How do I install the K8S Troubleshooter skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add antweiss/k8s-troubleshooter in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is K8S Troubleshooter safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: executes scripts, makes network calls. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with K8S Troubleshooter?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is K8S Troubleshooter free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published K8S Troubleshooter?

antweiss (@antweiss) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

K8S Troubleshooter by antweiss — Agent Skill

Name: K8S Troubleshooter
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: antweiss

K8S Troubleshooter

Troubleshooting Kubernetes pods and services using kubectl, stern, and k9s. Use when a user reports issues with Kubernetes workloads, needs to check logs, status, events, or deep-dive into networking, storage, and security issues. Automatically installs tools if missing.

antweiss Updated Sep 22, 2026

File contents

K8s Troubleshooter

This skill provides expert-level Kubernetes diagnostic capabilities, leveraging advanced tools and established troubleshooting patterns.

Quick Start

Verify Environment: Run scripts/install_tools.sh to ensure kubectl, stern, and k9s are available.
Find the Signal: Use kubectl get pods -A and kubectl get events -A --sort-by='.lastTimestamp'.
Analyze: Refer to the specialized reference guides below for in-depth diagnostics.

Workflow Decision Tree

1. Pod won't start?

Check status in kubectl get pods:

ImagePullBackOff / ErrImagePull: See lifecycle.md.
Pending: See lifecycle.md (check resources, taints, affinity).
ContainerCreating: See lifecycle.md (check CNI, Volumes, Secrets).

2. Pod keeps crashing?

Check exit codes in kubectl describe pod:

Exit Code 137 (OOMKill): Increase memory limits.
Exit Code 1 / 255: Check application logs (use stern for easier tailing).
CrashLoopBackOff: See lifecycle.md.

3. Connectivity issues?

DNS timeouts / slow resolution: See networking.md (check ndots and CoreDNS).
Service unreachable: See networking.md (check selectors and endpoints).
Ingress 502/503: See networking.md.

4. Storage problems?

PVC Pending: See storage.md.
Permission Denied: See storage.md.

5. Permission / Access issues?

Forbidden error: See security.md (use kubectl auth can-i).
Admission rejection: See security.md (check Pod Security Standards).

Specialized Diagnostics

Networking: networking.md (DNS, Services, Ingress, Policies).
Storage: storage.md (PVCs, Mounts, Permissions).
Security: security.md (RBAC, Capabilities, Profiles).
Node & Infrastructure: nodes.md (Kubelet, PLEG, CNI, Kube-Proxy).
Pod Lifecycle: lifecycle.md (Startup, Runtime, Exit Codes).
Quick Command Ref: troubleshooting.md.

Resources

scripts/install_tools.sh: Automated installer for kubectl, stern, and k9s.
references/: Detailed troubleshooting guides for different K8s domains.
eval/EVAL.md: Instructions for running automated diagnostic evaluations of this skill.

---name: k8s-troubleshooterdescription: Troubleshooting Kubernetes pods and services using kubectl, stern, and k9s. Use when a user reports issues with Kubernetes workloads, needs to check logs, status, events, or deep-dive into networking, storage, and security issues. Automatically installs tools if missing.---# K8s TroubleshooterThis skill provides expert-level Kubernetes diagnostic capabilities, leveraging advanced tools and established troubleshooting patterns.## Quick Start1. **Verify Environment**: Run `scripts/install_tools.sh` to ensure `kubectl`, `stern`, and `k9s` are available.2. **Find the Signal**: Use `kubectl get pods -A` and `kubectl get events -A --sort-by='.lastTimestamp'`.3. **Analyze**: Refer to the specialized reference guides below for in-depth diagnostics.## Workflow Decision Tree### 1. Pod won't start?Check status in `kubectl get pods`:- **ImagePullBackOff / ErrImagePull**: See [lifecycle.md](references/lifecycle.md#image-pull-errors).- **Pending**: See [lifecycle.md](references/lifecycle.md#pod-stuck-in-pending) (check resources, taints, affinity).- **ContainerCreating**: See [lifecycle.md](references/lifecycle.md#containercreating) (check CNI, Volumes, Secrets).### 2. Pod keeps crashing?Check exit codes in `kubectl describe pod`:- **Exit Code 137 (OOMKill)**: Increase memory limits.- **Exit Code 1 / 255**: Check application logs (use `stern` for easier tailing).- **CrashLoopBackOff**: See [lifecycle.md](references/lifecycle.md#crashloopbackoff).### 3. Connectivity issues?- **DNS timeouts / slow resolution**: See [networking.md](references/networking.md#service-discovery--dns) (check ndots and CoreDNS).- **Service unreachable**: See [networking.md](references/networking.md#service-troubleshooting) (check selectors and endpoints).- **Ingress 502/503**: See [networking.md](references/networking.md#ingress--gateway-api).### 4. Storage problems?- **PVC Pending**: See [storage.md](references/storage.md#pvc-failures).- **Permission Denied**: See [storage.md](references/storage.md#permission-denied-on-mounted-volumes).### 5. Permission / Access issues?- **Forbidden error**: See [security.md](references/security.md#authorization-rbac) (use `kubectl auth can-i`).- **Admission rejection**: See [security.md](references/security.md#admission-security) (check Pod Security Standards).## Specialized Diagnostics- **Networking**: [networking.md](references/networking.md) (DNS, Services, Ingress, Policies).- **Storage**: [storage.md](references/storage.md) (PVCs, Mounts, Permissions).- **Security**: [security.md](references/security.md) (RBAC, Capabilities, Profiles).- **Node & Infrastructure**: [nodes.md](references/nodes.md) (Kubelet, PLEG, CNI, Kube-Proxy).- **Pod Lifecycle**: [lifecycle.md](references/lifecycle.md) (Startup, Runtime, Exit Codes).- **Quick Command Ref**: [troubleshooting.md](references/troubleshooting.md).## Resources- **scripts/install_tools.sh**: Automated installer for kubectl, stern, and k9s.- **references/**: Detailed troubleshooting guides for different K8s domains.- **eval/EVAL.md**: Instructions for running automated diagnostic evaluations of this skill.

Frequently asked questions