kubectl Operations

Execute kubectl commands using kubectl-mcp-server's operations tools.

When to Apply

Use this skill when:

• User mentions: "apply", "patch", "delete", "exec", "scale", "rollout"

• Operations: modifying resources, running commands, scaling workloads

• Keywords: "update", "change", "modify", "run command", "restart"

Priority Rules

Priority Rule Impact Tools

1 Dry run before apply in production CRITICAL kubectl_apply(dry_run=True)

2 Check current state before patching HIGH describe_* tools

3 Avoid force delete unless necessary HIGH kubectl_delete

4 Verify rollout status after changes MEDIUM kubectl_rollout_status

Quick Reference

Task Tool Example

Apply manifest kubectl_apply

kubectl_apply(manifest=yaml)

Patch resource kubectl_patch

kubectl_patch(type, name, namespace, patch)

Delete resource kubectl_delete

kubectl_delete(type, name, namespace)

Exec command kubectl_exec

kubectl_exec(pod, namespace, command)

Scale deployment scale_deployment

scale_deployment(name, namespace, replicas)

Apply Resources

kubectl_apply(manifest=""" apiVersion: apps/v1 kind: Deployment metadata: name: nginx namespace: default spec: replicas: 3 selector: matchLabels: app: nginx template: metadata: labels: app: nginx spec: containers: - name: nginx image: nginx:latest """)

kubectl_apply(file_path="/path/to/manifest.yaml")

kubectl_apply(manifest="...", dry_run=True)

Patch Resources

kubectl_patch( resource_type="deployment", name="nginx", namespace="default", patch={"spec": {"replicas": 5}} )

kubectl_patch( resource_type="deployment", name="nginx", namespace="default", patch=[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/replicas", "value": 5}], patch_type="json" )

kubectl_patch( resource_type="service", name="my-svc", namespace="default", patch={"metadata": {"annotations": {"key": "value"}}}, patch_type="merge" )

Delete Resources

kubectl_delete(resource_type="pod", name="my-pod", namespace="default")

kubectl_delete( resource_type="pods", namespace="default", label_selector="app=test" )

kubectl_delete( resource_type="pod", name="stuck-pod", namespace="default", force=True, grace_period=0 )

Execute Commands

kubectl_exec( pod="my-pod", namespace="default", command="ls -la /app" )

kubectl_exec( pod="my-pod", namespace="default", container="sidecar", command="cat /etc/config/settings.yaml" )

kubectl_exec( pod="my-pod", namespace="default", command="sh -c 'curl -s localhost:8080/health'" )

Scale Resources

scale_deployment(name="nginx", namespace="default", replicas=5)

scale_deployment(name="nginx", namespace="default", replicas=0)

kubectl_scale( resource_type="statefulset", name="mysql", namespace="default", replicas=3 )

Rollout Management

kubectl_rollout_status( resource_type="deployment", name="nginx", namespace="default" )

kubectl_rollout_history( resource_type="deployment", name="nginx", namespace="default" )

kubectl_rollout_restart( resource_type="deployment", name="nginx", namespace="default" )

rollback_deployment(name="nginx", namespace="default", revision=1)

Labels and Annotations

kubectl_label( resource_type="pod", name="my-pod", namespace="default", labels={"env": "production"} )

kubectl_annotate( resource_type="deployment", name="nginx", namespace="default", annotations={"description": "Main web server"} )

Related Skills

• k8s-deploy - Deployment strategies

• k8s-helm - Helm operations