This repository provides both kubectx
and kubens
tools.
kubectx
helps you switch between clusters back and forth:
kubens
helps you switch between Kubernetes namespaces smoothly:
kubectx(1)
kubectx is a utility to manage and switch between kubectl(1) contexts.
USAGE:
kubectx : list the contexts
kubectx <NAME> : switch to context <NAME>
kubectx - : switch to the previous context
kubectx <NEW_NAME>=<NAME> : rename context <NAME> to <NEW_NAME>
kubectx <NEW_NAME>=. : rename current-context to <NEW_NAME>
kubectx -d <NAME> : delete context <NAME> ('.' for current-context)
(this command won't delete the user/cluster entry
that is used by the context)
Usage
$ kubectx minikube
Switched to context "minikube".
$ kubectx -
Switched to context "oregon".
$ kubectx -
Switched to context "minikube".
$ kubectx dublin=gke_ahmetb_europe-west1-b_dublin
Context "dublin" set.
Aliased "gke_ahmetb_europe-west1-b_dublin" as "dublin".
kubectx
supports Tab completion on bash/zsh/fish shells to help with
long context names. You don't have to remember full context names anymore.
kubens(1)
kubens is a utility to switch between Kubernetes namespaces.
USAGE:
kubens : list the namespaces
kubens <NAME> : change the active namespace
kubens - : switch to the previous namespace
Usage
$ kubens kube-system
Context "test" set.
Active namespace is "kube-system".
$ kubens -
Context "test" set.
Active namespace is "default".
kubens
also supports Tab completion on bash/zsh/fish shells.
Installation
macOS
π Use the Homebrew package manager:
brew install kubectx
This command will set up bash/zsh/fish completion scripts automatically.
- If you like to add context/namespace info to your shell prompt (
$PS1
), I recommend trying out kube-ps1.
Linux
Since kubectx
/kubens
are written in Bash, you should be able to install
them to any POSIX environment that has Bash installed.
- Download the
kubectx
, andkubens
scripts. - Either:
- save them all to somewhere in your
PATH
, - or save them to a directory, then create symlinks to
kubectx
/kubens
from somewhere in yourPATH
, like/usr/local/bin
- save them all to somewhere in your
- Make
kubectx
andkubens
executable (chmod +x ...
) - Install bash/zsh/fish completion scripts.
- For zsh:
The completion scripts have to be in a path that belongs to$fpath
. Either link or copy them to an existing folder.
If using oh-my-zsh you can do as follows:Note that the leading underscore seems to be a convention.mkdir -p ~/.oh-my-zsh/completions chmod -R 755 ~/.oh-my-zsh/completions ln -s /opt/kubectx/completion/kubectx.zsh ~/.oh-my-zsh/completions/_kubectx.zsh ln -s /opt/kubectx/completion/kubens.zsh ~/.oh-my-zsh/completions/_kubens.zsh
If not using oh-my-zsh, you could link to/usr/share/zsh/functions/Completion
(might require sudo), depending on the$fpath
of your zsh installation.
In case of error, callingcompaudit
might help. - For bash:
git clone https://github.com/ahmetb/kubectx.git ~/.kubectx COMPDIR=$(pkg-config --variable=completionsdir bash-completion) ln -sf ~/.kubectx/completion/kubens.bash $COMPDIR/kubens ln -sf ~/.kubectx/completion/kubectx.bash $COMPDIR/kubectx cat << FOE >> ~/.bashrc #kubectx and kubens export PATH=~/.kubectx:\$PATH FOE
- For fish:
mkdir -p ~/.config/fish/completions ln -s /opt/kubectx/completion/kubectx.fish ~/.config/fish/completions/ ln -s /opt/kubectx/completion/kubens.fish ~/.config/fish/completions/
- For zsh:
Example installation steps:
sudo git clone https://github.com/ahmetb/kubectx /opt/kubectx
sudo ln -s /opt/kubectx/kubectx /usr/local/bin/kubectx
sudo ln -s /opt/kubectx/kubens /usr/local/bin/kubens
Arch Linux
An unofficial AUR package of kubectx
is available. Install instructions can be found on the Arch
wiki.
Debian/Ubuntu
Available as a Debian package for Debian Buster (testing), Sid (unstable) (note: if you are unfamiliar with Debian release process and how to enable testing/unstable repos, check the Debian Wiki):
sudo apt install kubectx
Interactive mode
If you want kubectx
and kubens
commands to present you an interactive menu
with fuzzy searching, you just need to install
fzf
in your PATH.
If you have fzf
installed, but want to opt out of using this feature, set the environment variable KUBECTX_IGNORE_FZF=1
.
Customizing colors
If you like to customize the colors indicating the current namespace or context, set the environment variables KUBECTX_CURRENT_FGCOLOR
and KUBECTX_CURRENT_BGCOLOR
(refer color codes here):
export KUBECTX_CURRENT_FGCOLOR=$(tput setaf 6) # blue text
export KUBECTX_CURRENT_BGCOLOR=$(tput setaf 7) # white background
Colors in the output can be disabled by setting the
NO_COLOR
environment variable.
Users
What are others saying about kubectx? |
---|
βThank you for kubectx & kubens - I use them all the time & have them in my k8s toolset to maintain happiness :) β β @pbouwer |
βI can't imagine working without kubectx and especially kubens anymore. It's pure gold.β β @timoreimann |
βI'm liking kubectx from @ahmetb, makes it super-easy to switch #Kubernetes contexts [...]β β @lizrice |
βAlso using it on a daily basis. This and my zsh config that shows me the current k8s context πβ β @puja108 |
βLately I've found myself using the kubens command more than kubectx. Both very useful though :-)β β @stuartleeks |
βyeah kubens rocks!β β @embano1 |
βSpecial thanks to Ahmet Alp Balkan for creating kubectx, kubens, and kubectl aliases, as these tools made my life better.β β @strebeld |
ββ€οΈ this shell script @ahmetb wrote to help make switching between kubectl config contexts a breeze.β β @briandanowski |
If you liked
kubectx
, you may like mykubectl-aliases
project, too.
Disclaimer: This is not an official Google product.