rohitg00 Multi-Cluster Kubernetes Management
Cross-cluster operations and context management using kubectl-mcp-server's multi-cluster support.
When to Apply
Use this skill when:
- User mentions: "cluster", "context", "multi-cluster", "cross-cluster"
- Operations: switching contexts, comparing clusters, federated deployments
- Keywords: "different environment", "production vs staging", "all clusters"
Priority Rules
| Priority | Rule | Impact | Tools |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Always specify context for prod | CRITICAL | context parameter |
| 2 | List contexts before switching | HIGH | list_contexts_tool |
| 3 | Compare before promoting | MEDIUM | compare_namespaces |
| 4 | Use naming conventions | LOW | prod-*, staging-* |
Quick Reference
| Task | Tool | Example |
|---|---|---|
| List contexts | list_contexts_tool |
list_contexts_tool() |
| View kubeconfig | kubeconfig_view |
kubeconfig_view() |
| List CAPI clusters | capi_clusters_list_tool |
capi_clusters_list_tool(namespace) |
| Get CAPI kubeconfig | capi_cluster_kubeconfig_tool |
capi_cluster_kubeconfig_tool(name, namespace) |
Context Management
List Available Contexts
list_contexts_tool()
View Current Context
kubeconfig_view()
Switch Context
CLI: kubectl-mcp-server context <context-name>
Cross-Cluster Operations
All kubectl-mcp-server tools support the context parameter:
get_pods(namespace="default", context="production-cluster")
get_pods(namespace="default", context="staging-cluster")
Common Multi-Cluster Patterns
Compare Environments
compare_namespaces(
namespace1="production",
namespace2="staging",
resource_type="deployment",
context="production-cluster"
)
Parallel Queries
Query multiple clusters simultaneously:
get_pods(namespace="app", context="prod-us-east")
get_pods(namespace="app", context="prod-eu-west")
get_pods(namespace="app", context="development")
Cross-Cluster Health Check
for context in ["prod-1", "prod-2", "staging"]:
get_nodes(context=context)
get_pods(namespace="kube-system", context=context)
Cluster API (CAPI) Management
For managing cluster lifecycle:
List Managed Clusters
capi_clusters_list_tool(namespace="capi-system")
Get Cluster Details
capi_cluster_get_tool(name="prod-cluster", namespace="capi-system")
Get Workload Cluster Kubeconfig
capi_cluster_kubeconfig_tool(name="prod-cluster", namespace="capi-system")
Machine Management
capi_machines_list_tool(namespace="capi-system")
capi_machinedeployments_list_tool(namespace="capi-system")
Scale Cluster
capi_machinedeployment_scale_tool(
name="prod-cluster-md-0",
namespace="capi-system",
replicas=5
)
See CONTEXT-SWITCHING.md for detailed patterns.
Multi-Cluster Helm
Deploy charts to specific clusters:
install_helm_chart(
name="nginx",
chart="bitnami/nginx",
namespace="web",
context="production-cluster"
)
list_helm_releases(
namespace="web",
context="staging-cluster"
)
Multi-Cluster GitOps
Flux Across Clusters
flux_kustomizations_list_tool(
namespace="flux-system",
context="cluster-1"
)
flux_reconcile_tool(
kind="kustomization",
name="apps",
namespace="flux-system",
context="cluster-2"
)
ArgoCD Across Clusters
argocd_apps_list_tool(namespace="argocd", context="management-cluster")
Federation Patterns
Secret Synchronization
get_secrets(namespace="app", context="source-cluster")
kubectl_apply(secret_manifest, namespace="app", context="target-cluster")
Cross-Cluster Service Discovery
With Cilium ClusterMesh or Istio multi-cluster:
cilium_nodes_list_tool(context="cluster-1")
istio_proxy_status_tool(context="cluster-2")
Best Practices
- Naming Convention: Use descriptive context names (
prod-us-east-1,staging-eu-west-1) - Access Control: Different kubeconfigs per environment
- Always Specify Context: Avoid accidental cross-cluster operations
- Cluster Groups: Organize by purpose (
prod-*,staging-*,dev-*)
Related Skills
- k8s-troubleshoot - Debug across clusters
- k8s-gitops - GitOps multi-cluster
- k8s-capi - Cluster API management