Kubernetes Pod Forward Tool

Kubernetes Pod Forward Tool#

The Kubernetes Pod Forward Tool simplifies port forwarding to pods in a Kubernetes cluster.

Description#

This tool allows you to easily forward local ports to Kubernetes pods matching a name pattern. It handles automatic reconnection if the connection drops, making it useful for development and debugging scenarios where you need to connect to services in a Kubernetes cluster.

Usage#

ml_research_tools kube-pod-forward [options] pod_name_pattern

Usage: ml_research_tools kube-pod-forward [-h] [-n NAMESPACE] [-l LOCAL_PORT]
                                          [-r REMOTE_PORT] [--retries RETRIES]
                                          [--retry-delay RETRY_DELAY]
                                          [-p POD_PATTERN]

Forward port to a Kubernetes pod with a specific name pattern.

Options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -n, --namespace NAMESPACE
                        Kubernetes namespace (default: default)
  -l, --local-port LOCAL_PORT
                        Local port to forward (default: 8080)
  -r, --remote-port REMOTE_PORT
                        Remote port on the pod (default: 8080)
  --retries RETRIES     Retry connections (default: 5)
  --retry-delay RETRY_DELAY
                        Seconds to wait between retries (default: 5)
  -p, --pod-pattern POD_PATTERN
                        Pattern to match in pod name (default: interactive)

Examples#

Forward local port 8080 to pod with a name containing “web-app”:

ml_research_tools kube-pod-forward web-app

Specify namespace and different ports:

ml_research_tools kube-pod-forward -n production -l 3000 -r 8080 api-service

Features#

  • Pattern Matching: Forwards to the first pod matching the provided name pattern

  • Auto-reconnection: Automatically reconnects if the connection is lost

  • Visual Interface: Shows a table of available pods with highlighting for the matched pod

  • Cross-platform: Works on any system with kubectl configured

Requirements#

This tool requires:

  • kubectl - The Kubernetes command-line tool, properly configured for your cluster

Troubleshooting#

If you encounter issues:

  1. Ensure kubectl is installed and in your PATH

  2. Verify your kubeconfig is correctly set up

  3. Check that you have permissions to access the specified namespace

  4. Confirm the pod is running and the specified port is exposed

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