kubectl-mcp-server CLI
Command-line interface for kubectl-mcp-server operations.
When to Apply
Use this skill when:
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User mentions: "CLI", "command line", "tool discovery", "server health"
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Operations: listing tools, calling tools directly, checking dependencies
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Keywords: "doctor", "tools list", "call", "grep", "info"
Priority Rules
Priority Rule Impact Tools
1 Run doctor to check dependencies CRITICAL kubectl-mcp-server doctor
2 Use tools -d for descriptions HIGH kubectl-mcp-server tools -d
3 Use grep for tool discovery MEDIUM kubectl-mcp-server grep
4 Use call for direct invocation MEDIUM kubectl-mcp-server call
Quick Reference
Task Command Example
List tools tools -d
kubectl-mcp-server tools -d
Search tools grep
kubectl-mcp-server grep "pod"
Call tool call
kubectl-mcp-server call get_pods '{"namespace": "default"}'
Check health doctor
kubectl-mcp-server doctor
Server Commands
Start Server
stdio transport (for Claude Desktop)
kubectl-mcp-server serve
HTTP transport (for remote clients)
kubectl-mcp-server serve --transport streamable-http --port 8000
With debug logging
MCP_DEBUG=true kubectl-mcp-server serve
Check Health
Verify dependencies
kubectl-mcp-server doctor
Shows:
✓ kubectl: found
✓ helm: found
✓ kubeconfig: valid
✓ cluster: connected
Tool Discovery
List Tools
List all tools
kubectl-mcp-server tools
List with descriptions
kubectl-mcp-server tools -d
JSON output
kubectl-mcp-server tools --json
Search Tools
Search by pattern
kubectl-mcp-server grep "pod" kubectl-mcp-server grep "helm" kubectl-mcp-server grep "velero"
Results show matching tool names
Tool Schema
Show tool parameters
kubectl-mcp-server tools get_pods kubectl-mcp-server tools install_helm_chart
Shows:
- Description
- Parameters (name, type, required)
- Return type
Direct Tool Invocation
Call Tools
Call with JSON arguments
kubectl-mcp-server call get_pods '{"namespace": "default"}'
Call with stdin
echo '{"namespace": "kube-system"}' | kubectl-mcp-server call get_pods
Call with no arguments
kubectl-mcp-server call get_namespaces '{}'
Examples
Get pods
kubectl-mcp-server call get_pods '{"namespace": "default"}'
Describe pod
kubectl-mcp-server call describe_pod '{"name": "nginx-xxx", "namespace": "default"}'
Get logs
kubectl-mcp-server call get_pod_logs '{"name": "nginx-xxx", "namespace": "default"}'
Scale deployment
kubectl-mcp-server call scale_deployment '{"name": "nginx", "namespace": "default", "replicas": 3}'
Install helm chart
kubectl-mcp-server call install_helm_chart '{ "name": "my-release", "chart": "bitnami/nginx", "namespace": "default" }'
Context Management
Show current context
kubectl-mcp-server context
Switch context
kubectl-mcp-server context production
List available contexts
kubectl-mcp-server call list_contexts_tool '{}'
Server Info
Show server information
kubectl-mcp-server info
Shows:
- Version
- Tool count
- Resource count
- Prompt count
MCP Resources
List available resources
kubectl-mcp-server resources
Resources:
- cluster://status
- namespaces://list
- pods://{namespace}
- deployments://{namespace}
- services://{namespace}
- events://{namespace}
- nodes://list
- contexts://list
MCP Prompts
List available prompts
kubectl-mcp-server prompts
Prompts:
- troubleshoot-pod
- deploy-application
- security-audit
- cost-optimization
- incident-response
- helm-workflow
- gitops-sync
- multi-cluster-compare
Environment Variables
Core
export MCP_DEBUG=true # Enable debug logging export MCP_LOG_FILE=/var/log/mcp.log # Log to file export NO_COLOR=1 # Disable colors
Browser (optional)
export MCP_BROWSER_ENABLED=true export MCP_BROWSER_PROVIDER=browserbase export BROWSERBASE_API_KEY=bb_...
Claude Desktop Configuration
{ "mcpServers": { "kubectl": { "command": "kubectl-mcp-server", "args": ["serve"] } } }
Shell Aliases
Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
alias kmcp='kubectl-mcp-server' alias kmcp-tools='kubectl-mcp-server tools -d' alias kmcp-call='kubectl-mcp-server call' alias kmcp-grep='kubectl-mcp-server grep'
Related Skills
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k8s-core - Core resource tools
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k8s-diagnostics - Diagnostic tools