📖 Guide

Kubernetes & kubectl Cheat Sheet — Complete Reference

Every kubectl command you need for managing Kubernetes clusters, pods, deployments, and services.

129 commands across 12 categories

Cluster Info Pods Deployments Services ConfigMaps & Secrets Namespaces Nodes Logs & Debugging Scaling Networking RBAC Helm

Cluster Info

Command	Description
`kubectl cluster-info`	Display cluster endpoint and services info
`kubectl version`	Show kubectl client and server versions
`kubectl config view`	Show merged kubeconfig settings
`kubectl config current-context`	Display the current context
`kubectl config use-context <context>` e.g. kubectl config use-context production	Switch to a different cluster context
`kubectl config get-contexts`	List all available contexts
`kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=<ns>` e.g. kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=my-app	Set the default namespace for the current context
`kubectl api-resources`	List all supported API resources and their short names
`kubectl api-versions`	List all supported API versions
`kubectl get componentstatuses`	Check health of cluster components (scheduler, etcd, controller-manager)

Pods

Command	Description
`kubectl get pods`	List all pods in the current namespace
`kubectl get pods -A`	List pods across all namespaces
`kubectl get pods -o wide`	List pods with extra details (node, IP)
`kubectl get pods -w`	Watch pods in real time
`kubectl get pods --sort-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp`	List pods sorted by creation time
`kubectl get pods --field-selector=status.phase=Running`	List only running pods
`kubectl describe pod <pod>`	Show detailed info about a pod (events, containers, volumes)
`kubectl run <name> --image=<image>` e.g. kubectl run nginx --image=nginx:latest	Create and run a pod from an image
`kubectl run <name> --image=<image> --rm -it -- <cmd>` e.g. kubectl run debug --image=busybox --rm -it -- sh	Run a temporary interactive pod (deleted on exit)
`kubectl delete pod <pod>`	Delete a pod
`kubectl delete pod <pod> --grace-period=0 --force`	Force delete a stuck pod immediately
`kubectl exec -it <pod> -- <cmd>` e.g. kubectl exec -it my-pod -- /bin/bash	Execute a command inside a running pod
`kubectl exec -it <pod> -c <container> -- <cmd>`	Execute a command in a specific container within a multi-container pod
`kubectl cp <pod>:<path> <local-path>` e.g. kubectl cp my-pod:/var/log/app.log ./app.log	Copy files from a pod to local machine
`kubectl cp <local-path> <pod>:<path>`	Copy files from local machine to a pod
`kubectl get pod <pod> -o yaml`	Output pod definition as YAML
`kubectl get pod <pod> -o jsonpath='{.status.podIP}'`	Get a specific field using JSONPath
`kubectl label pod <pod> <key>=<value>` e.g. kubectl label pod my-pod env=production	Add or update a label on a pod
`kubectl annotate pod <pod> <key>=<value>`	Add or update an annotation on a pod

Deployments

Command	Description
`kubectl get deployments`	List all deployments in the current namespace
`kubectl describe deployment <name>`	Show detailed deployment info including strategy and events
`kubectl create deployment <name> --image=<image>` e.g. kubectl create deployment web --image=nginx:1.25	Create a deployment
`kubectl apply -f <file>` e.g. kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml	Apply a deployment from a YAML file
`kubectl set image deployment/<name> <container>=<image>` e.g. kubectl set image deployment/web nginx=nginx:1.26	Update the image for a deployment (rolling update)
`kubectl rollout status deployment/<name>`	Watch rollout progress of a deployment
`kubectl rollout history deployment/<name>`	View rollout history and revisions
`kubectl rollout undo deployment/<name>`	Rollback to the previous revision
`kubectl rollout undo deployment/<name> --to-revision=<n>` e.g. kubectl rollout undo deployment/web --to-revision=3	Rollback to a specific revision number
`kubectl rollout restart deployment/<name>`	Restart all pods in a deployment (rolling restart)
`kubectl rollout pause deployment/<name>`	Pause a rollout to batch multiple changes
`kubectl rollout resume deployment/<name>`	Resume a paused rollout
`kubectl delete deployment <name>`	Delete a deployment and all its pods
`kubectl edit deployment <name>`	Edit a deployment in your default editor
`kubectl patch deployment <name> -p '{"spec":{"replicas":5}}'`	Patch a deployment inline with JSON

