kubectl Commands

The Kubernetes command-line tool.

Basics

kubectl get

Lists one or more resources of a given type.

kubectl describe

Shows detailed information about a specific resource, including recent events — the first stop when debugging.

kubectl config

Views or modifies kubeconfig — including switching between clusters and namespaces via contexts.

Debugging

kubectl logs

Prints the logs from a container in a pod.

kubectl exec

Runs a command inside a running container in a pod.

kubectl port-forward

Forwards a local port to a port on a pod, useful for debugging a service without exposing it publicly.

Deploying

kubectl apply

Creates or updates resources to match a manifest file — the standard way to deploy declaratively.

kubectl delete

Deletes resources by name or manifest file.

kubectl rollout

Manages the rollout of a Deployment — checking status, viewing history, or rolling back.

kubectl scale

Changes the number of replicas for a Deployment, ReplicaSet, or StatefulSet.