Kubernetes basics cheatsheet.

Core concepts

  • Pod: smallest unit; 1+ containers sharing network + storage.
  • Deployment: declares desired replicas of pods.
  • Service: stable network endpoint for pods.
  • Namespace: virtual cluster, isolation.
  • ConfigMap / Secret: configuration + secrets.
  • Node: a VM/host that runs pods.

kubectl basics

kubectl version
kubectl cluster-info
kubectl get nodes
kubectl get pods
kubectl get pods -A                          # all namespaces
kubectl get all
kubectl get all -n myns

kubectl describe pod mypod
kubectl logs mypod
kubectl logs -f mypod
kubectl logs mypod -c container2             # specific container
kubectl logs --previous mypod                # previous container instance

kubectl exec -it mypod -- bash
kubectl exec mypod -- ls /

Contexts

kubectl config get-contexts
kubectl config use-context production
kubectl config current-context

# Better: kubectx + kubens
brew install kubectx
kubectx prod                                 # switch context
kubens myapp                                 # switch namespace

Namespaces

kubectl get ns
kubectl create namespace myapp
kubectl delete namespace myapp

# Set default namespace
kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=myapp

kubectl get pods -n kube-system

Pods

kubectl run web --image=nginx
kubectl run web --image=nginx --port=80 --restart=Never
kubectl run debug --image=alpine --rm -it -- sh

kubectl get pods -o wide                     # more info
kubectl get pod web -o yaml
kubectl get pod web -o json | jq

kubectl delete pod web
kubectl delete pod web --grace-period=0 --force

Apply YAML

kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml
kubectl apply -f .                           # all yamls in dir
kubectl apply -k overlays/prod               # kustomize
kubectl apply --dry-run=client -f x.yaml
kubectl diff -f x.yaml

kubectl delete -f deployment.yaml

Minimal Pod YAML

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: web
  labels:
    app: web
spec:
  containers:
    - name: nginx
      image: nginx:1.27
      ports:
        - containerPort: 80

Labels + selectors

kubectl get pods -l app=web
kubectl get pods -l 'env in (prod, staging)'
kubectl get pods -l 'app=web,env!=dev'

kubectl label pod web team=alpha
kubectl label pod web team-                  # remove label

Port-forward

kubectl port-forward pod/web 8080:80
kubectl port-forward service/web 8080:80
kubectl port-forward deployment/web 8080:80

Access pod from your machine.

Copy files

kubectl cp local.txt mypod:/tmp/
kubectl cp mypod:/tmp/log.txt local.log

Watch / wait

kubectl get pods -w                          # watch
kubectl wait --for=condition=ready pod/web --timeout=60s
kubectl rollout status deployment/web

Events

kubectl get events --sort-by=.lastTimestamp
kubectl get events --field-selector type=Warning
kubectl describe pod web                     # events at bottom

Resource short names

po   = pods
svc  = services
deploy = deployments
rs   = replicasets
ns   = namespaces
cm   = configmaps
sec  = secrets
ing  = ingresses
pvc  = persistentvolumeclaims
pv   = persistentvolumes
sa   = serviceaccounts

kubectl get po
kubectl get svc

Output formats

kubectl get pods -o yaml
kubectl get pods -o json
kubectl get pods -o jsonpath='{.items[*].metadata.name}'
kubectl get pods -o custom-columns=NAME:.metadata.name,STATUS:.status.phase
kubectl get pods -o wide

alias k=kubectl
alias kg='kubectl get'
alias kd='kubectl describe'
alias kgp='kubectl get pods'
alias kdp='kubectl describe pod'
alias kl='kubectl logs -f'
alias kx='kubectl exec -it'

Auto-completion

# bash
source <(kubectl completion bash)

# zsh
source <(kubectl completion zsh)

Common pod statuses

  • Pending: scheduled, not started (image pull, resource wait).
  • Running: at least one container running.
  • Succeeded: all containers exited 0 (usually Jobs).
  • Failed: at least one container failed.
  • Unknown: communication lost with node.
  • CrashLoopBackOff: container keeps crashing.
  • ImagePullBackOff: can’t pull image.

Common mistakes

  • Wrong context → applying to wrong cluster.
  • Default namespace confusion — set per-context.
  • kubectl delete on wrong resource — no undo.
  • Deleting with --force --grace-period=0 instead of debugging.
  • Long log streams without --tail.

Read this next

If you want my kubectl + kubectx setup, it’s at rajpoot.dev .

Building something AI-, backend-, or data-heavy and want a second pair of eyes? I do consulting and freelance work — see my projects and ways to reach me at rajpoot.dev .