For Cluster Management
| Command | Description |
| kubectl cluster-infokubectl | Get cluster information. |
| kubectl get nodes | Views all the nodes present in the cluster. |
For Node Management
| Command | Description |
| kubectl get nodes | List all nodes in the cluster. |
| kubectl describe node <node-name> | Describe a specific node. |
| kubectl drain <node-name> | Drain a node for maintenance. |
| kubectl uncordon <node-name> | Uncordon a node after maintenance. |
| kubectl label node <node_name> <key>=<value> | You can label the node by using key-value pair. |
| kubectl label node <node_name> <label_key>- | You can remove the label which is already attached to the node. |
For Namespace Management
| Command | Description |
| kubectl describe namespace <namespace-name> | Describe a namespace. |
| kubectl create namespace <namespace-name> | Create a namespace. |
| kubectl get namespaces | List all namespaces. |
| kubectl config set-context –current –namespace=<namespace-name> | Switch to a different namespace. |
| kubectl delete namespace <namespace-name> | Delete a namespace. |
| kubectl edit namespace <namespace_name> | Edit and update the namespace definition. |
For Creating Resources
For Viewing and Finding Resources
| Command | Description |
| kubectl get <resource-type> | List all resources of a specific type. |
| kubectl get <resource-type> -o wide | List all resources with additional details. |
| kubectl describe <resource-type> <resource-name> | Describe a specific resource. |
| kubectl get <resource-type> -l <label-key>=<label-value> | List all resources with a specific label. |
| kubectl get <resource-type> –all-namespaces | List all resources in all namespaces. |
| kubectl get <resource-type> –sort-by=<field> | List all resources sorted by a specific field. |
| kubectl get <resource-type> -l <label-selector> | List resources with a specific label selector. |
| kubectl get <resource-type> –field-selector=<field-selector> | List resources with a specific field selector. |
| kubectl get <resource-type> -n <namespace> | List all resources in a specific namespace. |
For Deleting Resources
| Command | Description |
| kubectl delete <resource-type> <resource-name> | Delete a resource. |
| kubectl delete <resource-type1> <resource-name1> <resource-type2> <resource-name2> | Delete multiple resources. |
| kubectl delete <resource-type> –all | Delete all resources of a specific type. |
| kubectl delete -f <resource-definition.yaml>kubectl delete -f url-to-resource-definition.yaml | Delete the resource by using url. |
| kubectl delete <resource-type> –all -n <namespace> | Delete all resources in a specific namespace. |
For Copying Files and Directories
| Command | Description |
| kubectl cp <local-path> <namespace>/<pod-name>:<container-path> | Copy files and directories to a container. |
| kubectl cp <namespace>/<pod-name>:<container-path> <local-path> | Copy files and directories from a container. |
| kubectl cp <namespace>/<pod-name>:<source-container-path> <destination-namespace>/<destination-pod-name>:<destination-container-path> | Copying files from one container to another within the same pod. |
| kubectl cp <namespace>/<source-pod-name>:<source-container-path> <destination-namespace>/<destination-pod-name>:<destination-container-path> | Copying files from one container to another in a different pod. |
For Patching Resources
| Command | Description |
| kubectl patch <resource-type> <resource-name> -p ‘<patch-document> | Patch a resource using a JSON or YAML document. |
| kubectl patch <resource-type> <resource-name> –patch-file=<patch-file> | Patch a resource using a JSON or YAML file. |
For Scaling Resources
| Command | Description |
| kubectl scale deployment <deployment-name> –replicas=<replica-count> | Scale a deployment. |
| kubectl scale statefulset <statefulset-name> –replicas=<replica-count> | Scale a statefulset. |
| kubectl scale replicaset <replicaset-name> –replicas=<replica-count> | Scale a replica set. |
For Pod Management
| Command | Description |
| kubectl create -f <pod-definition.yaml> | Create a pod from a YAML file. |
| kubectl get pods | List all pods in the cluster. |
| kubectl describe pod <pod-name> | Describe a specific pod. |
| kubectl logs <pod-name> | Get logs from a pod. |
| kubectl logs -f <pod-name> | Stream logs from a pod. |
| kubectl logs -l <label-key>=<label-value> | Get logs with a specific label. |
| kubectl exec -it <pod-name> — <command> | Exec into a pod. |
| kubectl delete pod <pod-name> | Delete a pod. |
