Kubectl Cheat Sheet
A comprehensive command reference for everyday Kubernetes use — cleaner, deeper, and more practical than the standard cheat sheets.
🔧 Context & Configuration
| Command |
Description |
kubectl config get-contexts |
List all contexts |
kubectl config use-context <context> |
Switch to a different context |
kubectl config current-context |
Show the active context |
kubectl config view --minify |
View config of current context |
kubectl config set-context |
Create or modify a context |
kubectl config set-cluster |
Set a cluster config |
kubectl config set-credentials |
Configure user credentials |
kubectl config unset users.<user> |
Remove a user from config |
📦 Pods
| Command |
Description |
kubectl get pods |
List all pods in current namespace |
kubectl get pods -A |
List pods across all namespaces |
kubectl get pod <name> -o wide |
Show pod details including IP and node |
kubectl describe pod <name> |
Detailed pod information |
kubectl logs <pod> |
Logs from main container |
kubectl logs <pod> -c <container> |
Logs from a specific container |
kubectl exec -it <pod> -- /bin/sh |
Open shell session in pod |
kubectl delete pod <pod> |
Delete a pod (useful for restart) |
🚀 Deployments
| Command |
Description |
kubectl get deploy |
List deployments |
kubectl describe deploy <name> |
View deployment details |
kubectl scale deploy <name> --replicas=3 |
Scale deployment |
kubectl rollout status deploy <name> |
Track rollout progress |
kubectl rollout history deploy <name> |
Show rollout history |
kubectl rollout undo deploy <name> |
Roll back to previous revision |
kubectl edit deploy <name> |
Edit deployment in-place |
kubectl delete deploy <name> |
Delete a deployment |
📋 Services
| Command |
Description |
kubectl get svc |
List services |
kubectl describe svc <name> |
Detailed service info |
kubectl expose pod nginx --port=80 --type=ClusterIP |
Expose pod as service |
kubectl port-forward svc/<svc> 8080:80 |
Forward local port to service |
kubectl get endpoints |
Show service endpoints |
🌐 Ingress
| Command |
Description |
kubectl get ingress |
List ingress resources |
kubectl describe ingress <name> |
Details of an ingress resource |
📦 ConfigMaps & Secrets
| Command |
Description |
kubectl get configmap |
List ConfigMaps |
kubectl create configmap <name> --from-literal=key=value |
Create from literal |
kubectl create configmap <name> --from-file=file.txt |
Create from file |
kubectl get secret |
List Secrets |
kubectl create secret generic <name> --from-literal=password=secret |
Create basic secret |
kubectl get secret <name> -o yaml |
View base64-encoded secret |
kubectl get secret <name> -o jsonpath="{.data.key}" \| base64 -d |
Decode a secret |
🔐 RBAC & ServiceAccounts
| Command |
Description |
kubectl create sa <name> |
Create a ServiceAccount |
kubectl get sa |
List ServiceAccounts |
kubectl get clusterrolebinding -A |
List all ClusterRoleBindings |
kubectl describe clusterrolebinding <name> |
Show details of binding |
kubectl auth can-i get pods --as=system:serviceaccount:ns:sa |
Check access for a ServiceAccount |
📂 Namespaces
| Command |
Description |
kubectl get ns |
List namespaces |
kubectl create ns <name> |
Create a namespace |
kubectl delete ns <name> |
Delete a namespace |
kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=<ns> |
Set default namespace for current context |
🛠 Jobs & CronJobs
| Command |
Description |
kubectl create job hello --image=busybox -- echo Hello |
Run one-time job |
kubectl get jobs |
List jobs |
kubectl delete job <name> |
Delete a job |
kubectl create cronjob hello --image=busybox --schedule="*/5 * * * *" -- echo Hi |
Schedule recurring job |
kubectl get cronjob |
List CronJobs |
📦 Storage (PVs & PVCs)
| Command |
Description |
kubectl get pv |
List PersistentVolumes |
kubectl get pvc |
List PersistentVolumeClaims |
kubectl describe pvc <name> |
PVC details |
kubectl delete pvc <name> |
Delete a PVC |
🔍 Debugging & Troubleshooting
| Command |
Description |
kubectl get events --sort-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp |
Show recent events |
kubectl logs <pod> --previous |
Logs from a crashed pod |
kubectl exec -it <pod> -- /bin/sh |
Open shell in pod |
kubectl debug -it <pod> --image=busybox --target=<container> |
Ephemeral debug container |
kubectl top pod |
Show pod CPU/memory usage |
kubectl get pods -o wide |
Show node assignments and IPs |
📤 YAML & Apply
| Command |
Description |
kubectl apply -f <file>.yaml |
Apply a YAML manifest |
kubectl delete -f <file>.yaml |
Delete resource defined in YAML |
kubectl apply -f <file>.yaml --dry-run=client -o yaml |
Preview resource definition |
kubectl explain <resource> |
Show schema for a resource |
| Command |
Description |
-o wide |
Show more details (e.g. IPs, nodes) |
-o yaml |
Output full YAML |
-o jsonpath="{.items[*].metadata.name}" |
Query JSON paths |
--field-selector status.phase=Running |
Filter by field |
-l app=nginx |
Filter by label |
--sort-by=.metadata.name |
Sort output |
🔁 Port Forwarding & Proxies
| Command |
Description |
kubectl port-forward pod/<pod> 8080:80 |
Port forward to pod |
kubectl port-forward svc/<svc> 9090:80 |
Port forward to service |
kubectl proxy |
Run API proxy at localhost:8001 |
🧼 Cleanup & Deletion
| Command |
Description |
kubectl delete all --all |
Delete all resources in namespace |
kubectl delete pod,svc -l app=nginx |
Delete resources by label |
kubectl delete pvc --all |
Remove all PVCs |
🧪 Common Shortcuts
| Task |
Command |
| Restart a pod |
kubectl delete pod <pod> (Deployment auto-recreates) |
| Watch pod status |
watch kubectl get pods |
| Quick deploy NGINX |
kubectl create deploy nginx --image=nginx |
| Expose NGINX |
kubectl expose deploy nginx --port=80 --type=LoadBalancer |