Kubernetes Skill

Kubernetes Skill

Overview

Kubernetes 클러스터 관리를 위한 포괄적인 스킬입니다. kubectl CLI를 통해 클러스터 운영, 리소스 관리, 로그 검사, 디버깅, 배포 자동화를 지원합니다.

When to Use

명시적 요청:

• "파드 상태 확인해줘"
• "디플로이먼트 스케일 조정해줘"
• "로그 보여줘"
• "포트포워딩 설정해줘"
• "매니페스트 적용해줘"

자동 활성화 키워드:

• "kubernetes", "k8s", "kubectl"
• "pod", "deployment", "service", "namespace"
• "helm", "ingress", "configmap", "secret"
• "쿠버네티스", "파드", "디플로이먼트"

Features

1. Cluster Operations

• Context Management: Switch between clusters and namespaces
• Cluster Info: View cluster status, nodes, and resources
• Health Checks: Verify cluster and component health

2. Resource Management

• Pods: List, describe, delete, exec into pods
• Deployments: Create, scale, rollout, rollback deployments
• Services: Manage service endpoints and load balancers
• ConfigMaps/​Secrets: Create and manage configuration
• Namespaces: Organize and isolate resources

3. Debugging & Troubleshooting

• Logs: View and follow container logs
• Events: Inspect cluster and resource events
• Describe: Detailed resource inspection
• Port Forward: Access services locally

4. Deployment Operations

• Apply: Apply YAML manifests
• Rollout: Manage deployment rollouts
• Scale: Adjust replica counts
• Delete: Remove resources

Prerequisites

This skill requires kubectl CLI to be installed and configured:

# macOS
brew install kubectl

# Verify installation
kubectl version --client

# Check cluster connection
kubectl cluster-info

Workflow

Step 1: 클러스터 연결 확인

# 현재 컨텍스트 확인
kubectl config current-context

# 클러스터 연결 테스트
kubectl cluster-info

Step 2: 작업 유형별 분기

조회 작업 (Read):

1. kubectl get 으로 리소스 목록 조회
2. kubectl describe 로 상세 정보 확인
3. kubectl logs 로 로그 조회

변경 작업 (Write):

1. 현재 상태 확인 (get, describe)
2. 변경 명령 실행 (apply, scale, delete)
3. 결과 확인 및 롤백 준비

디버깅:

1. kubectl get events 로 이벤트 확인
2. kubectl describe 로 상세 상태 확인
3. kubectl logs --previous 로 이전 로그 확인

---

Usage Scenarios

Scenario 1: Check Pod Status

User Request: "Show me all pods in the production namespace"

Skill Actions:

1. Execute kubectl get pods -n production
2. Format output with status, restarts, and age
3. Highlight any pods not in Running state

Scenario 2: View Pod Logs

User Request: "Show logs for the api-server pod"

Skill Actions:

1. Find matching pod(s) with kubectl get pods
2. Execute kubectl logs <pod-name> with appropriate flags
3. Support multi-container pods with -c flag
4. Optionally follow logs with -f flag

Scenario 3: Debug Failing Deployment

User Request: "Why is my deployment failing?"

Skill Actions:

1. Get deployment status with kubectl get deployment
2. Describe deployment for events kubectl describe deployment
3. Check pod status and events
4. Analyze container restart reasons
5. Provide actionable recommendations

Scenario 4: Scale Deployment

User Request: "Scale the web-app deployment to 5 replicas"

Skill Actions:

1. Verify current deployment state
2. Execute kubectl scale deployment web-app --replicas=5
3. Monitor rollout progress
4. Confirm scaling completed

Scenario 5: Port Forward to Service

User Request: "Forward local port 8080 to the api service"

Skill Actions:

1. Find service or pod matching criteria
2. Execute kubectl port-forward svc/​api 8080:80
3. Provide access instructions
4. Handle cleanup on termination

Scenario 6: Apply Configuration

User Request: "Apply this Kubernetes manifest"

Skill Actions:

1. Validate YAML syntax
2. Execute kubectl apply -f <manifest>
3. Verify resource creation/​update
4. Report any errors or warnings

Environment Variables

Optional environment variables for configuration:

