Practical Guide – kubectx & kubens

Managing multiple Kubernetes clusters and namespaces with plain kubectl can get repetitive. Two handy tools – kubectx and kubens – simplify switching contexts and namespaces.

1. 🔧 Installation

Linux / macOS

# Install both with brew
brew install kubectx
 
# Or manually
git clone https://github.com/ahmetb/kubectx.git ~/.kubectx
sudo ln -s ~/.kubectx/kubectx /usr/local/bin/kubectx
sudo ln -s ~/.kubectx/kubens /usr/local/bin/kubens

Windows (with Chocolatey)

choco install kubectx

2. ⚙️ Setup & Verify

Ensure kubectl works with clusters:

kubectl config get-contexts

Then test:

kubectx --help
kubens --help

3. 🧭 Usage

🔄 Switch Contexts (kubectx)

• List available contexts:

kubectx

• Switch to a context:

kubectx my-cluster

• Rename a context:

kubectx old-name=new-name

• Switch back to previous context:

kubectx -

📂 Switch Namespaces (kubens)

• List all namespaces:

kubens

• Switch to namespace:

kubens dev

• Switch back to previous namespace:

kubens -

4. 📑 Common Workflows

Example: Change Context + Namespace

kubectx production
kubens payments

Now all kubectl commands run in production cluster, payments namespace.

5. 🎨 Bonus Features

• Fuzzy search support if fzf is installed → lets you pick context/namespace interactively.

kubectx
kubens

Opens an interactive menu to choose from.

• Works seamlessly with k9s → if you already use it.

6. ✅ Summary

• kubectx → switch between clusters/contexts easily.
• kubens → switch between namespaces quickly.
• Both save time and reduce human error vs typing full kubectl config commands.

⚡ These tools are must-haves for anyone managing multiple Kubernetes clusters/namespaces daily.

| Feature                | kubectl                      | kubectx/kubens               |
|------------------------|------------------------------|-------------------------------|
| Context Switching       | `kubectl config use-context` | `kubectx <context>`          |
| Namespace Switching     | `kubectl config set-context --namespace` | `kubens <namespace>`        |
| List Contexts          | `kubectl config get-contexts`| `kubectx`                    |
| List Namespaces        | `kubectl get namespaces`     | `kubens`                     |
| Interactive Selection   | No                           | Yes (with fzf)               |