The following table includes short descriptions and the general syntax for all of the kubectl
operations:
Operation | Syntax | Description |
---|---|---|
alpha | kubectl alpha SUBCOMMAND [flags] | List the available commands that correspond to alpha features, which are not enabled in Kubernetes clusters by default. |
annotate | kubectl annotate (-f FILENAME | TYPE NAME | TYPE/NAME) KEY_1=VAL_1 ... KEY_N=VAL_N [--overwrite] [--all] [--resource-version=version] [flags] | Add or update the annotations of one or more resources. |
api-resources | kubectl api-resources [flags] | List the API resources that are available. |
api-versions | kubectl api-versions [flags] | List the API versions that are available. |
apply | kubectl apply -f FILENAME [flags] | Apply a configuration change to a resource from a file or stdin. |
attach | kubectl attach POD -c CONTAINER [-i] [-t] [flags] | Attach to a running container either to view the output stream or interact with the container (stdin). |
auth | kubectl auth [flags] [options] | Inspect authorization. |
autoscale | kubectl autoscale (-f FILENAME | TYPE NAME | TYPE/NAME) [--min=MINPODS] --max=MAXPODS [--cpu-percent=CPU] [flags] | Automatically scale the set of pods that are managed by a replication controller. |
certificate | kubectl certificate SUBCOMMAND [options] | Modify certificate resources. |
cluster-info | kubectl cluster-info [flags] | Display endpoint information about the master and services in the cluster. |
completion | kubectl completion SHELL [options] | Output shell completion code for the specified shell (bash or zsh). |
config | kubectl config SUBCOMMAND [flags] | Modifies kubeconfig files. See the individual subcommands for details. |
convert | kubectl convert -f FILENAME [options] | Convert config files between different API versions. Both YAML and JSON formats are accepted. Note - requires kubectl-convert plugin to be installed. |
cordon | kubectl cordon NODE [options] | Mark node as unschedulable. |
cp | kubectl cp | Copy files and directories to and from containers. |
create | kubectl create -f FILENAME [flags] | Create one or more resources from a file or stdin. |
delete | kubectl delete (-f FILENAME | TYPE [NAME | /NAME | -l label | --all]) [flags] | Delete resources either from a file, stdin, or specifying label selectors, names, resource selectors, or resources. |
describe | kubectl describe (-f FILENAME | TYPE [NAME_PREFIX | /NAME | -l label]) [flags] | Display the detailed state of one or more resources. |
diff | kubectl diff -f FILENAME [flags] | Diff file or stdin against live configuration. |
drain | kubectl drain NODE [options] | Drain node in preparation for maintenance. |
edit | kubectl edit (-f FILENAME | TYPE NAME | TYPE/NAME) [flags] | Edit and update the definition of one or more resources on the server by using the default editor. |
exec | kubectl exec POD [-c CONTAINER] [-i] [-t] [flags] [-- COMMAND [args...]] | Execute a command against a container in a pod. |
explain | kubectl explain [--recursive=false] [flags] | Get documentation of various resources. For instance pods, nodes, services, etc. |
expose | kubectl expose (-f FILENAME | TYPE NAME | TYPE/NAME) [--port=port] [--protocol=TCP|UDP] [--target-port=number-or-name] [--name=name] [--external-ip=external-ip-of-service] [--type=type] [flags] | Expose a replication controller, service, or pod as a new Kubernetes service. |
get | kubectl get (-f FILENAME | TYPE [NAME | /NAME | -l label]) [--watch] [--sort-by=FIELD] [[-o | --output]=OUTPUT_FORMAT] [flags] | List one or more resources. |
kustomize | kubectl kustomize | List a set of API resources generated from instructions in a kustomization.yaml file. The argument must be the path to the directory containing the file, or a git repository URL with a path suffix specifying same with respect to the repository root. |
label | kubectl label (-f FILENAME | TYPE NAME | TYPE/NAME) KEY_1=VAL_1 ... KEY_N=VAL_N [--overwrite] [--all] [--resource-version=version] [flags] | Add or update the labels of one or more resources. |
logs | kubectl logs POD [-c CONTAINER] [--follow] [flags] | Print the logs for a container in a pod. |
options | kubectl options | List of global command-line options, which apply to all commands. |
patch | kubectl patch (-f FILENAME | TYPE NAME | TYPE/NAME) --patch PATCH [flags] | Update one or more fields of a resource by using the strategic merge patch process. |
plugin | kubectl plugin [flags] [options] | Provides utilities for interacting with plugins. |
port-forward | kubectl port-forward POD [LOCAL_PORT:]REMOTE_PORT [...[LOCAL_PORT_N:]REMOTE_PORT_N] [flags] | Forward one or more local ports to a pod. |
proxy | kubectl proxy [--port=PORT] [--www=static-dir] [--www-prefix=prefix] [--api-prefix=prefix] [flags] | Run a proxy to the Kubernetes API server. |
replace | kubectl replace -f FILENAME | Replace a resource from a file or stdin. |
rollout | kubectl rollout SUBCOMMAND [options] | Manage the rollout of a resource. Valid resource types include: deployments, daemonsets and statefulsets. |
run | kubectl run NAME --image=image [--env="key=value"] [--port=port] [--dry-run=server|client|none] [--overrides=inline-json] [flags] | Run a specified image on the cluster. |
scale | kubectl scale (-f FILENAME | TYPE NAME | TYPE/NAME) --replicas=COUNT [--resource-version=version] [--current-replicas=count] [flags] | Update the size of the specified replication controller. |
set | kubectl set SUBCOMMAND [options] | Configure application resources. |
taint | kubectl taint NODE NAME KEY_1=VAL_1:TAINT_EFFECT_1 ... KEY_N=VAL_N:TAINT_EFFECT_N [options] | Update the taints on one or more nodes. |
top | kubectl top [flags] [options] | Display Resource (CPU/Memory/Storage) usage. |
uncordon | kubectl uncordon NODE [options] | Mark node as schedulable. |
version | kubectl version [--client] [flags] | Display the Kubernetes version running on the client and server. |
wait | kubectl wait ([-f FILENAME] | resource.group/resource.name | resource.group [(-l label | --all)]) [--for=delete|--for condition=available] [options] | Experimental: Wait for a specific condition on one or many resources. |
To learn more about command operations, see the kubectl reference documentation.