kubectl get -l

Learn to filter by label with the -l flag.

kubectl get -l

-l (--selector) filters objects by label in kubectl commands. A comma means AND; != means not equal, and !key means the key is absent:

kubectl get pods -l app=web
kubectl get pods -l app=web,ortam=prod
kubectl get pods -l 'ortam!=prod'
kubectl get pods -l '!katman'
kubectl get pods -L app,ortam        # show labels as columns

Bulk operations with selectors

Selectors aren't only for listing; they also do bulk operations such as deleting, reading logs, scaling and labelling:

kubectl delete pods -l app=web,ortam=test
kubectl logs -l app=web --tail=5 --prefix   # logs of all replicas
kubectl rollout restart deploy -l takim=odeme

Before a bulk delete, running get with the same selector to see what will be deleted is a good habit.

Exercise Operations by label

Write three commands: list the pods labelled app=web and ortam=prod with app and ortam columns; show the last 5 log lines of all pods labelled app=web with prefixes; delete the pods labelled ortam=test.

Show example solution

kubectl get pods -l app=web,ortam=prod -L app,ortam
kubectl logs -l app=web --tail=5 --prefix
kubectl delete pods -l ortam=test

Test yourself

Which pods does kubectl get pods -l app=web,ortam=prod list?
- Only those with app=web
- None
- Those with both app=web and ortam=prod
- Those with app=web or ortam=prod
Show answer

Those with both app=web and ortam=prod — A comma is AND.

Show labels as columns.

kubectl get pods ____ app,ortam

Show answer

kubectl get pods -L app,ortam

Match.

-l a=b,c=d

AND
-l 'a!=b'

Not equal
-l '!a'

Key absent
-L a

Show as a column

Next lesson: Equality and set selectors

We Are Enhancing Your Experience

Cookie Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Analytical Cookies