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Configuring kubeconfig

In order for kubectl to find and access a Kubernetes cluster, it needs a kubeconfig file.

Check that kubectl is properly configured by getting the cluster state:

# cluster information in the current context
$ kubectl cluster-info
$ kubectl config current-context

# URL response means kubectl is correctly configured to access your cluster.

If you see the connection refused to the cluster, then either kubectl is not configured correctly or docker is not up.

To check whether it is configured properly, use:

$ kubectl cluster-info dump

Basic Structure

A configuration file describes clusters, users, and contexts. By default, kubectl configuration is located at ~/.kube/config.

apiVersion: v1
kind: Config
preferences: {}

clusters:
- cluster:
  name: development
- cluster:
  name: scratch

users:
- name: developer
- name: experimenter

contexts:
- context:
  name: dev-frontend
- context:
  name: dev-storage
- context:
  name: exp-scratch

Define Clusters, Users, and Contexts

Add cluster details

$ kubectl config --kubeconfig=config-demo set-cluster development --server=https://1.2.3.4 --certificate-authority=fake-ca-file

$ kubectl config --kubeconfig=config-demo set-cluster scratch --server=https://5.6.7.8 --insecure-skip-tls-verify

Add user details

$ kubectl config --kubeconfig=config-demo set-credentials developer --client-certificate=fake-cert-file --client-key=fake-key-seefile

$ kubectl config --kubeconfig=config-demo set-credentials experimenter --username=exp --password=some-password

Add context details

$ kubectl config --kubeconfig=config-demo set-context dev-frontend --cluster=development --namespace=frontend --user=developer

$ kubectl config --kubeconfig=config-demo set-context dev-storage --cluster=development --namespace=storage --user=developer

$ kubectl config --kubeconfig=config-demo set-context exp-scratch --cluster=scratch --namespace=default --user=experimenter

Add Credentials

# add a new user to your kubeconf that supports basic auth
$ kubectl config set-credentials kubeuser/foo.kubernetes.com --username=kubeuser --password=kubepassword

View Configuration

$ kubectl config view
$ kubectl config get-clusters
$ kubectl config get-contexts
$ kubectl config get-users

Change current context
$ kubectl config use-context dev-frontend

View configs only for the current context
$ kubectl config view --minify

Remove Configuration

$ kubectl --kubeconfig=config-demo config unset clusters.<name>
$ kubectl --kubeconfig=config-demo config unset contexts.<name>
$ kubectl --kubeconfig=config-demo config unset users.<name>

References

Last update: May 2, 2024