Kubernetes Flux

Kubernetes Flux Skill

Installation

The skill invokes the Flux CLI. Install:

• macOS/Linux (Homebrew): brew install fluxcd/tap/flux
• macOS/Linux (script): curl -s https://fluxcd.io/install.sh | sudo bash
• Windows (winget): winget install -e --id FluxCD.Flux
• Windows (Chocolatey): choco install flux
• Custom dir: curl -s https://fluxcd.io/install.sh | bash -s ~/.local/bin

Verify: flux --version. Then use flux bootstrap to deploy controllers if needed.

Cheat Sheet & Best Practices

Bootstrap: flux bootstrap git --url=ssh://git@host/repo.git --path=clusters/my-cluster; use --branch, --interval, --private-key-file or --token-auth as needed.

Status: flux check — controllers/CRDs; flux get all -A — all resources; flux get kustomizations; flux tree kustomization <name> — managed objects.

Hacks: Use flux get sources git and flux get kustomizations to see sync state. Reconcile on demand: flux reconcile kustomization <name> --with-source. Pin versions with FLUX_VERSION on install script. Prefer Git over Helm for app manifests when using GitOps.

Certifications & Training

Kubernetes: CKA / CKAD (Linux Foundation). Flux: GitOps with Flux (LFS269). Skill data: Bootstrap, reconcile, status (flux check, flux get all), tree; GitOps workflow.

Hooks & Workflows

Suggested hooks: Pre-apply: flux check. Post-push (to Git repo used by Flux): optional reconcile trigger. Use with devops (always) for GitOps clusters.

Workflows: Use with devops (always). Flow: bootstrap or reconcile; debug with flux get all, flux tree kustomization. See gitops-workflow skill and enterprise workflows.

Overview

This skill provides comprehensive Kubernetes cluster management through kubectl, enabling AI agents to inspect, troubleshoot, and manage Kubernetes resources.

When to Use

• Debugging application pods and containers
• Monitoring deployment rollouts and status
• Analyzing service networking and endpoints
• Investigating cluster events and errors
• Troubleshooting performance issues
• Managing application scaling
• Port forwarding for local development

Requirements

• kubectl installed and configured
• Valid KUBECONFIG file or default context
• Cluster access credentials
• Appropriate RBAC permissions

Quick Reference

# Get pods in current namespace
kubectl get pods

# Get pods in specific namespace
kubectl get pods -n production

# Get pods with labels
kubectl get pods -l app=web -n production

# Describe a pod
kubectl describe pod my-app-123 -n default

# Get pod logs
kubectl logs my-app-123 -n default

# Get logs with tail
kubectl logs my-app-123 -n default --tail=100

# Get logs since time
kubectl logs my-app-123 -n default --since=1h

# List recent events
kubectl get events -n default --sort-by='.lastTimestamp' | tail -20

# Watch events in real-time
kubectl get events -n default -w

Resource Discovery

Pods

# List all pods
kubectl get pods -n <namespace>

# List pods with wide output
kubectl get pods -n <namespace> -o wide

# List pods across all namespaces
kubectl get pods -A

# Filter by label
kubectl get pods -l app=nginx -n <namespace>

Deployments

# List deployments
kubectl get deployments -n <namespace>

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

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

Services

# List services
kubectl get svc -n <namespace>

# Describe service
kubectl describe svc <name> -n <namespace>

# Get endpoints
kubectl get endpoints <name> -n <namespace>

ConfigMaps and Secrets

# List ConfigMaps
kubectl get configmaps -n <namespace>

# Describe ConfigMap
kubectl describe configmap <name> -n <namespace>

# Get ConfigMap data
kubectl get configmap <name> -n <namespace> -o yaml

# List Secrets (names only)
kubectl get secrets -n <namespace>

# Describe Secret (values masked)
kubectl describe secret <name> -n <namespace>

Namespaces

# List namespaces
kubectl get namespaces

# Get namespace details
kubectl describe namespace <name>

Troubleshooting

Pod Debugging

# Describe pod for events and conditions
kubectl describe pod <name> -n <namespace>

# Get pod logs
kubectl logs <pod-name> -n <namespace>

# Get logs from specific container
kubectl logs <pod-name> -c <container-name> -n <namespace>

# Get previous container logs (after crash)
kubectl logs <pod-name> -n <namespace> --previous

# Exec into pod
kubectl exec -it <pod-name> -n <namespace> -- /bin/sh

# Run command in pod
kubectl exec <pod-name> -n <namespace> -- ls -la /app

Events

# List events sorted by time
kubectl get events -n <namespace> --sort-by='.lastTimestamp'

# Filter warning events
kubectl get events -n <namespace> --field-selector type=Warning

# Watch events live
kubectl get events -n <namespace> -w

Management Operations

Scaling

# Scale deployment
kubectl scale deployment <name> --replicas=5 -n <namespace>

# Autoscale deployment
kubectl autoscale deployment <name> --min=2 --max=10 --cpu-percent=80 -n <namespace>

Rollouts

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

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

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

# Rollback to specific revision
kubectl rollout undo deployment/<name> --to-revision=2 -n <namespace>

Port Forwarding

# Forward local port to pod
kubectl port-forward <pod-name> 8080:80 -n <namespace>

# Forward to service
kubectl port-forward svc/<service-name> 8080:80 -n <namespace>

Context Management

# Get current context
kubectl config current-context

# List all contexts
kubectl config get-contexts

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

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

Common Workflows

Troubleshoot a Failing Pod

# 1. Find the problematic pod
kubectl get pods -n production

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

# 3. Check events
kubectl get events -n production --sort-by='.lastTimestamp' | tail -20

# 4. Get logs
kubectl logs <pod-name> -n production --tail=200

Monitor Deployment Rollout

# 1. Check deployment status
kubectl get deployments -n production

# 2. Watch rollout
kubectl rollout status deployment/<name> -n production

# 3. Watch pods
kubectl get pods -l app=<app-name> -n production -w

Debug Service Connectivity

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

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

# 3. Check backing pods
kubectl get pods -l <service-selector> -n <namespace>

# 4. Port forward for testing
kubectl port-forward svc/<name> 8080:80 -n <namespace>

Safety Features

Blocked Operations

The following are dangerous and require confirmation:

• kubectl delete commands
• Destructive exec commands (rm, dd, mkfs)
• Scale to 0 replicas in production

Masked Output

Secret values are always masked. Only metadata shown.

Error Handling

Related

• kubectl docs: https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/
• Kubernetes API: https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubernetes-api/

Memory Protocol (MANDATORY)

Before starting:

cat .claude/context/memory/learnings.md

After completing: Record any new patterns or exceptions discovered.

ASSUME INTERRUPTION: Your context may reset. If it's not in memory, it didn't happen.