kubectl config use-context: Command Reference for CI/CD

By Kaveh Alemi·Latchkey

Select which cluster and user kubectl talks to.

kubectl config use-context switches the active context so subsequent commands hit the right cluster. In CI it is the first deploy step, and the one you should log to prove you are on the intended cluster. This reference covers it and its verification commands.

Common flags and usage

config use-context <name>: set the active context
config get-contexts: list available contexts
config current-context: print the active context (log this in CI)
--context <name> on any command: override per-invocation
Set KUBECONFIG to point at the credentials CI wrote

Example

shell

export KUBECONFIG=${{ runner.temp }}/kubeconfig
kubectl config use-context prod-cluster
kubectl config current-context   # log it: prove the target
kubectl get nodes

In CI

A runner often has no ~/.kube/config, so set KUBECONFIG to the path you wrote credentials to, or pass --context per command. "no context exists with the name" means the context is not in the loaded kubeconfig. Echo current-context early so a wrong-cluster deploy fails loudly instead of silently hitting the wrong default namespace.

Key takeaways

Set KUBECONFIG explicitly in CI; runners have no default kubeconfig.
Log current-context so a wrong-cluster deploy is obvious.
--context overrides per command without changing the active one.

Frequently asked questions

kubectl config use-context: Command Reference for CI/CD?

In CI?