kubectl Cheat Sheet (With Clear Categories & Uses)

📌 1. Basic Cluster & Node Info Command Use kubectl version –short Check client & server versions kubectl cluster-info Display cluster master & services kubectl get nodes List nodes kubectl describe…

Deependra Bhatta23 Nov 2025 · updated 5 Oct 2026 · 6 min read

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📌 1. Basic Cluster & Node Info

Command	Use
`kubectl version --short`	Check client & server versions
`kubectl cluster-info`	Display cluster master & services
`kubectl get nodes`	List nodes
`kubectl describe node <node-name>`	Detailed node information
`kubectl top nodes`	Show node resource consumption (metrics server needed)

📌 2. Working With Namespaces

Command	Use
`kubectl get namespaces`	List namespaces
`kubectl create namespace dev`	Create namespace
`kubectl delete namespace dev`	Delete namespace
`kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=dev`	Set default namespace

📌 3. Working With Pods

Command	Use
`kubectl get pods`	List pods
`kubectl get pods -o wide`	List pods with node & IP
`kubectl describe pod <pod>`	Detailed pod info
`kubectl logs <pod>`	Get logs
`kubectl logs <pod> -c <container>`	Logs of specific container
`kubectl exec -it <pod> -- /bin/bash`	Shell into container
`kubectl port-forward <pod> 8080:80`	Forward port to local
`kubectl delete pod <pod>`	Delete pod

📌 4. Deployments

Command	Use
`kubectl get deployments`	List deployments
`kubectl create deployment nginx --image=nginx`	Create deployment
`kubectl describe deployment <name>`	Deployment details
`kubectl scale deployment nginx --replicas=5`	Scale deployment
`kubectl set image deployment/nginx nginx=nginx:1.27`	Update image
`kubectl rollout status deployment/nginx`	Check rollout
`kubectl rollout history deployment/nginx`	View rollout history
`kubectl rollout undo deployment/nginx`	Rollback deployment

📌 5. Services

Command	Use
`kubectl get svc`	List services
`kubectl expose deployment nginx --type=NodePort --port=80`	Create Service
`kubectl describe svc <name>`	Service details
`kubectl delete svc <name>`	Delete service

📌 6. ConfigMaps

Command	Use
`kubectl create configmap mycfg --from-literal=ENV=prod`	Create ConfigMap
`kubectl create configmap mycfg --from-file=app.conf`	Create from file
`kubectl get configmaps`	List
`kubectl describe configmap mycfg`	Show details
`kubectl delete configmap mycfg`	Remove

📌 7. Secrets

Command	Use
`kubectl create secret generic mysecret --from-literal=password=secret123`	Create secret
`kubectl get secrets`	List
`kubectl describe secret mysecret`	Secret info
`kubectl delete secret mysecret`	Remove
`kubectl get secret mysecret -o yaml`	View encoded value
`echo “”	base64 –decode`

📌 8. Ingress

Command	Use
`kubectl get ingress`	List ingress
`kubectl describe ingress <name>`	Details
`kubectl delete ingress <name>`	Delete

📌 9. Jobs & CronJobs

Command	Use
`kubectl get jobs`	List jobs
`kubectl create job testjob --image=busybox -- echo "Hi"`	Create job
`kubectl get cronjobs`	List cronjobs
`kubectl delete job/cronjob <name>`	Delete

📌 10. Storage

Command	Use
`kubectl get pv`	List persistent volumes
`kubectl get pvc`	List persistent volume claims
`kubectl describe pv/pvc <name>`	Details
`kubectl delete pvc <name>`	Delete

📌 11. Editing Resources

Command	Use
`kubectl edit deployment nginx`	Edit resource in editor
`kubectl edit svc myservice`	Edit service

📌 12. Apply & Manage YAML Manifests

Command	Use
`kubectl apply -f app.yaml`	Create/update resource
`kubectl delete -f app.yaml`	Delete resource in file
`kubectl diff -f app.yaml`	Show changes before apply

📌 13. Useful Output Formatting

Command	Use
`kubectl get pods -o wide`	More details
`kubectl get pods -o yaml`	YAML output
`kubectl get pods -o json`	JSON output
`kubectl get pods --sort-by=.metadata.name`	Sort
`kubectl get pods -A`	All namespaces

📌 14. Resource Debugging

Command	Use
`kubectl describe <resource>`	Deep debugging
`kubectl get events --sort-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp`	Events timeline
`kubectl logs <pod>`	Logs
`kubectl exec -it <pod> -- sh`	Shell into pod
`kubectl debug node/<node> --image=busybox`	Debug node (K8s 1.23+)

📌 15. Context & Configuration

Command	Use
`kubectl config get-contexts`	List contexts
`kubectl config use-context <context>`	Switch cluster
`kubectl config current-context`	Current context
`kubectl config view`	View kubeconfig
`kubectl config set-context ...`	Modify context

📌 16. Labels & Annotations

Command	Use
`kubectl label pod <pod> env=prod`	Add label
`kubectl label pod <pod> env-`	Remove label
`kubectl annotate pod <pod> description="My pod"`	Add annotation

📌 17. Deleting Resources

Command	Use
`kubectl delete pod <pod>`	Delete pod
`kubectl delete deployment <name>`	Delete deployment
`kubectl delete namespace <name>`	Delete namespace
`kubectl delete --all pods`	Delete all pods

📌 18. Auto-Generate YAML (Very Useful!)

Command	Use
`kubectl create deployment nginx --image=nginx -o yaml --dry-run=client`	Generate YAML
`kubectl create configmap test --from-literal=a=1 -o yaml --dry-run=client`	Generate YAML

📌 19. Shortcuts (Aliases)

Shortcut	Original
`kubectl get pods` → `kubectl get po`	po = pods
`kubectl get svc` → `kubectl get services`	svc = service
`kubectl get deploy`	deployments
`kubectl get cm`	configmaps
`kubectl get ns`	namespaces

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