectl port-forward`	Forward local port to a pod port	`kubectl port-forward my-pod 8080:80`
`kubectl top`	Display CPU and memory usage of pods	`kubectl top pod`

4. Node and Cluster Management

Command	Description	Example
`kubectl get nodes`	List nodes in the cluster	`kubectl get nodes -o wide`
`kubectl cordon`	Mark a node as unschedulable	`kubectl cordon my-node`
`kubectl uncordon`	Mark a node as schedulable	`kubectl uncordon my-node`
`kubectl drain`	Safely evict pods from a node	`kubectl drain my-node --ignore-daemonsets`
`kubectl taint`	Add or remove taints on nodes	`kubectl taint nodes my-node key=value:NoSchedule`

5. Configuration and Context Management

Command	Description	Example
`kubectl config view`	Display current kubeconfig settings	`kubectl config view`
`kubectl config current-context`	Show the active context	`kubectl config current-context`
`kubectl config use-context`	Switch to another context	`kubectl config use-context my-cluster`
`kubectl config set-context`	Set a new context	`kubectl config set-context my-context --cluster=my-cluster`
`kubectl config delete-context`	Remove a context	`kubectl config delete-context my-context`

6. Service and Networking Commands

Command	Description	Example
`kubectl get services`	List services	`kubectl get svc`
`kubectl describe service`	Show details of a service	`kubectl describe svc my-service`
`kubectl delete service`	Delete a service	`kubectl delete svc my-service`
`kubectl get endpoints`	Display the endpoints of a service	`kubectl get endpoints`
`kubectl proxy`	Run a proxy to access the Kubernetes API	`kubectl proxy --port=8001`

7. Security and RBAC (Role-Based Access Control)

Command	Description	Example
`kubectl auth can-i`	Check if user has permission to perform an action	`kubectl auth can-i delete pods`
`kubectl create role`	Create a new role	`kubectl create role pod-reader --verb=get --verb=list --resource=pods`
`kubectl create rolebinding`	Bind a role to a user or group	`kubectl create rolebinding read-pods --role=pod-reader --user=my-user`
`kubectl get roles`	List available roles	`kubectl get roles -n my-namespace`
`kubectl get rolebindings`	List role bindings	`kubectl get rolebindings -n my-namespace`

8. Debugging & Troubleshooting

Command	Description	Example
`kubectl describe`	Show detailed information about a resource	`kubectl describe pod my-pod`
`kubectl logs`	Fetch logs from a pod	`kubectl logs my-pod`
`kubectl events`	Show recent cluster events	`kubectl get events`
`kubectl debug`	Create a debugging container in a pod	`kubectl debug my-pod -it --image=busybox`

Conclusion

This document provides a comprehensive list of kubectl commands with explanations. Kubernetes is powerful, and mastering these commands will help you efficiently manage and troubleshoot clusters. 🚀

azpoint/k8s-help.md

Complete List of kubectl Commands with Explanations