Services

Command	Description
`kubectl get services`	List all services in the current namespace
`kubectl get svc`	List services (short alias)
`kubectl describe service <name>`	Show detailed service info including endpoints
`kubectl expose deployment <name> --port=<port> --type=ClusterIP` e.g. kubectl expose deployment web --port=80 --type=ClusterIP	Create a ClusterIP service for a deployment
`kubectl expose deployment <name> --port=<port> --type=NodePort`	Create a NodePort service accessible on every node
`kubectl expose deployment <name> --port=<port> --type=LoadBalancer`	Create a LoadBalancer service (cloud only)
`kubectl get endpoints <service>`	Show the endpoint IPs backing a service
`kubectl delete service <name>`	Delete a service
`kubectl port-forward svc/<name> <local>:<remote>` e.g. kubectl port-forward svc/web 8080:80	Forward a local port to a service
`kubectl port-forward pod/<name> <local>:<remote>`	Forward a local port directly to a pod

ConfigMaps & Secrets

Command	Description
`kubectl get configmaps`	List all ConfigMaps
`kubectl create configmap <name> --from-literal=<key>=<value>` e.g. kubectl create configmap app-config --from-literal=DB_HOST=db.example.com	Create a ConfigMap from literal key-value pairs
`kubectl create configmap <name> --from-file=<path>` e.g. kubectl create configmap nginx-conf --from-file=nginx.conf	Create a ConfigMap from a file or directory
`kubectl describe configmap <name>`	Show ConfigMap details and data
`kubectl get configmap <name> -o yaml`	Output ConfigMap as YAML
`kubectl delete configmap <name>`	Delete a ConfigMap
`kubectl get secrets`	List all secrets in the current namespace
`kubectl create secret generic <name> --from-literal=<key>=<value>` e.g. kubectl create secret generic db-creds --from-literal=password=s3cret	Create a secret from literal values
`kubectl create secret tls <name> --cert=<cert> --key=<key>` e.g. kubectl create secret tls my-tls --cert=tls.crt --key=tls.key	Create a TLS secret from cert and key files
`kubectl get secret <name> -o jsonpath='{.data.<key>}' \| base64 -d` e.g. kubectl get secret db-creds -o jsonpath='{.data.password}' \| base64 -d	Decode and view a secret value
`kubectl delete secret <name>`	Delete a secret

Namespaces

Command	Description
`kubectl get namespaces`	List all namespaces
`kubectl create namespace <name>` e.g. kubectl create namespace staging	Create a new namespace
`kubectl delete namespace <name>`	Delete a namespace and all resources within it
`kubectl get all -n <namespace>`	List all resources in a specific namespace
`kubectl get all -A`	List all resources across all namespaces

Nodes

Command	Description
`kubectl get nodes`	List all nodes in the cluster
`kubectl get nodes -o wide`	List nodes with extra info (OS, kernel, container runtime)
`kubectl describe node <name>`	Show detailed node info (capacity, conditions, pods)
`kubectl top nodes`	Show CPU and memory usage per node (requires metrics-server)
`kubectl cordon <node>`	Mark a node as unschedulable (no new pods)
`kubectl uncordon <node>`	Mark a node as schedulable again
`kubectl drain <node> --ignore-daemonsets --delete-emptydir-data`	Evict all pods from a node for maintenance
`kubectl taint nodes <node> <key>=<value>:<effect>` e.g. kubectl taint nodes node1 dedicated=gpu:NoSchedule	Add a taint to a node
`kubectl taint nodes <node> <key>-` e.g. kubectl taint nodes node1 dedicated-	Remove a taint from a node