# Default namespace (if not specified)
KUBE_NAMESPACE=default

# Kubeconfig file path (optional, uses default if not set)
KUBECONFIG=~/​.kube/​config

# Default context (optional)
KUBE_CONTEXT=my-cluster

Core Commands Reference

Cluster Information

# View current context
kubectl config current-context

# List all contexts
kubectl config get-contexts

# Switch context
kubectl config use-context <context-name>

# Cluster info
kubectl cluster-info

# Node status
kubectl get nodes -o wide

Pod Operations

# List pods (all namespaces)
kubectl get pods -A

# List pods (specific namespace)
kubectl get pods -n <namespace>

# Pod details
kubectl describe pod <pod-name> -n <namespace>

# Pod logs
kubectl logs <pod-name> -n <namespace>
kubectl logs <pod-name> -c <container> -n <namespace>  # multi-container
kubectl logs -f <pod-name> -n <namespace>  # follow logs
kubectl logs --tail=100 <pod-name> -n <namespace>  # last 100 lines

# Execute command in pod
kubectl exec -it <pod-name> -n <namespace> -- /​bin/​sh

# Delete pod
kubectl delete pod <pod-name> -n <namespace>

Deployment Operations

# List deployments
kubectl get deployments -n <namespace>

# Deployment details
kubectl describe deployment <name> -n <namespace>

# Scale deployment
kubectl scale deployment <name> --replicas=<count> -n <namespace>

# Rollout status
kubectl rollout status deployment/<name> -n <namespace>

# Rollout history
kubectl rollout history deployment/<name> -n <namespace>

# Rollback
kubectl rollout undo deployment/<name> -n <namespace>

# Restart deployment
kubectl rollout restart deployment/<name> -n <namespace>

Service Operations

# List services
kubectl get svc -n <namespace>

# Service details
kubectl describe svc <name> -n <namespace>

# Port forward
kubectl port-forward svc/<name> <local-port>:<service-port> -n <namespace>
kubectl port-forward pod/<pod-name> <local-port>:<container-port> -n <namespace>

ConfigMap & Secret Operations

# List configmaps
kubectl get configmap -n <namespace>

# View configmap
kubectl get configmap <name> -n <namespace> -o yaml

# Create configmap from file
kubectl create configmap <name> --from-file=<path> -n <namespace>

# List secrets
kubectl get secrets -n <namespace>

# View secret (base64 encoded)
kubectl get secret <name> -n <namespace> -o yaml

# Decode secret value
kubectl get secret <name> -n <namespace> -o jsonpath='{.data.<key>}' | base64 -d

Namespace Operations

# List namespaces
kubectl get namespaces

# Create namespace
kubectl create namespace <name>

# Delete namespace
kubectl delete namespace <name>

# Set default namespace for context
kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=<namespace>

Resource Management

# Apply manifest
kubectl apply -f <file.yaml>
kubectl apply -f <directory>/

# Delete resources
kubectl delete -f <file.yaml>
kubectl delete <resource-type> <name> -n <namespace>

# Get all resources
kubectl get all -n <namespace>

# Watch resources
kubectl get pods -n <namespace> -w

Debugging Commands

# Events (cluster-wide)
kubectl get events --sort-by='.lastTimestamp'

# Events (namespace)
kubectl get events -n <namespace> --sort-by='.lastTimestamp'

# Resource usage
kubectl top nodes
kubectl top pods -n <namespace>

# Describe for troubleshooting
kubectl describe pod <pod-name> -n <namespace>

# Check container status
kubectl get pod <pod-name> -n <namespace> -o jsonpath='{.status.containerStatuses}'

Common Troubleshooting Patterns

Pod Not Starting

# 1. Check pod status
kubectl get pod <pod-name> -n <namespace>

# 2. Describe for events
kubectl describe pod <pod-name> -n <namespace>

# 3. Check logs (if container started)
kubectl logs <pod-name> -n <namespace> --previous

# Common issues:
# - ImagePullBackOff: Check image name, registry credentials
# - CrashLoopBackOff: Check application logs, resource limits
# - Pending: Check node resources, PVC binding

Deployment Not Rolling Out

# 1. Check deployment status
kubectl rollout status deployment/<name> -n <namespace>

# 2. Check replica sets
kubectl get rs -n <namespace>

# 3. Describe deployment
kubectl describe deployment <name> -n <namespace>

# 4. Check pod events
kubectl get events -n <namespace> --field-selector involvedObject.kind=Pod

Service Not Accessible

# 1. Check service exists
kubectl get svc <name> -n <namespace>

# 2. Check endpoints
kubectl get endpoints <name> -n <namespace>

# 3. Check pod labels match selector
kubectl get pods -n <namespace> --show-labels

# 4. Test from within cluster
kubectl run test --rm -it --image=busybox -- wget -qO- http://<service>:<port>

Security Policy

Read-Focused Operations

Primary Use Cases:

