This document provides a quick reference for commonly used Kubernetes (kubectl), k3s, and storage-related commands. Use this as a guide for managing, troubleshooting, and configuring your Kubernetes clusters efficiently.
# Check cluster information
kubectl cluster-info
# Get the version of the Kubernetes client and server
kubectl version --short
# View all nodes in the cluster
kubectl get nodes
# List all namespaces
kubectl get namespaces
# Switch to a specific namespace
kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=<namespace>
# Create a new namespace
kubectl create namespace <namespace>
# Delete a namespace
kubectl delete namespace <namespace>
# List all pods in the current namespace
kubectl get pods
# List all pods in a specific namespace
kubectl get pods -n <namespace>
# View detailed pod information
kubectl describe pod <pod-name>
# Delete a specific pod
kubectl delete pod <pod-name>
# Restart a specific pod (typically by deleting it)
kubectl delete pod <pod-name> --grace-period=0 --force
# List all deployments in the current namespace
kubectl get deployments
# List all services in the current namespace
kubectl get services
# Describe a specific service
kubectl describe service <service-name>
# List all endpoints in the current namespace
kubectl get endpoints
# View logs for a specific pod
kubectl logs <pod-name>
# View logs for a specific container within a pod
kubectl logs <pod-name> -c <container-name>
# View logs in real-time (follow mode)
kubectl logs -f <pod-name>
# Debug into a pod by starting an interactive shell session
kubectl exec -it <pod-name> -- /bin/sh
# List all ConfigMaps in the current namespace
kubectl get configmaps
# Describe a specific ConfigMap
kubectl describe configmap <configmap-name>
# Create a ConfigMap from a file
kubectl create configmap <configmap-name> --from-file=<file-path>
# List all Secrets in the current namespace
kubectl get secrets
# Create a secret from a literal value
kubectl create secret generic <secret-name> --from-literal=<key>=<value>
# Scale a deployment
kubectl scale deployment <deployment-name> --replicas=<number>
# Update a deployment image
kubectl set image deployment/<deployment-name> <container-name>=<new-image>
# Roll back to the previous version of a deployment
kubectl rollout undo deployment/<deployment-name>
# Install K3s on a master node
curl -sfL https://get.k3s.io | sh -
# Install K3s on a worker node, joining a master node
curl -sfL https://get.k3s.io | K3S_URL=https://<master-ip>:6443 K3S_TOKEN=<node-token> sh -
# Check the K3s service status
sudo systemctl status k3s
# Uninstall K3s from a node
sudo /usr/local/bin/k3s-uninstall.sh
K3s provides a kubectl alias; use k3s kubectl in place of kubectl for cluster commands if kubectl isn’t installed.
# Install Longhorn via Helm (example command)
helm repo add longhorn https://charts.longhorn.io
helm repo update
helm install longhorn longhorn/longhorn --namespace longhorn-system --create-namespace
# Check the status of Longhorn pods
kubectl -n longhorn-system get pods
# Access the Longhorn UI (port-forwarding example)
kubectl -n longhorn-system port-forward svc/longhorn-frontend 8080:80
# List all Longhorn volumes
kubectl -n longhorn-system get volumes.longhorn.io
# Create a Longhorn volume (using YAML or Kubernetes spec)
# Attach a Longhorn volume to a specific node
kubectl -n longhorn-system patch volumes.longhorn.io <volume-name> --type merge -p '{"spec":{"nodeID":"<node-id>"}}'
# Detach a Longhorn volume
kubectl -n longhorn-system patch volumes.longhorn.io <volume-name> --type merge -p '{"spec":{"nodeID":""}}'
- Kubernetes Documentation: Kubernetes Documentation
- K3s Documentation: K3s Documentation
- Longhorn Documentation: Longhorn Documentation
This guide is designed to cover frequently used commands. For more complex configurations, refer to the official documentation or specific guides in this repository.