Kubernetes Setup for Local Development

#

This post covers my go-to setup for working with Kubernetes from the command line. It’s a lightweight stack that helps me manage multiple clusters and namespaces efficiently, and debug faster using CLI tools.

Note that this setup is tailored for Linux and Ubuntu, but the tools can be adapted for other Linux distributions or macOS.

Must-Have

#

kubectl

#

The essential CLI tool to interact with any Kubernetes cluster. Almost every other tool you’ll use is just a wrapper around this one.

To install kubectl, you can follow the official guide or use the steps below:

# Download the binary
curl -LO https://dl.k8s.io/release/v1.30.0/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl

# Make it executable
chmod +x ./kubectl

# Move it to your PATH
sudo mv ./kubectl /usr/local/bin/kubectl

If the curl command fails, you can manually get the latest version using:

curl -Ls https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt

Then plug the version into the download URL.

Verify the installation:

kubectl version --client

Recommended Tools

#

kubectx / kubens

#

When working with multiple clusters and namespaces, kubectx and kubens make switching between them seamless.

• kubectx: for switching between contexts (i.e., clusters).
• kubens: for switching between namespaces.

Installation

#

First, install the required dependency:

sudo apt install fzf

Then install the tools manually to avoid outdated versions:

# Clone the repo
sudo git clone https://github.com/ahmetb/kubectx /opt/kubectx

# Create symlinks
sudo ln -s /opt/kubectx/kubectx /usr/local/bin/kubectx
sudo ln -s /opt/kubectx/kubens /usr/local/bin/kubens

Configuring Cluster Credentials

#

Get your cluster credentials (typically YAML files) and place them into ~/.kube/.

mkdir -p ~/.kube
mv ~/Downloads/CREDS1.yml ~/Downloads/CREDS2.yml ~/.kube/

Update your ~/.zshrc to load these files:

export KUBECONFIG=~/.kube/CREDS1.yml:~/.kube/CREDS2.yml

# OR (if your files follow a pattern)
export KUBECONFIG=$KUBECONFIG:$(find ~/.kube/ -iname "kubeconfig*" | tr "\n" ":")

Reload your shell:

source ~/.zshrc

Helpful Aliases

#

Add these to your ~/.zshrc:

alias k="kubectl"
alias kx="kubectx"
alias kn="kubens"

Now you can easily:

kx                # select cluster
kn                # select namespace
k get pods        # list pods in current namespace
kubectl exec -it POD_NAME -- /bin/bash  # access a pod

stern: Live Logs in Your Terminal

#

stern is a CLI tool for tailing logs from multiple pods and namespaces.

Download the latest release here.

Example:

cd ~/Downloads
tar xzvf stern_1.28.0_linux_amd64.tar.gz
mv stern ~/.local/bin

Ensure ~/.local/bin is in your PATH, or move the binary elsewhere.

Now you can:

stern .                            # logs for current namespace
stern . -n ns1,ns2,ns3             # logs for multiple namespaces

Conclusion

#

This setup helps me stay efficient while working with Kubernetes. It’s minimal, fast, and works well when juggling multiple environments. If you’re dealing with frequent context/namespace switches or want better log visibility, these tools are worth the effort.