Appendix 1: Kubernetes Cheatsheet

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This cheatsheet summarizes the kubectl commands introduced across Module 1 through Module 4. I will revisit it later and add more commands from the remaining modules as I work through them.

Notes:

• Module 1 is introductory and does not add kubectl commands.
• Module 3 is Docker-focused, so the kubectl commands come primarily from Module 2 and Module 4.
• k is commonly used as a shorthand alias for kubectl.
• Common short resource names used in the modules:
  • po = pods
  • svc = services
  • rs = ReplicaSets

Cluster Basics

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Command	Example	What it does
kubectl get nodes	kubectl get nodes	Lists the worker nodes in the cluster. Good first connectivity check after getting AKS credentials.
kubectl get nodes -o wide	kubectl get nodes -o wide	Shows more node detail, including internal IPs, Kubernetes version, and scheduling information.
kubectl get pods --all-namespaces	kubectl get pods --all-namespaces	Lists pods across every namespace, including system pods in kube-system.
kubectl get all --all-namespaces	kubectl get all --all-namespaces	Lists the main resources across all namespaces: pods, services, deployments, ReplicaSets, and more.
kubectl get ns	kubectl get ns	Lists namespaces in the cluster. Useful when checking isolation boundaries.
kubectl get all	kubectl get all	Lists the main resources in the current namespace, usually default unless you changed context.

Pods

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Command	Example	What it does
kubectl run	kubectl run my-pod --image=nginx --port=80	Creates a pod imperatively from the command line. Useful for quick demos and tests.
kubectl get pods	kubectl get pods	Lists pods in the current namespace.
kubectl get po	kubectl get po	Short form of kubectl get pods.
kubectl get pods -o wide	kubectl get pods -o wide	Lists pods plus extra detail like node placement and pod IPs.
kubectl describe pod	kubectl describe pod my-pod	Shows detailed pod information, including events, image pulls, status, and conditions.
kubectl logs	kubectl logs my-pod	Dumps the current logs from a pod's container.
kubectl logs -f	kubectl logs -f my-pod	Streams pod logs live. Useful while testing in a browser or troubleshooting startup issues.
kubectl exec -it ... -- /bin/sh	kubectl exec -it my-pod -- /bin/sh	Opens an interactive shell inside a running container.
kubectl exec -it ... -- env	kubectl exec -it my-pod -- env	Runs a one-off command inside the container without opening a shell.
kubectl exec -it ... -- ls	kubectl exec -it my-pod -- ls	Lists files in the container filesystem.
kubectl exec -it ... -- cat ...	kubectl exec -it my-pod -- cat /usr/share/nginx/html/index.html	Reads a file from inside the container.
kubectl delete pod	kubectl delete pod my-pod	Deletes a pod. If a controller owns it, Kubernetes usually recreates it.

Services And Ingress

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Command	Example	What it does
kubectl get services	kubectl get services	Lists services in the current namespace.
kubectl get services --all-namespaces	kubectl get services --all-namespaces	Lists services across the entire cluster.
kubectl get service	kubectl get service	Same general idea as get services; often used when checking for external IP assignment.
kubectl get svc	kubectl get svc	Short form of kubectl get service.
kubectl describe service	kubectl describe service my-service	Shows selectors, endpoints, ports, cluster IP, external IP, and recent events for a service.
kubectl get ingress	kubectl get ingress	Lists Ingress resources in the current namespace.
kubectl get ingress --all-namespaces	kubectl get ingress --all-namespaces	Lists all Ingress resources across the cluster.
kubectl describe ingress	kubectl describe ingress my-ingress	Shows hosts, paths, backend services, and events for an Ingress resource.
kubectl expose pod	kubectl expose pod my-pod --type=LoadBalancer --port=80 --target-port=80 --name=my-service	Creates a service in front of a pod. In AKS, LoadBalancer triggers Azure load balancer integration.
kubectl expose rs	kubectl expose rs my-replicasetapp-rs --type=LoadBalancer --port=80 --target-port=80 --name=my-replicaset-service	Creates a service in front of a ReplicaSet so traffic can be distributed across its pods.
kubectl expose deployment	kubectl expose deployment my-deployment --type=LoadBalancer --port=80 --target-port=80 --name=my-deployment-service	Creates a service in front of a Deployment. Common way to publish an app externally.
kubectl expose deployment	kubectl expose deployment my-backend-app --port=8080 --target-port=8080 --name=my-backend-service	Creates a default ClusterIP service for internal app-to-app communication.

YAML And Declarative Workflows

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Command	Example	What it does
kubectl apply -f	kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml	Creates or updates a resource from a YAML file. Preferred for declarative workflows.
kubectl apply -f	kubectl apply -f service.yaml	Applies a service manifest from YAML.
kubectl create -f	kubectl create -f replicaset-demo.yml	Creates a resource from YAML without trying to merge updates like apply does.
kubectl replace -f	kubectl replace -f replicaset-demo.yml	Replaces an existing resource definition with the contents of the YAML file. Useful after changing replica counts or specs.
kubectl get pod -o yaml	kubectl get pod my-pod -o yaml	Shows the live pod manifest that Kubernetes is storing.
kubectl get service -o yaml	kubectl get service my-service -o yaml	Shows the live service manifest stored in the cluster.
kubectl get pod -o yaml	kubectl get pods my-replicasetapp-rs-wgdt6 -o yaml	Useful for checking ownerReferences and seeing which controller owns a pod.

