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

Error	Cause	Fix
`kubectl not found`	Not installed	Install kubectl
`Unable to connect`	Cluster unreachable	Check network/VPN
`Forbidden`	RBAC permissions	Request permissions
`NotFound`	Resource missing	Verify name/namespace
`context deadline exceeded`	Timeout	Check cluster health

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.

kubernetes-flux