Question

Kubernetes how to get error messages/logs

Posted on October 16, 2020
Configuration Management Logging Kubernetes
Asked by Christian Strang

Hi guys, I have created an api service for my website that pulls the image from docker hub. That is all working fine, but the container isn’t running properly and I wanted to take a look inside the container for some kind of error message. Is there a way of doing that? What is the proper way to inspect logs for each pod/service/container?

Also, what do I use to create environment variables? Is this done via Config Maps?

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pistle2020 • October 16, 2020

Accepted Answer

Hi, You can use kubectl logs to retrieve logs from a previous instantiation of a container with --previous flag, in case the container has crashed. If your pod has multiple containers, you should specify which container’s logs you want to access by appending a container name to the command.

Conrad Taylor • October 20, 2020

@christianstrang If you’re wanting to look inside the container and view its logs, you can do one of the following:

Using Docker

shell into container

docker run --rm -it <image-name> bash

view container’s logs

docker logs <container-name>

Note: If you’re using Alpine based image, you will need to use sh instead of bash.

Using Kubernetes

shell into container

kubectl exec -i -t <pod-name> --container <container-name> -- /bin/bash

Note: If you’re using Alpine based image, you will need to use sh instead of bash.

view container’s logs

kubectl logs <pod-name> -c <container-name>

Note: A Kubernetes pod can consist of 1 or more running containers. Also, I would recommend taking a look at a tool called stern for viewing logs within K8s cluster.

Next, you can use K8s ConfigMaps for your environment variables and K8s Secrets for your sensitive credentials. Finally, I would highly recommend testing your Docker container(s) prior to using them within your K8s cluster.

Well, I wish that the above information was helpful and I wish you all the best.

–

Think different and code well,

-Conrad