doctl Verified current stable Not installed? Kubernetes

Doctl / Fetch And Save Kubeconfig

Fetch And Save Kubeconfig

Fetches and saves the kubeconfig for a specified Kubernetes cluster.

Terminal

doctl k c cfg s <cluster_name>

doctl k c cfg s <cluster_name>

#!/bin/bash

# Fetch And Save Kubeconfig
doctl {{[k|kubernetes]}} {{[c|cluster]}} {{[cfg|kubeconfig]}} {{[s|save]}} {{cluster_name}}

import subprocess

# Fetch And Save Kubeconfig
# Make sure to replace <placeholders> with actual values
def run_command():
    cmd = [
        "doctl",
        "k",
        "c",
        "cfg",
        "s",
        "<cluster_name>"
    ]
    
    try:
        print(f"Executing: {' '.join(cmd)}")
        subprocess.run(cmd, check=True)
    except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
        print(f"Error: {e}")
    except FileNotFoundError:
        print("Error: doctl not found. Please install it first.")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    run_command()

When To Use

Before deploying applications directly to a Kubernetes cluster or integrating with CI/CD pipelines.

Pro Tip

Use the `--overwrite` flag to ensure existing kubeconfig entries are replaced without raising errors.

Command Builder

Tune the command before you copy it

Back to syntax

Generated Command

doctl k c cfg s <cluster_name>

Terminal Output

Expected runtime feedback

Simulated preview

Output

Fetching kubeconfig for cluster 'my-cluster'...

Kubeconfig saved to: /home/user/.kube/config

Cluster Name: my-cluster
Context: my-cluster-context

$ kubectl config get-contexts

CURRENT   NAME                   CLUSTER              AUTHINFO              NAMESPACE
*         my-cluster-context    my-cluster          my-cluster-admin     default

Anatomy of Output

Understanding the result

apiVersion: v1 Api Version

Indicates the version of the Kubernetes API.

clusters: Clusters

Lists the Kubernetes clusters available in the kubeconfig.

- cluster: Cluster Entry

Details of the specified cluster.

server: https://<cluster_endpoint> Cluster Endpoint

The API server endpoint for the cluster.

Troubleshooting

Common pitfalls

Error: You do not have access to the requested cluster.

Solution: Ensure you have the correct permissions set on the DigitalOcean dashboard.

Error: Failed to retrieve kubeconfig for cluster: Not Found.

Solution: Validate the cluster name; it must match an existing cluster.

Error: kubeconfig already exists and overwriting is disabled.

Solution: Use the --overwrite flag to enforce overwriting.

Command Breakdown

What each part is doing

doctl: Base Command; The executable that performs this operation. Here it runs Doctl before the shell applies any redirect operators.
k: k|kubernetes; The value supplied for k|kubernetes.
c: c|cluster; The value supplied for c|cluster.
cfg: cfg|kubeconfig; The value supplied for cfg|kubeconfig.
s: s|save; The value supplied for s|save.
<cluster_name>: cluster name; The value supplied for cluster name.

How To Run

Execution path

Step 1
Run `doctl kubernetes cluster cfg kubeconfig save my-cluster` to fetch the config.
Step 2
Verify the saved kubeconfig with `kubectl config get-contexts`.

Alternative Approaches

Comparable commands in other tools

Alternative kubernetes tools for the same job.

Helm / Download Helm Chart Archive helm get <chart_release_name> Kubectl / List Pod Annotations kubectl annotate po <pod_name> --list Kubectl / Print Completion Script Bash Zsh Fish Powershell kubectl completion <bash|zsh|fish|powershell> Kubectl / Edit Pod Default Namespace kubectl edit po/<pod_name> Minikube / Start Minikube In Background Mode minikube start --background