Show detailed state and events for a Kubernetes resource.
low risk
kubectl describe provides human-readable detail about any K8s resource: events, conditions, container specs, volume mounts, and more. The Events section at the bottom is the first place to look when a pod won't start — it shows exactly what Kubernetes tried and what failed.
| Flag | Meaning |
|---|---|
-n --namespace | Target namespace |
kubectl describe pod mypod -n productionFull pod detail including events · explain & risk-check →kubectl describe node mynodeNode capacity, allocatable resources, and conditions · explain & risk-check →kubectl describe deployment myappDeployment strategy, rollout status, and events · explain & risk-check →kubectl describe pvc my-claimPersistent volume claim binding status · explain & risk-check →When a pod is stuck in Pending/CrashLoopBackOff, always check `kubectl describe pod` first — the Events section usually tells you exactly why (image pull error, insufficient resources, PVC not bound).
Reference text is hand-written and may be incomplete — check man kubectl for your version. Test destructive commands on a non-production system first.