32 entries
Confirm context and permissions
- Client version
kubectl version --client
Does not need a live API server. [2][1]
- Current context
kubectl config current-context
Check this before any cluster operation. [2][1]
- List contexts
kubectl config get-contexts
Shows configured cluster/user/namespace combinations. [2][1]
- Inspect active config
kubectl config view --minify
Displays the current context subset with normal redaction. [2][1]
- Choose context for one command
kubectl --context dev get namespaces
Avoids changing the saved default context. [2][1]
- Choose namespace for one command
kubectl -n tools get pods
Limits this request to the specified namespace. [2][1]
- Check a permission
kubectl auth can-i get pods -n tools
Asks the server about your effective access. [2][1]
- Discover API resource types
kubectl api-resources
Lists resource names exposed by the cluster. [2][1]
Read resources
- List namespaces
kubectl get namespaces
Lists namespace resources. [3][1]
- List nodes
kubectl get nodes
Requires cluster-scope permission. [3][1]
- Pods in current namespace
kubectl get pods
Does not include other namespaces by default. [3][1]
- Pods across namespaces
kubectl get pods -A
Requires access to the requested resources. [3][1]
- Expanded pod columns
kubectl get pods -o wide
Includes placement and IP information. [3][1]
- Filter by label
kubectl get pods -l app=web
Selects pods carrying that label. [3][1]
- Watch updates
kubectl get pods -w
Streams changes until interrupted. [3][1]
- Describe one pod
kubectl describe pod pod-name
Summarizes configuration, conditions and recent events. [3][1]
Workloads and discovery
- Deployments
kubectl get deployments
Lists deployment resources in scope. [1]
- Services
kubectl get services
Shows service types and ports. [1]
- Ingress rules
kubectl get ingress
Lists ingress resources, not proof of external reachability. [1]
- Stateful workloads
kubectl get statefulsets
Inspects stateful application controllers. [1]
- Daemon workloads
kubectl get daemonsets
Lists per-node workload controllers. [1]
- Batch jobs
kubectl get jobs
Shows job resources and completion counts. [1]
- Explain a field
kubectl explain deployment.spec.replicas
Uses the server-published resource schema. [1]
- View resource JSON
kubectl get deployment web -o json
Includes configuration; redact before sharing. [1]
Logs, events and rollout status
- Pod logs
kubectl logs pod-name
May require -c when several containers are present. [4][1]
- One container's logs
kubectl logs pod-name -c app
Selects a container by name. [4][1]
- Recent log lines
kubectl logs pod-name --tail=100
Limits returned lines. [4][1]
- Follow logs
kubectl logs -f pod-name
Ctrl+c ends the stream. [4][1]
- Previous container logs
kubectl logs pod-name --previous
Available only when the prior instance's logs remain. [4][1]
- Recent events
kubectl get events --sort-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp
Events are transient diagnostic records. [4][1]
- Rollout progress
kubectl rollout status deployment/web --timeout=60s
Waits for status without initiating a new rollout. [4][1]
- Resource usage
kubectl top pods
Requires a functioning metrics API; missing metrics do not mean zero usage. [4][1]
Reserved placement, separate from reference controls. No ad network is active.
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Updated kubectl · common inspection commands
cheatsheetatlas.com/sheets/kubectl/ · Updated 2026-10-19 · kubectl · common inspection commands