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Context Workflow

Managing kubectl contexts, namespaces, and cluster switching.

When to Use

  • Switching between multiple Kubernetes clusters
  • Managing different namespaces
  • Setting default context or namespace
  • Organizing multi-cluster workflows

Context Management

View Contexts

# List all contexts
kubectl config get-contexts

# Show current context
kubectl config current-context

# View full kubeconfig
kubectl config view

# View kubeconfig without revealing secrets
kubectl config view --minify

Switch Contexts

# Switch to different context
kubectl config use-context <context-name>

# Example: Switch to production cluster
kubectl config use-context prod-cluster

# Example: Switch to development cluster
kubectl config use-context dev-cluster

Create Context

# Create new context
kubectl config set-context <context-name> \
  --cluster=<cluster-name> \
  --user=<user-name> \
  --namespace=<namespace>

# Example: Create staging context
kubectl config set-context staging \
  --cluster=staging-cluster \
  --user=staging-admin \
  --namespace=staging

Modify Context

# Set default namespace for current context
kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=<namespace>

# Example: Set namespace to production
kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=production

# Rename context
kubectl config rename-context <old-name> <new-name>

Delete Context

# Delete context
kubectl config delete-context <context-name>

# Delete cluster
kubectl config delete-cluster <cluster-name>

# Delete user
kubectl config delete-user <user-name>

Namespace Management

View Namespaces

# List all namespaces
kubectl get namespaces
kubectl get ns

# Describe namespace
kubectl describe namespace <namespace>

# Get namespace with labels
kubectl get namespace --show-labels

Create Namespace

# Create namespace imperatively
kubectl create namespace <namespace>

# Create namespace declaratively
cat <<EOF | kubectl apply -f -
apiVersion: v1
kind: Namespace
metadata:
  name: myapp
  labels:
    environment: production
    team: backend
EOF

Set Default Namespace

# Set namespace for current context
kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=<namespace>

# Verify namespace
kubectl config view --minify | grep namespace

# Or check current context details
kubectl config get-contexts $(kubectl config current-context)

Delete Namespace

# Delete namespace (WARNING: deletes all resources in namespace)
kubectl delete namespace <namespace>

# Delete with confirmation
kubectl delete namespace <namespace> --wait=true

Multi-Cluster Workflows

Context Naming Convention

Recommended format: <environment>-<region>-<cluster>

Examples:

  • prod-us-east-1
  • staging-eu-west-1
  • dev-local
# Rename contexts to follow convention
kubectl config rename-context arn:aws:eks:us-east-1:123456789:cluster/prod prod-us-east-1
kubectl config rename-context docker-desktop dev-local

Quick Context Switching

# Create aliases for common contexts
alias kctx='kubectl config use-context'
alias kns='kubectl config set-context --current --namespace'

# Usage
kctx prod-us-east-1
kns production

Context Switcher Tools

kubectx/kubens (recommended):

# Install kubectx and kubens
# On NixOS, add to packages: pkgs.kubectx

# Switch context interactively
kubectx

# Switch to specific context
kubectx prod-us-east-1

# Switch to previous context
kubectx -

# Switch namespace interactively
kubens

# Switch to specific namespace
kubens production

# Switch to previous namespace
kubens -

Verify Current Context

# Show current context and namespace
kubectl config current-context
kubectl config view --minify | grep namespace

# Or use kubectx/kubens
kubectx
kubens

# Show cluster info
kubectl cluster-info

# Verify you're in the right cluster
kubectl get nodes

Kubeconfig Management

Kubeconfig Location

Default: ~/.kube/config

Custom location:

# Use custom kubeconfig
export KUBECONFIG=/path/to/custom/kubeconfig

# Use multiple kubeconfigs (merged)
export KUBECONFIG=~/.kube/config:~/.kube/config-cluster2

# Temporary kubeconfig for single command
kubectl --kubeconfig=/path/to/config get pods

Merge Kubeconfigs

# Backup current config
cp ~/.kube/config ~/.kube/config.backup

# Merge multiple configs
KUBECONFIG=~/.kube/config:~/.kube/config-new kubectl config view --flatten > ~/.kube/config-merged
mv ~/.kube/config-merged ~/.kube/config

Extract Context to Separate File

# Extract specific context
kubectl config view --minify --flatten --context=prod-cluster > prod-kubeconfig.yaml

Secure Kubeconfig

# Set proper permissions
chmod 600 ~/.kube/config

# Verify permissions
ls -la ~/.kube/config

Cluster Access Patterns

EKS (AWS)

# Configure kubectl for EKS cluster
aws eks update-kubeconfig --region us-east-1 --name my-cluster

# With specific profile
aws eks update-kubeconfig --region us-east-1 --name my-cluster --profile prod

# With specific role
aws eks update-kubeconfig --region us-east-1 --name my-cluster --role-arn arn:aws:iam::123456789:role/EKSAdmin

GKE (Google Cloud)

# Get GKE cluster credentials
gcloud container clusters get-credentials my-cluster --region us-central1

# With specific project
gcloud container clusters get-credentials my-cluster --region us-central1 --project my-project

AKS (Azure)

