Converting kubectl Manifests to Terraform#

You have a working Kubernetes setup built with kubectl apply -f. It works, but there is no state tracking, no dependency graph, and no way to reliably reproduce it. Terraform fixes all three problems.

Step 1: Export Existing Resources#

Start by extracting what you have. For each resource type, export the YAML:

kubectl get deployment,service,configmap,ingress -n my-app -o yaml > exported.yaml

For a single resource with cleaner output:

kubectl Debugging#

When something breaks in Kubernetes, you need to move through a specific sequence of commands. Here is every debugging command you will reach for, plus a step-by-step workflow for a pod that will not start.

Logs#

kubectl logs <pod-name> -n <namespace>                           # basic
kubectl logs <pod-name> -c <container-name> -n <namespace>       # specific container
kubectl logs <pod-name> --previous -n <namespace>                # previous crash (essential for CrashLoopBackOff)
kubectl logs -f <pod-name> -n <namespace>                        # stream in real-time
kubectl logs --since=5m <pod-name> -n <namespace>                # last 5 minutes
kubectl logs -l app=payments-api -n payments-prod --all-containers  # all pods matching label

The --previous flag is critical for crash-looping pods where the current container has no logs yet. The --all-containers flag captures init containers and sidecars.