kubectl Operations

kubectl operations for applying, patching, deleting, and executing commands on Kubernetes resources. Use when modifying resources, running commands in pods, or managing resource lifecycle.

Execute kubectl commands using kubectl-mcp-server's operations tools.

Requires the ops toolset: start kubectl-mcp-server with --toolsets default,ops (or MCP_TOOLSETS=default,ops).

When to Apply

Use this skill when:

• User mentions: "apply", "patch", "delete", "exec", "scale", "rollout"
• Operations: modifying resources, running commands, scaling workloads
• Keywords: "update", "change", "modify", "run command", "restart"

Priority Rules

Priority	Rule	Impact	Tools
1	Compare with live state before apply in production	CRITICAL	kubectl_get(resource_type, name, output="yaml")
2	Check current state before patching	HIGH	kubectl_describe
3	Avoid force delete unless necessary	HIGH	delete_resource
4	Verify rollout status after changes	MEDIUM	kubectl_rollout

Quick Reference

Task	Tool	Example
Apply manifest	kubectl_apply	kubectl_apply(manifest=yaml)
Patch resource	kubectl_patch	kubectl_patch(type, name, namespace, patch)
Delete resource	delete_resource	delete_resource(type, name, namespace)
Exec command	exec_in_pod	exec_in_pod(pod, namespace, command)
Scale deployment	kubectl_scale	kubectl_scale(resource_type="deployment", name, namespace, replicas)

Apply Resources

python

kubectl_apply(manifest="""
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: nginx
  namespace: default
spec:
  replicas: 3
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: nginx
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: nginx
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: nginx
        image: nginx:latest
""")

Patch Resources

python

kubectl_patch(
    resource_type="deployment",
    name="nginx",
    namespace="default",
    patch={"spec": {"replicas": 5}}
)

kubectl_patch(
    resource_type="deployment",
    name="nginx",
    namespace="default",
    patch=[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/replicas", "value": 5}],
    patch_type="json"
)

kubectl_patch(
    resource_type="service",
    name="my-svc",
    namespace="default",
    patch={"metadata": {"annotations": {"key": "value"}}},
    patch_type="merge"
)

Delete Resources

python

delete_resource(resource_type="pod", name="my-pod", namespace="default")

delete_resource(resource_type="deployment", name="old-app", namespace="default")

Execute Commands

python

exec_in_pod(
    pod_name="my-pod",
    namespace="default",
    command="ls -la /app"
)

exec_in_pod(
    pod_name="my-pod",
    namespace="default",
    container="sidecar",
    command="cat /etc/config/settings.yaml"
)

exec_in_pod(
    pod_name="my-pod",
    namespace="default",
    command="sh -c 'curl -s localhost:8080/health'"
)

Scale Resources

python

kubectl_scale(resource_type="deployment", name="nginx", namespace="default", replicas=5)

kubectl_scale(resource_type="deployment", name="nginx", namespace="default", replicas=0)

kubectl_scale(
    resource_type="statefulset",
    name="mysql",
    namespace="default",
    replicas=3
)

Rollout Management

python

kubectl_rollout(action="status",
    resource_type="deployment",
    name="nginx",
    namespace="default"
)

kubectl_rollout(action="history",
    resource_type="deployment",
    name="nginx",
    namespace="default"
)

kubectl_rollout(action="restart",
    resource_type="deployment",
    name="nginx",
    namespace="default"
)

kubectl_rollout(action="undo", resource_type="deployment", name="nginx", namespace="default")

Labels and Annotations

python

label_resource(
    resource_type="pod",
    name="my-pod",
    namespace="default",
    labels={"env": "production"}
)

annotate_resource(
    resource_type="deployment",
    name="nginx",
    namespace="default",
    annotations={"description": "Main web server"}
)

Related Skills

• k8s-deploy - Deployment strategies
• k8s-helm - Helm operations