| kubectl create pod <pod-name> | Create a pod with the name. |
| kubectl get pod -n <namespace_name> | List all pods in a namespace. |
For Deployment Management
| Command | Description |
| kubectl create deployment <deployment-name> –image=<image-name> | Create a deployment. |
| kubectl get deployments | List all deployments. |
| kubectl describe deployment <deployment-name> | Describe a specific deployment. |
| kubectl scale deployment <deployment-name> –replicas=<replica-count> | Scale a deployment. |
| kubectl set image deployment/<deployment-name> <container-name>=<new-image-name> | Update a deployment’s image. |
| kubectl rollout status deployment/<deployment-name> | Rollout status of a deployment. |
| kubectl rollout pause deployment/<deployment-name> | Pause a deployment rollout. |
| kubectl rollout resume deployment/<deployment-name> | Resume a deployment rollout. |
| kubectl rollout undo deployment/<deployment-name> | Rollback a deployment to the previous revision. |
| kubectl rollout undo deployment/<deployment-name> –to-revision=<revision-number> | Rollback a deployment to a specific revision. |
| kubectl delete deployment <deployment-name> | Delete deployment name. |
For ReplicaSets Management
| Command | Description |
| kubectl create -f <replicaset-definition.yaml> | Create a ReplicaSet. |
| kubectl get replicasets | List all ReplicaSets. |
| kubectl describe replicaset <replicaset-name> | Describe a specific ReplicaSet. |
| kubectl scale replicaset <replicaset-name> –replicas=<replica-count> | Scale a ReplicaSet. |
For Service Management
| Command | Description |
| kubectl create service <service-type> <service-name> –tcp=<port> | Create a service. |
| kubectl get services | List all services. |
| kubectl expose deployment <deployment-name> –port=<port> | Expose a deployment as a service. |
| kubectl describe service <service-name> | Describe a specific service. |
| kubectl delete service <service-name> | Delete a service. |
| kubectl get endpoints <service-name> | Get information about a service. |
For Config Maps and Secrets
| Command | Description |
| kubectl create configmap <config-map-name> –from-file=<path-to-file> | Create a config map from a file. |
| kubectl create secret <secret-type> <secret-name> –from-literal=<key>=<value> | Create a secret. |
| kubectl get configmaps | List all config maps. |
| kubectl get secrets | List all secrets. |
| kubectl describe configmap <config-map-name> | Describe a specific config map. |
| kubectl describe secret <secret-name> | Describe a specific secret. |
| kubectl delete secret <secret_name> | Delete a specific secret. |
| kubectl delete configmap <config-map-name> | Delete a specific config map. |
For Networking
| Command | Description |
| kubectl port-forward <pod-name> <local-port>:<pod-port> | Port forward to a pod. |
| kubectl expose deployment <deployment-name> –type=NodePort –port=<port> | Expose a deployment as a NodePort service. |
| kubectl create ingress <ingress-name> –rule=<host>/<path>=<service-name> –<service-port> | Create an Ingress resource. |
| kubectl describe ingress <ingress-name> | Get information about an Ingress. |
| kubectl get ingress <ingress-name> -o jsonpath='{.spec.rules[0].host}’ | Retrieves the most value from the first rule of the specified Ingress resource. |
For Storage
| Command | Description |
| kubectl create -f <persistent-volume-definition.yaml> | Create a PersistentVolume. |
| kubectl get pv | List all PersistentVolumes. |
| kubectl describe pv <pv-name> | Describe a specific PersistentVolume. |
| kubectl create -f <persistent-volume-claim-definition.yaml> | Create a PersistentVolumeClaim. |
| kubectl get pvc | List all PersistentVolumeClaims. |
| kubectl describe pvc <pvc-name> | Describe a specific PersistentVolumeClaim. |
For StatefulSets
| Command | Description |
| kubectl create -f <statefulset-definition.yaml> | Create a StatefulSet. |
| kubectl get statefulsets | List all StatefulSets. |
| kubectl describe statefulset <statefulset-name> | Describe a specific StatefulSet. |
| kubectl scale statefulset <statefulset-name> –replicas=<replica-count> | Scale a StatefulSet. |
For Monitoring and Troubleshooting
| Command | Description |
| kubectl get events | Check cluster events. |
| kubectl get component statuses | Get cluster component statuses. |
| kubectl top nodes | Get resource utilization of nodes. |
| kubectl top pods | Get resource utilization of pods. |
| kubectl debug <pod-name> -it –image=<debugging-image> | Enable container shell access debugging. |