# Get AKS cluster credentials
az aks get-credentials --resource-group myResourceGroup --name myAKSCluster

# Overwrite existing context
az aks get-credentials --resource-group myResourceGroup --name myAKSCluster --overwrite-existing

K3s/Local Clusters

# K3s kubeconfig location
export KUBECONFIG=/etc/rancher/k3s/k3s.yaml

# Kind (Kubernetes in Docker)
kind export kubeconfig --name my-cluster

# Minikube
minikube kubectl -- get pods
# or
kubectl --context=minikube get pods

Namespace Best Practices

Standard Namespaces

  • default: Avoid using for applications
  • kube-system: System components only
  • kube-public: Public resources
  • kube-node-lease: Node heartbeats

By Environment:

development
staging
production

By Team:

team-frontend
team-backend
team-data

By Application:

app-web
app-api
app-workers

Hybrid Approach:

prod-frontend
prod-backend
staging-frontend
staging-backend
dev-shared

Namespace Isolation

# Resource quota
apiVersion: v1
kind: ResourceQuota
metadata:
  name: compute-quota
  namespace: production
spec:
  hard:
    requests.cpu: "10"
    requests.memory: 20Gi
    limits.cpu: "20"
    limits.memory: 40Gi
    persistentvolumeclaims: "10"
---
# Limit range
apiVersion: v1
kind: LimitRange
metadata:
  name: cpu-memory-limits
  namespace: production
spec:
  limits:
  - max:
      cpu: "2"
      memory: 4Gi
    min:
      cpu: 100m
      memory: 128Mi
    default:
      cpu: 500m
      memory: 512Mi
    defaultRequest:
      cpu: 100m
      memory: 128Mi
    type: Container
---
# Network policy (deny all by default)
apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: NetworkPolicy
metadata:
  name: default-deny-all
  namespace: production
spec:
  podSelector: {}
  policyTypes:
  - Ingress
  - Egress

Context Switching Safety

Pre-flight Checks

# Always verify context before running commands
kubectl config current-context

# Verify you're in the right cluster
kubectl get nodes

# Check namespace
kubectl config view --minify | grep namespace

Prevent Accidental Production Changes

# Create read-only context for production
kubectl config set-context prod-readonly \
  --cluster=prod-cluster \
  --user=readonly-user \
  --namespace=production

# Use separate terminal profiles for different environments
# Set terminal title based on context
export PS1='[\u@\h $(kubectl config current-context)] \W\$ '

Shell Prompt Integration

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc

# Show current k8s context in prompt
kube_ps1() {
  local ctx=$(kubectl config current-context 2>/dev/null)
  local ns=$(kubectl config view --minify --output 'jsonpath={..namespace}' 2>/dev/null)
  if [ -n "$ctx" ]; then
    echo "($ctx:${ns:-default})"
  fi
}

# Update PS1
export PS1='$(kube_ps1) \$ '

# Or use kube-ps1 tool
# On NixOS: pkgs.kube-ps1
source /path/to/kube-ps1.sh
PROMPT='$(kube_ps1)'$PROMPT

Advanced Context Management

Context Aliases

# Create short aliases
kubectl config set-context dev --cluster=dev-cluster --user=dev-user --namespace=development
kubectl config set-context prod --cluster=prod-cluster --user=prod-user --namespace=production

# Quick switching
kubectl config use-context dev
kubectl config use-context prod

Per-Shell Context

# Override kubeconfig for specific shell session
export KUBECONFIG=~/.kube/config-dev

# Verify isolation
kubectl config current-context

Context Validation Script

#!/bin/bash
# validate-context.sh

CONTEXT=$(kubectl config current-context)
NAMESPACE=$(kubectl config view --minify -o jsonpath='{..namespace}')

echo "Current context: $CONTEXT"
echo "Current namespace: ${NAMESPACE:-default}"
echo ""
echo "Cluster nodes:"
kubectl get nodes --no-headers | wc -l
echo ""
read -p "Is this the correct cluster? (yes/no): " confirm

if [ "$confirm" != "yes" ]; then
  echo "Aborting operation"
  exit 1
fi

Troubleshooting Context Issues

Context Not Found

# List available contexts
kubectl config get-contexts

# Verify kubeconfig file
kubectl config view

# Check KUBECONFIG environment variable
echo $KUBECONFIG

Authentication Errors

# Refresh cloud provider credentials
# AWS
aws eks update-kubeconfig --region us-east-1 --name my-cluster

# GCP
gcloud container clusters get-credentials my-cluster --region us-central1

# Azure
az aks get-credentials --resource-group myRG --name myCluster

Permission Errors

# Check current user
kubectl auth whoami

# Check permissions
kubectl auth can-i get pods
kubectl auth can-i create deployments
kubectl auth can-i '*' '*' --all-namespaces

Best Practices Checklist

  • Use descriptive context names
  • Set default namespace for each context
  • Verify context before running commands
  • Use kubectx/kubens for easier switching
  • Secure kubeconfig with proper permissions
  • Create separate contexts for read-only access
  • Use namespace isolation (quotas, limits, network policies)
  • Add context to shell prompt
  • Backup kubeconfig before modifications
  • Document context naming conventions for team