kubectx + kubens: Power tools for kubectl

This repository provides both kubectx and kubens tools. Install →

🥳📰 NEWS: With v0.9.0 kubectx and kubens are now rewritten in Go. (Don't worry, our lovely bash versions are still available!) Please test this new Go binaries by downloading them from Releases →

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 -c, --current     : show the current context name
  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)
  kubectx -u, --unset       : unset the current 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.

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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
  kubens -c, --current      : show the current 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.

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Installation

🥳📰 NEWS: With v0.9.0 kubectx and kubens are now rewritten in Go. (Don't worry, our lovely bash versions are still available!) Please test this new Go binaries by downloading them from Releases →

There are several installation options:

• As kubectl plugins (macOS/Linux)
• macOS
  • Homebrew (recommended)
  • MacPorts
• Linux
  • Debian
  • Arch Linux
  • Homebrew
  • Manual installation

Kubectl Plugins (macOS and Linux)

You can install and use Krew kubectl plugin manager to get kubectx and kubens. NOTE: This will not install shell completion scripts, if you want those, choose another installation method below.

kubectl krew install ctx
kubectl krew install ns

After installing, the tools will be available as kubectl ctx and kubectl ns.

macOS

Homebrew

🎊 If you use Homebrew you can install like this:

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.

MacPorts

If you use MacPorts you can install like this:

sudo port install kubectx

Linux

Debian

sudo apt install kubectx

Newer versions might be available on repos like Debian Buster (testing), Sid (unstable) (if you are unfamiliar with the Debian release process and how to enable testing/unstable repos, check out the Debian Wiki):

Arch Linux

Available as official Arch Linux package. Install it via:

sudo pacman -S kubectx

Homebrew

🎊 If you use Homebrew you can install like this:

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.

Manual

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, and kubens 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 your PATH, like /usr/local/bin
• Make kubectx and kubens 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:

    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

    Note that the leading underscore seems to be a convention. If completion doesn't work, add autoload -U compinit && compinit to your .zshrc (similar to zsh-completions). 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, calling compaudit 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/

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

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Interactive mode

If you want kubectx and kubens commands to present you an interactive menu with fuzzy searching, you can do in either of two ways

• Install fzf in your PATH.
• OR Install sk in your PATH and set environment variable PICKER to sk

If you have fzf installed, but want to opt out of using this feature, set the environment variable KUBECTX_IGNORE_FZF=1.

Note: skim support in kubectx and kubens is only in go binary.

If you want to keep fzf or sk interactive mode but need the default behavior of the command, you can do it using Unix composability:

kubectx | cat

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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 setab 7) # white background

Colors in the output can be disabled by setting the NO_COLOR environment variable.

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Users

What are others saying about kubectx?
“Thank you for kubectx & kubens - I use them all the time & have them in my k8s toolset to maintain happiness :) ” – @pbouwer
“I can't imagine working without kubectx and especially kubens anymore. It's pure gold.” – @timoreimann
“I'm liking kubectx from @ahmetb, makes it super-easy to switch #Kubernetes contexts [...]” — @lizrice
“Also using it on a daily basis. This and my zsh config that shows me the current k8s context 😉” – @puja108
“Lately I've found myself using the kubens command more than kubectx. Both very useful though :-)” – @stuartleeks
“yeah kubens rocks!” – @embano1
“Special thanks to Ahmet Alp Balkan for creating kubectx, kubens, and kubectl aliases, as these tools made my life better.” – @strebeld
“❤️ this shell script @ahmetb wrote to help make switching between kubectl config contexts a breeze.” – @briandanowski

If you liked kubectx, you may like my kubectl-aliases project, too.

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Disclaimer: This is not an official Google product.

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