This repository provides both kubectx and kubens tools.

kubectx help you switch between clusters back and forth:

kubens help you switch between Kubernetes namespaces smoothly:

kubectx is an utility to manage and switch between kubectl(1) contexts.

USAGE:
  kubectx                   : list the contexts
  kubectx <NAME>            : switch to context <NAME>
  kubectx -                 : switch to the previous context
  kubectx <NEW_NAME>=<NAME> : rename context <NAME> to <NEW_NAME>
  kubectx -h,--help         : show this message

$ kubectx minikube
Switched to context "minikube".

$ kubectx -
Switched to context "oregon".

$ kubectx -
Switched to context "minikube".

$ kubectx dublin=gke_ahmetb_europe-west1-b_dublin
Context "dublin" set.
Aliased "gke_ahmetb_europe-west1-b_dublin" as "dublin".

kubectx supports Tab completion on bash/zsh/fish shells to help with long context names. You don't have to remember full context names anymore.

kubens is an utility to switch between Kubernetes namespaces.

USAGE:
  kubens                    : list the namespaces
  kubens <NAME>             : change the active namespace
  kubens -                  : switch to the previous namespace
  kubens -h,--help          : show this message

$ kubens kube-system
Context "test" set.
Active namespace is "kube-system".

$ kubens -
Context "test" set.
Active namespace is "default".

kubens also supports Tab completion on bash/zsh/fish shells.

macOS:

🎊 Use the Homebrew package manager:

brew install kubectx

This command will set up bash/zsh/fish completion scripts automatically.

• Running brew install with --with-short-names will install tools with names kctx and kns to prevent prefix collision with kubectl name.

• If you like to add context/namespace info to your shell prompt ($PS1), I recommend trying out kube-ps1.

Linux:

Since kubectx/kubens are written in Bash, you should be able to instal them to any POSIX environment that has Bash installed.

• Download the kubectx, kubens and utils.bash scripts.
• Either:
  • save them all to somewhere in your PATH,
  • or save them to a directory, then create symlinks to kubectx/kubens from somewhere in your PATH, like /usr/local/bin
• Make kubectx and kubens executable (chmod +x ...)
• Figure out how to install bash/zsh/fish completion scripts.

Disclaimer: This is not an official Google product.