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Advanced Usage of kubeconfig

Updated at: 2025-11-19 14:08:25

A kubeconfig file is used by Kubernetes (K8s) to configure cluster access. It contains connection information, authentication credentials, and context definitions. The following sections describe several advanced use cases for kubeconfig files.

Configure Multiple Clusters​

You can configure multiple clusters, users, and contexts within a single kubeconfig file, enabling easy switching between different clusters.

Example：

apiVersion: v1
clusters:
  - cluster:
      insecure-skip-tls-verify: true
      server: 'https://vcluster.hd-01.alayanew.com:21443/inCluster/*******p5'
    name: username_1
  - cluster:
      insecure-skip-tls-verify: true
      server: 'https://vcluster.hd-01.alayanew.com:21443/inCluster/*******24'
    name: username_2
contexts:
  - context:
      cluster: cluster_1
      user: username_1
    name: context_name_1
  - context:
      cluster: cluster_2
      user: username_2
    name: context_name_2
current-context: context_name_1
kind: Config
preferences: {}
users:
  - name: username_1
    user:
      token: >-
        ***********************
  - name: username_2
    user:
      token: >-
        ***********************

Use Environment Variables​

You can specify the path of a kubeconfig file by setting the KUBECONFIG environment variable:

export KUBECONFIG=/mnt/vcluster/kube_config

View All Contexts​

Use the command kubectl config get-contexts to list all contexts in the kubeconfig file.

kubectl config get-contexts

The result is shown below, where the asterisk (*) indicates the currently active context.

image

Viewing the Current Context​

Use the command kubectl config current-context to display the current context:

kubectl config current-context

The result is shown below:

image

Switching Contexts​

Use the command kubectl config use-context to switch to another context using.

kubectl config use-context appdev-huangxs

The result is shown below:

image