3. kubectl – Kubernetes Command Center

Overview

In this chapter, we will demystify some common kubectl commands and see how we can use kubectl to control our Kubernetes cluster. We will begin this chapter by taking a brief look at what the end-to-end process looks like when using kubectl commands to communicate with a Kubernetes cluster. Then, we will set up a few shortcuts and autocompletion for the Bash terminal. We will begin with the basics of using kubectl by learning how to create, delete, and manage Kubernetes objects. We will learn about the two approaches to managing resources in Kubernetes - declarative and imperative - with exercises. By the end of this chapter, you will also have learned how to update a live application running on your Kubernetes cluster in real-time using kubectl.