• kubectl get - View resources
• kubectl describe - Inspect details
• kubectl logs - View container logs
• kubectl top - Resource metrics
• kubectl events - Cluster events

Write Operations (Require Confirmation)

Modifying Operations:

• kubectl apply - Apply configurations
• kubectl scale - Scale deployments
• kubectl delete - Remove resources
• kubectl rollout - Deployment operations

Blocked Operations

Destructive Commands:

• kubectl delete namespace kube-system - System namespace deletion
• kubectl delete --all - Bulk deletion without specific target
• kubectl drain without flags - Node draining without safety flags

Best Practices

1. Always Specify Namespace

# Explicit namespace prevents accidents
kubectl get pods -n production

# Set namespace for session
kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=production

2. Use Labels for Selection

# Select by label
kubectl get pods -l app=web-server

# Delete by label
kubectl delete pods -l app=test-app

3. Dry Run Before Apply

# Validate without applying
kubectl apply -f manifest.yaml --dry-run=client

# Server-side validation
kubectl apply -f manifest.yaml --dry-run=server

4. Use Output Formats

# JSON output for parsing
kubectl get pods -o json

# YAML for backup/​editing
kubectl get deployment <name> -o yaml > deployment-backup.yaml

# Custom columns
kubectl get pods -o custom-columns=NAME:.metadata.name,STATUS:.status.phase

Helm Integration

For Helm chart management:

# List releases
helm list -n <namespace>

# Install chart
helm install <release> <chart> -n <namespace>

# Upgrade release
helm upgrade <release> <chart> -n <namespace>

# Rollback
helm rollback <release> <revision> -n <namespace>

# Uninstall
helm uninstall <release> -n <namespace>

Integration with Claude Code

The skill integrates seamlessly with Claude Code's workflow:

1. Automatic Activation: Triggered by keywords like "kubernetes", "k8s", "kubectl", "pod"
2. Context Awareness: Remembers namespace and context preferences
3. Error Analysis: Provides actionable recommendations for common errors
4. YAML Generation: Can generate Kubernetes manifests from descriptions
5. Multi-Cluster Support: Works with multiple kubeconfig contexts

Examples

Example 1: Quick Cluster Overview

User: "Show me the cluster status"

Skill executes:
  kubectl cluster-info
  kubectl get nodes
  kubectl get pods -A --field-selector=status.phase!=Running

Returns:
  Cluster: kubernetes-production (healthy)
  Nodes: 3/​3 Ready
  Problematic Pods: 2 found
    - api-server-xyz (CrashLoopBackOff)
    - worker-abc (Pending)

Example 2: Application Deployment

User: "Deploy nginx with 3 replicas to the web namespace"

Skill generates manifest and executes:
  kubectl create deployment nginx --image=nginx:latest --replicas=3 -n web
  kubectl expose deployment nginx --port=80 --type=ClusterIP -n web
  kubectl rollout status deployment/​nginx -n web

Returns:
  Deployment nginx created successfully
  Service nginx exposed on port 80
  All 3 replicas are running

Example 3: Log Analysis

User: "Show me error logs from the payment-service"

Skill executes:
  kubectl get pods -n production -l app=payment-service
  kubectl logs -l app=payment-service -n production --tail=500 | grep -i error

Returns:
  Found 2 pods running payment-service
  Recent errors:
    [2025-01-10 10:23:45] ERROR: Database connection timeout
    [2025-01-10 10:24:12] ERROR: Retry failed after 3 attempts

Troubleshooting

kubectl Not Found

# Install kubectl
brew install kubectl  # macOS
apt-get install kubectl  # Debian/​Ubuntu

Cannot Connect to Cluster

# Check kubeconfig
echo $KUBECONFIG
cat ~/​.kube/​config

# Test connection
kubectl cluster-info

# Verify context
kubectl config current-context

Permission Denied

# Check RBAC permissions
kubectl auth can-i get pods
kubectl auth can-i --list

# View your identity
kubectl auth whoami

Related Skills

• Docker Skill: Container image management
• Helm Skill: Kubernetes package management
• Terraform Skill: Infrastructure provisioning
• CI/​CD Skills: Deployment automation

References

• Kubernetes Official Documentation
• kubectl Cheat Sheet
• Kubernetes Troubleshooting Guide
• Helm Documentation