Platform Engineering Playbook Podcast

kubectx & kubens v0.9.5 - Listen to the Docs with AudioDocs

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🎧 AUDIODOCS: Official documentation of popular open-source projects, adapted and narrated for audio. Learn while commuting, exercising, or doing chores.

Stop typing long kubectl config commands! kubectx and kubens are essential CLI tools that let you switch Kubernetes contexts and namespaces instantly with tab completion and fuzzy search.

This 10-minute episode covers everything you need to know about v0.9.5 - from installation to power-user workflows. If you work with multiple Kubernetes clusters, these tools will save you hours every week.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

00:00 - The Problem: Why kubectl Context Switching is Painful
01:30 - kubectx Basics: Instant Context Switching
02:45 - The Dash Flag: Toggle Between Two Contexts
03:30 - Context Renaming: Human-Readable Names
04:30 - kubens: Namespace Switching Made Easy
05:30 - The Force Flag: Non-Existent Namespaces
06:00 - fzf Integration: Interactive Fuzzy Search
07:00 - Installation: Homebrew, apt, Krew, Chocolatey
08:00 - Shell Completion: bash, zsh, fish
08:30 - Customization: Colors & Environment Variables
09:00 - Workflow Tips: kube-ps1, Naming Conventions
09:45 - Summary & Key Takeaways

LINKS:

Full Transcript & Episode Page:
https://platformengineeringplaybook.com/audiodocs/kubectx/v0.9.5

kubectx GitHub Repository:

https://github.com/ahmetb/kubectx

fzf - Fuzzy Finder (Recommended):

https://github.com/junegunn/fzf

kube-ps1 - Prompt Integration:

https://github.com/jonmosco/kube-ps1

kubectl Krew Plugin Manager:

https://krew.sigs.k8s.io/

Platform Engineering Playbook:

https://platformengineeringplaybook.com

KEY FEATURES COVERED:

- kubectx: List and switch contexts with a single command
- kubens: Switch namespaces without verbose kubectl commands
- Dash flag (-): Toggle back to previous context/namespace
- Context renaming: kubectx prod=gke_project_region_cluster
- fzf integration: Interactive fuzzy-search menu
- Shell completion: Tab-complete context and namespace names
- Force flag: Set namespace before it exists
- NO_COLOR support: Disable colored output
- KUBECTX_IGNORE_FZF: Disable fzf when needed

INSTALLATION METHODS:

- macOS/Linux: brew install kubectx
- Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt install kubectx
- Arch Linux: sudo pacman -S kubectx
- kubectl plugin: kubectl krew install ctx ns
- Windows: choco install kubectx-ps, scoop install kubectx

WHO THIS IS FOR:

Anyone working with multiple Kubernetes clusters or namespaces. Perfect for platform engineers, SREs, and developers who want to eliminate kubectl config friction.

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📜 LICENSE & ATTRIBUTION
This AudioDocs episode is a derivative work based on the official kubectx documentation.
Original documentation: https://github.com/ahmetb/kubectx
License: Apache License 2.0 (https://github.com/ahmetb/kubectx/blob/master/LICENSE)
© Ahmet Alp Balkan

This audio transforms written documentation into educational audio format with proper attribution as required by the Apache 2.0 license.

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#kubectx #kubens #Kubernetes #kubectl #DevOps #PlatformEngineering #K8s #CloudNative #SRE #CLI #AudioDocs #ProductivityTools #KubernetesTools

TAGS:

kubectx, kubens, kubernetes context, kubectl context switch, kubernetes namespace switch, k8s tools, kubernetes cli tools, kubectx tutorial, kubens tutorial, kubernetes productivity, fzf kubernetes, kubectl tips, kubernetes workflow, multi-cluster kubernetes, kubernetes context management, ahmetb kubectx, krew plugins, kubectl productivity, switch kubernetes cluster, kubernetes namespace, kubectx v0.9.5, audiodocs, platform engineering

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