This overview is intended for anyone who wants to use `kubectl` command line tool to interact with Kubernetes cluster. Please remember that it is built for quick started with `kubectl`; for complete and detailed information, please refer to [kubectl](kubectl/kubectl.md).
TODO: auto-generate this file to stay up with `kubectl` changes. Please see [#14177](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/14177).
## Overview
`kubectl` controls the Kubernetes cluster manager. The synopsis is:
```
kubectl [command] [TYPE] [NAME] [flags]
```
This specifies:
-`command` is a certain operation performed on a given resource(s), such as `create`, `get`, `describe`, `delete` etc.
-`TYPE` is the type of resource(s). Both singular and plural forms are accepted. For example, `node(s)`, `namespace(s)`, `pod(s)`, `replicationcontroller(s)`, `service(s)` etc.
-`NAME` is the name of resource(s). `TYPE NAME` can be specified as `TYPE name1 name2` or `TYPE/name1 TYPE/name2`. `TYPE NAME` can also be specified by one or more file arguments: `-f file1 -f file2 ...`, [use YAML rather than JSON](config-best-practices.md) since YAML tends to be more user-friendly for config.
-`flags` are used to provide more control information when running a command. For example, you can use `-s` or `--server` to specify the address and port of the Kubernetes API server. Command line flags override their corresponding default values and environment variables. [Use short flags sparingly, only for the most frequently used options](../devel/kubectl-conventions.md).
Please use `kubectl help [command]` for detailed information about a command.
Please refer to [kubectl](kubectl/kubectl.md) for a complete list of available commands and flags.
## Common Operations
For explanation, here I gave some mostly often used `kubectl` command examples. Please replace sample names with actual values if you would like to try these commands.
1.`kubectl create` - Create a resource by filename or stdin
// Create a service using the data in example-service.yaml.
$ kubectl create -f example-service.yaml
// Create a replication controller using the data in example-controller.yaml.
$ kubectl create -f example-controller.yaml
// Create objects whose definitions are in a directory. This looks for config objects in all .yaml, .yml, and .json files in <directory> and passes them to create.
$ kubectl create -f <directory>
2.`kubectl get` - Display one or many resources
// List all pods in ps output format.
$ kubectl get pods
// List all pods in ps output format with more information (such as node name).
$ kubectl get pods -o wide
// List a single replication controller with specified name in ps output format. You can use the alias 'rc' instead of 'replicationcontroller'.
$ kubectl get replicationcontroller <rc-name>
// List all replication controllers and services together in ps output format.
$ kubectl get rc,services
3.`kubectl describe` - Show details of a specific resource or group of resources
// Describe a node
$ kubectl describe nodes <node-name>
// Describe a pod
$ kubectl describe pods/<pod-name>
// Describe all pods managed by the replication controller <rc-name>
// (rc-created pods get the name of the rc as a prefix in the pod the name).
$ kubectl describe pods <rc-name>
4.`kubectl delete` - Delete resources by filenames, stdin, resources and names, or by resources and label selector
// Delete a pod using the type and name specified in pod.yaml.
$ kubectl delete -f pod.yaml
// Delete pods and services with label name=<label-name>.
create | `kubectl create -f FILENAME` | Create a resource by filename or stdin
delete | `kubectl delete ([-f FILENAME] | TYPE [(NAME | -l label | --all)])` | Delete resources by filenames, stdin, resources and names, or by resources and label selector
describe | `kubectl describe (-f FILENAME | TYPE [NAME_PREFIX | -l label] | TYPE/NAME)` | Show details of a specific resource or group of resources
edit | `kubectl edit (RESOURCE/NAME | -f FILENAME)` | Edit a resource on the server
exec | `kubectl exec POD [-c CONTAINER] -- COMMAND [args...]` | Execute a command in a container
expose | `kubectl expose (-f FILENAME | TYPE NAME) [--port=port] [--protocol=TCP|UDP] [--target-port=number-or-name] [--name=name] [----external-ip=external-ip-of-service] [--type=type]` | Take a replication controller, service or pod and expose it as a new Kubernetes Service
get | `kubectl get [(-o|--output=)json|yaml|wide|go-template=...|go-template-file=...|jsonpath=...|jsonpath-file=...] (TYPE [NAME | -l label] | TYPE/NAME ...) [flags]` | Display one or many resources
label | `kubectl label [--overwrite] (-f FILENAME | TYPE NAME) KEY_1=VAL_1 ... KEY_N=VAL_N [--resource-version=version]` | Update the labels on a resource
logs | `kubectl logs [-f] [-p] POD [-c CONTAINER]` | Print the logs for a container in a pod
namespace | `kubectl namespace [namespace]` | SUPERSEDED: Set and view the current Kubernetes namespace
patch | `kubectl patch (-f FILENAME | TYPE NAME) -p PATCH` | Update field(s) of a resource by stdin
port-forward | `kubectl port-forward POD [LOCAL_PORT:]REMOTE_PORT [...[LOCAL_PORT_N:]REMOTE_PORT_N]` | Forward one or more local ports to a pod
proxy | `kubectl proxy [--port=PORT] [--www=static-dir] [--www-prefix=prefix] [--api-prefix=prefix]` | Run a proxy to the Kubernetes API server
replace | `kubectl replace -f FILENAME` | Replace a resource by filename or stdin
rolling-update | `kubectl rolling-update OLD_CONTROLLER_NAME ([NEW_CONTROLLER_NAME] --image=NEW_CONTAINER_IMAGE | -f NEW_CONTROLLER_SPEC)` | Perform a rolling update of the given ReplicationController
run | `kubectl run NAME --image=image [--env="key=value"] [--port=port] [--replicas=replicas] [--dry-run=bool] [--overrides=inline-json]` | Run a particular image on the cluster
scale | `kubectl scale [--resource-version=version] [--current-replicas=count] --replicas=COUNT (-f FILENAME | TYPE NAME)` | Set a new size for a Replication Controller
stop | `kubectl stop (-f FILENAME | TYPE (NAME | -l label | --all))` | Deprecated: Gracefully shut down a resource by name or filename
version | `kubectl version` | Print the client and server version information
## Resource Types
The `kubectl` supports the following resource types, and their abbreviated aliases:
