---
title: "Kubernetes Commands Cheatsheet"
slug: "kubernetes-commands"
category: "cheatsheets"
tags: ["cheatsheets", "kubernetes", "kubectl", "devops", "cli", "reference"]
status: "stable"
last_updated: 2026-05-14
summary: "kubectl get/describe/apply/delete/logs/exec/port-forward with common selectors and resource types; the commands worth memorizing for day-to-day cluster work."
related:
  [
    "[[cheatsheets/docker-commands]]",
    "[[ops/github-pages]]",
    "[[cheatsheets/bash-one-liners]]",
    "[[cheatsheets/gh-cli]]",
    "[[coding/shell]]",
    "[[cheatsheets/index|Cheatsheets]]",
  ]
---

## Overview

This card collects the `kubectl` commands needed to inspect, deploy, debug, and recover workloads. The full API reference is at `kubectl api-resources`; this page covers the 20 percent you use 80 percent of the time. For the container layer underneath, see [[cheatsheets/docker-commands]].

## Get and describe

Read state before changing it.

| Command | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `kubectl get pods` | List pods in current namespace. |
| `kubectl get pods -A` | List pods across all namespaces. |
| `kubectl get pods -n staging` | List pods in `staging` namespace. |
| `kubectl get pods -o wide` | Include node, IP, and age. |
| `kubectl get pods -l app=api` | Filter by label selector. |
| `kubectl get all -n staging` | All resources in a namespace. |
| `kubectl get nodes` | List cluster nodes and their status. |
| `kubectl describe pod api-6f9d4 -n prod` | Full events and conditions for one pod. |
| `kubectl describe node worker-1` | Node capacity, allocations, and events. |
| `kubectl get events --sort-by='.lastTimestamp'` | Recent cluster events, newest last. |

`kubectl describe` is the first stop when a pod is `Pending` or `CrashLoopBackOff`; the Events section shows exactly what went wrong.

## Apply, delete, and rollout

Manage resources declaratively; apply over create.

| Command | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `kubectl apply -f deploy.yaml` | Create or update resources from a file. |
| `kubectl apply -f ./k8s/` | Apply all manifests in a directory. |
| `kubectl delete -f deploy.yaml` | Delete resources declared in a file. |
| `kubectl delete pod api-6f9d4` | Force-delete a pod; it will be recreated by the controller. |
| `kubectl rollout status deployment/api` | Block until a rollout finishes. |
| `kubectl rollout history deployment/api` | Show revision history. |
| `kubectl rollout undo deployment/api` | Roll back to the previous revision. |
| `kubectl rollout undo deployment/api --to-revision=3` | Roll back to a specific revision. |
| `kubectl scale deployment api --replicas=3` | Scale a deployment. |
| `kubectl set image deployment/api api=myapp:v2` | Update the container image. |

Prefer `kubectl apply` over `kubectl create`; apply is idempotent and works for both create and update.

## Logs and exec

Reach inside running pods to read output and run commands.

| Command | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `kubectl logs api-6f9d4` | Print log output for a pod. |
| `kubectl logs -f api-6f9d4` | Stream logs. |
| `kubectl logs -f api-6f9d4 -c sidecar` | Stream logs from a specific container in a multi-container pod. |
| `kubectl logs --previous api-6f9d4` | Logs from the previous (crashed) container instance. |
| `kubectl logs -l app=api --tail=50` | Last 50 lines across all pods matching a label. |
| `kubectl exec -it api-6f9d4 -- bash` | Open an interactive shell inside a pod. |
| `kubectl exec api-6f9d4 -- env` | Print environment variables. |
| `kubectl exec api-6f9d4 -- cat /etc/resolv.conf` | Read a file without entering the pod interactively. |
| `kubectl cp api-6f9d4:/app/logs/err.log ./err.log` | Copy a file out of a pod. |

Use `kubectl logs --previous` when a pod restarted before you could check it; it reads the terminated instance's logs.

## Port-forward and proxy

Access services locally without exposing them publicly.

| Command | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `kubectl port-forward pod/api-6f9d4 8080:8080` | Forward local port 8080 to pod port 8080. |
| `kubectl port-forward svc/api 8080:80` | Forward through a Service. |
| `kubectl port-forward deployment/api 8080:8080` | Forward through a Deployment (picks a random pod). |
| `kubectl proxy` | Start a proxy to the Kubernetes API at `localhost:8001`. |

`kubectl port-forward svc/api 5432:5432` is the standard way to connect a local Postgres client to a cluster database.

## Common selectors and resource shortnames

Save keystrokes with short names and label selectors.

| Full name | Shortname | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `pods` | `po` | `kubectl get po` |
| `services` | `svc` | `kubectl get svc` |
| `deployments` | `deploy` | `kubectl get deploy` |
| `replicasets` | `rs` | `kubectl get rs` |
| `configmaps` | `cm` | `kubectl get cm` |
| `namespaces` | `ns` | `kubectl get ns` |
| `nodes` | `no` | `kubectl get no` |
| `persistentvolumeclaims` | `pvc` | `kubectl get pvc` |
| `ingresses` | `ing` | `kubectl get ing` |

Label selector syntax: `-l key=value`, `-l 'key in (a,b)'`, `-l key!=value`. Field selectors: `--field-selector status.phase=Running`.

## Common gotchas

- `kubectl apply` without a namespace uses `default`. Set the namespace in the manifest metadata or always pass `-n`.
- `kubectl delete pod` on a pod managed by a Deployment deletes the pod but the controller immediately creates a replacement. Delete the Deployment to stop the recreation loop.
- `kubectl get pods` hides pods in other namespaces silently. Use `-A` or `-n <ns>` to avoid investigating the wrong namespace.
- `kubectl exec` requires the container to have `bash` or `sh`. Minimal images (distroless, scratch) do not; use an ephemeral debug container with `kubectl debug`.
- `kubectl rollout undo` only rolls back one step. Store manifest history in git; use a specific `--to-revision` for predictable rollbacks.
- `kubectl port-forward` exits silently when the pod restarts. For persistent tunnels, use a local proxy or a proper `Ingress`.

## Related

- [[cheatsheets/docker-commands]]
- [[cheatsheets/bash-one-liners]]
- [[cheatsheets/gh-cli]]
- [[coding/shell]]
- [[ops/github-pages]]
- [[cheatsheets/index|Cheatsheets]]