generated: '2026-06-20'
method: searched
source: https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/
description: >-
  kubectl is the first-party Kubernetes command-line client. It talks to the
  control-plane API server (using kubeconfig credentials) to inspect, create,
  update, and delete cluster resources, and to run debugging and administrative
  flows. The binary is catalogued in packages/ conceptually; this file captures
  its command surface.
name: kubectl
docs: https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/
reference: https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/generated/kubectl/
cheatsheet: https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/cheatsheet/
install:
  - method: krew-plugins
    note: kubectl plugins are managed via the krew plugin manager (https://krew.sigs.k8s.io/)
  - method: package-manager
    examples:
      - "brew install kubectl"
      - "apt-get install -y kubectl (via pkgs.k8s.io apt repo)"
      - "choco install kubernetes-cli"
  - method: direct-download
    note: curl the versioned binary from dl.k8s.io (https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/)
config: uses ~/.kube/config (KUBECONFIG) for cluster endpoints and credentials
command_groups:
  - group: Basic / Beginner
    commands: [create, expose, run, set]
  - group: Basic / Intermediate
    commands: [explain, get, edit, delete]
  - group: Deploy
    commands: [rollout, scale, autoscale]
  - group: Cluster Management
    commands: [certificate, cluster-info, top, cordon, uncordon, drain, taint]
  - group: Troubleshooting & Debugging
    commands: [describe, logs, attach, exec, port-forward, proxy, cp, auth, debug, events]
  - group: Advanced (declarative)
    commands: [diff, apply, patch, replace, wait, kustomize]
  - group: Settings
    commands: [label, annotate, completion]
  - group: Other
    commands: [api-resources, api-versions, config, plugin, version, help]
key_flows:
  - name: apply-manifest
    example: kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml
    description: Declaratively create/update resources with server-side field ownership.
  - name: tail-logs
    example: kubectl logs -f deploy/my-app
    description: Stream logs from a workload's pods.
  - name: exec-into-pod
    example: kubectl exec -it my-pod -- /bin/sh
    description: Open an interactive shell in a running container.
  - name: port-forward
    example: kubectl port-forward svc/my-svc 8080:80
    description: Forward a local port to a service/pod for local access.
  - name: rollout-status
    example: kubectl rollout status deploy/my-app
    description: Watch a deployment roll out and roll back if needed.