Deployments

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Command	Example	What it does
kubectl create deployment	kubectl create deployment my-deployment --image=stacksimplify/kubenginx:1.0.0	Creates a Deployment imperatively from an image.
kubectl create deployment	kubectl create deployment my-backend-app --image=stacksimplify/kube-helloworld:1.0.0	Creates a backend application Deployment.
kubectl create deployment	kubectl create deployment my-frontend-app --image=solostroup/my-frontend-app:1.0.0	Creates a frontend application Deployment.
kubectl get deployments	kubectl get deployments	Lists Deployments in the current namespace.
kubectl get deployment	kubectl get deployment	Also lists Deployment objects.
kubectl describe deployment	kubectl describe deployment my-deployment	Shows status, selectors, events, replica counts, and rollout information for a Deployment.
kubectl get replicaset	kubectl get replicaset	Lists ReplicaSets. Useful when a Deployment creates new ones during updates.
kubectl get rs	kubectl get rs	Short form of kubectl get replicaset.

Scaling

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Command	Example	What it does
kubectl scale --replicas	kubectl scale --replicas=10 deployment/my-deployment	Scales a Deployment up to 10 pods.
kubectl scale --replicas	kubectl scale --replicas=2 deployment/my-deployment	Scales a Deployment down to 2 pods.
kubectl scale --replicas	kubectl scale --replicas=10 deployment/my-backend-app	Scales the backend Deployment in the services demo.
kubectl scale --replicas	kubectl scale --replicas=5 deployment/my-frontend-app	Scales the frontend Deployment in the services demo.

Rollouts, Updates, And Rollbacks

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Command	Example	What it does
kubectl set image	kubectl set image deployment/my-deployment kubenginx=stacksimplify/kubenginx:2.0.0 --record=true	Updates the image for a container in a Deployment and records rollout history.
kubectl rollout status	kubectl rollout status deployment/my-deployment	Watches and reports rollout progress for a Deployment.
kubectl rollout history	kubectl rollout history deployment/my-deployment	Shows the revision history for a Deployment.
kubectl rollout history --revision	kubectl rollout history deployment/my-deployment --revision=2	Shows details for a specific Deployment revision.
kubectl edit deployment	kubectl edit deployment/mydeployment --record=true	Opens the Deployment manifest in an editor for live cluster changes.
kubectl rollout undo	kubectl rollout undo deployment/my-deployment	Rolls back a Deployment to the previous revision.
kubectl rollout undo --to-revision	kubectl rollout undo deployment/my-deployment --to-revision=2	Rolls back directly to a specific revision.
kubectl rollout restart	kubectl rollout restart deployment/my-deployment	Restarts all pods in a Deployment one by one without changing the image version.
kubectl rollout pause	kubectl rollout pause deployment/my-deployment	Pauses a Deployment so multiple changes can be staged before rollout.
kubectl rollout resume	kubectl rollout resume deployment/my-deployment	Resumes a paused Deployment and applies pending changes.
kubectl set resources	kubectl set resources deployment/my-deployment -c=kubenginx --limits=cpu=20m,memory=30Mi	Updates resource limits on the Deployment's container.

Cleanup

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Command	Example	What it does
kubectl delete -f	kubectl delete -f deployment.yaml	Deletes a resource using the YAML file that created it.
kubectl delete -f	kubectl delete -f service.yaml	Deletes a service from its manifest file.
kubectl delete deployment	kubectl delete deployment myapp1-deployment	Deletes a Deployment by name.
kubectl delete service	kubectl delete service myapp1-loadbalancer	Deletes a Service by name.
kubectl delete svc	kubectl delete svc my-service	Short form for deleting a Service.
kubectl delete replicaset	kubectl delete replicaset my-replicasetapp-rs	Deletes a ReplicaSet and the pods it owns.
kubectl delete service/...	kubectl delete service/my-frontend-service	Deletes the frontend service by resource type and name.
kubectl delete service/...	kubectl delete service/my-backend-service	Deletes the backend service by resource type and name.
kubectl delete deployment/...	kubectl delete deployment/my-frontend-app	Deletes the frontend Deployment.
kubectl delete deployment/...	kubectl delete deployment/my-backend-app	Deletes the backend Deployment.

Fast Starter Set

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If you only want the commands you will reach for most often, start with these:

kubectl get nodes
kubectl get pods
kubectl get svc
kubectl describe pod my-pod
kubectl logs my-pod
kubectl exec -it my-pod -- /bin/sh
kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml
kubectl expose deployment my-app --type=LoadBalancer --port=80 --target-port=80 --name=my-app-service
kubectl scale --replicas=3 deployment/my-app
kubectl rollout status deployment/my-app
kubectl get all
kubectl delete deployment/my-app

That set covers cluster checks, inspection, troubleshooting, deployment, service exposure, scaling, rollout verification, and cleanup.