Logs & Debugging

Command	Description
`kubectl logs <pod>`	View logs of a pod
`kubectl logs <pod> -f`	Stream logs in real time (follow)
`kubectl logs <pod> --tail=100`	Show only the last 100 log lines
`kubectl logs <pod> --since=1h`	Show logs from the last hour
`kubectl logs <pod> -c <container>`	View logs of a specific container in a multi-container pod
`kubectl logs <pod> --previous`	View logs of a previously crashed container
`kubectl logs -l <label>=<value>` e.g. kubectl logs -l app=web	View logs from all pods matching a label
`kubectl top pods`	Show CPU and memory usage per pod
`kubectl top pods --sort-by=cpu`	Show pods sorted by CPU usage
`kubectl get events --sort-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp`	List cluster events sorted by time
`kubectl get events --field-selector type=Warning`	List only warning events
`kubectl debug node/<node> -it --image=busybox`	Start a debug container on a node
`kubectl auth can-i <verb> <resource>` e.g. kubectl auth can-i create deployments	Check if you have permission to perform an action

Scaling

Command	Description
`kubectl scale deployment/<name> --replicas=<n>` e.g. kubectl scale deployment/web --replicas=5	Scale a deployment to N replicas
`kubectl autoscale deployment/<name> --min=<n> --max=<n> --cpu-percent=<n>` e.g. kubectl autoscale deployment/web --min=2 --max=10 --cpu-percent=70	Create a Horizontal Pod Autoscaler
`kubectl get hpa`	List all Horizontal Pod Autoscalers
`kubectl describe hpa <name>`	Show HPA details including current/target metrics
`kubectl delete hpa <name>`	Delete a Horizontal Pod Autoscaler
`kubectl scale statefulset/<name> --replicas=<n>`	Scale a StatefulSet

Networking

Command	Description
`kubectl get ingress`	List all Ingress resources
`kubectl describe ingress <name>`	Show detailed Ingress info (rules, backends)
`kubectl get networkpolicies`	List all NetworkPolicies
`kubectl apply -f ingress.yaml`	Create or update an Ingress from a YAML file
`kubectl run tmp --image=busybox --rm -it -- wget -qO- <service>:<port>` e.g. kubectl run tmp --image=busybox --rm -it -- wget -qO- web:80	Test service connectivity from within the cluster
`kubectl run tmp --image=busybox --rm -it -- nslookup <service>`	Test DNS resolution inside the cluster
`kubectl get svc -n kube-system`	Check core DNS and system services

RBAC

Command	Description
`kubectl get roles`	List Roles in the current namespace
`kubectl get clusterroles`	List all ClusterRoles
`kubectl get rolebindings`	List RoleBindings in the current namespace
`kubectl get clusterrolebindings`	List all ClusterRoleBindings
`kubectl create role <name> --verb=<verbs> --resource=<resources>` e.g. kubectl create role pod-reader --verb=get,list,watch --resource=pods	Create a Role with specific permissions
`kubectl create rolebinding <name> --role=<role> --user=<user>` e.g. kubectl create rolebinding read-pods --role=pod-reader --user=jane	Bind a Role to a user
`kubectl create clusterrolebinding <name> --clusterrole=<role> --serviceaccount=<ns>:<sa>`	Bind a ClusterRole to a service account
`kubectl auth can-i --list`	List all permissions for the current user
`kubectl auth can-i <verb> <resource> --as=<user>` e.g. kubectl auth can-i create pods --as=jane	Check permissions as another user (impersonate)

Helm

Command	Description
`helm repo add <name> <url>` e.g. helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami	Add a Helm chart repository
`helm repo update`	Update all Helm repo indexes
`helm search repo <keyword>` e.g. helm search repo nginx	Search for charts in added repos
`helm install <release> <chart>` e.g. helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx	Install a Helm chart as a release
`helm install <release> <chart> -f values.yaml`	Install with custom values file
`helm install <release> <chart> --set <key>=<value>` e.g. helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx --set replicaCount=3	Install with inline value overrides
`helm upgrade <release> <chart>`	Upgrade a release to a new chart version or values
`helm rollback <release> <revision>` e.g. helm rollback my-nginx 1	Rollback a release to a previous revision
`helm list`	List all Helm releases in the current namespace
`helm list -A`	List releases across all namespaces
`helm status <release>`	Show status and notes for a release
`helm history <release>`	Show revision history of a release
`helm uninstall <release>`	Uninstall a release
`helm template <release> <chart>`	Render chart templates locally without installing
`helm show values <chart>` e.g. helm show values bitnami/nginx	Show default values of a chart

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