kdebug 0.6.3

TUI for Kubernetes Debug Containers

kdebug - Universal Kubernetes Debug and File Copy Container Utility

Simple utility for launching ephemeral debug containers in Kubernetes pods with interactive shell access, backup capabilities, and a colorful TUI for pod selection.

Similar to kpf, this is a python wrapper around kubectl debug and kubectl cp.

Notice: the default debug container image is https://github.com/jessegoodier/toolbox/tree/main/common and may not be ideal for all users. This is configurable both with an arg and a global config file

Features

• 🐚 Interactive Shell Access - Launch bash/sh sessions in debug containers directly to the directory of your choice
• 💾 Backup Capabilities - Copy files/directories from pods with optional compression and configurable local paths
• 🔍 Multiple Selection Modes - Direct pod, controller-based, or interactive TUI
• 🎯 Smart Container Selection - Auto-select containers or choose specific targets
• 🔐 Root Access Support - Run debug containers as root when needed
• 📦 Controller Support - Works with Deployments, StatefulSets, and DaemonSets
• ⚙️ Config File - Set defaults for debug image, shell command, and backup paths

Demo of the debug TUI

Demo of backups

Installation

brew install jessegoodier/kdebug/kdebug

Usage

kdebug uses subcommands for its two modes of operation:

kdebug debug [options]          # Interactive debug session (default)
kdebug backup [options]         # Backup files from pod
kdebug [options]                # Same as "kdebug debug" for convenience

Global Options

These shared options work with both subcommands:

# Use a specific context
kdebug --context minikube -n default --pod my-pod

# Use a different kubeconfig file
kdebug --kubeconfig .kubeconfig -n openclaw

# Combine both options
kdebug --kubeconfig /path/to/config --context staging -n myapp --pod api-0

Interactive Mode (TUI)

When no pod or controller is specified, kdebug launches an interactive menu system:

# Interactive mode - select from all resources in current namespace
kdebug

# Interactive mode with specific namespace
kdebug -n openclaw

Debug Subcommand

The debug subcommand (or naked kdebug) launches an interactive shell session in an ephemeral debug container.

# Interactive session with direct pod (bare usage = debug)
kdebug -n kubecost --pod aggregator-0 --container aggregator

# Explicit debug subcommand with custom shell
kdebug debug -n kubecost --pod aggregator-0 --cmd sh

# Auto-select first container if not specified
kdebug debug -n kubecost --pod aggregator-0

# Change to a directory on start
kdebug debug -n kubecost --pod aggregator-0 --cd-into /var/configs

Debug-specific options:

Option	Description
--cmd CMD	Command to run in debug container (default: bash)
--cd-into DIR	Change to directory on start (via /proc/1/root)

Controller-Based Selection

# Using StatefulSet (sts)
kdebug --controller sts/aggregator --container aggregator

# Using Deployment
kdebug -n myapp --controller deploy/frontend --cmd sh

# Using DaemonSet
kdebug -n logging --controller ds/fluentd

Supported Controller Types:

• deployment or deploy - Kubernetes Deployments
• statefulset or sts - StatefulSets
• daemonset or ds - DaemonSets

Backup Subcommand

The backup subcommand copies files or directories from a pod to your local machine.

# Backup a directory (uncompressed)
kdebug backup -n kubecost --pod aggregator-0 --container-path /var/configs

# Backup with compression
kdebug backup -n kubecost --pod aggregator-0 --container-path /var/configs --compress

# Backup with a custom local path using template variables
kdebug backup --pod web-0 --container-path /var/data \
  --local-path ./my-backups/{namespace}/{pod}

# Backup using controller selection
kdebug backup --controller deploy/kubecost-local-store \
  --container-path /var/configs/localBucket_v002

Backup-specific options:

Option	Description
--container-path PATH	(required) Path inside the container to back up
--local-path TEMPLATE	Local destination (default: ./backups/{namespace}/{date}_{pod})
--compress	Compress backup as tar.gz
--tar-exclude PATH	Exclude a path or pattern from the archive (repeatable)

Using --tar-exclude:

Excludes are matched against paths inside the archive and can be repeated. Provide a name or relative pattern — do not include the full container path prefix:

# Exclude a single subdirectory by name
kdebug backup -n kubecost --pod aggregator-0 --container-path /var/configs \
  --compress --tar-exclude waterfowl

# Exclude multiple paths
kdebug backup -n kubecost --pod aggregator-0 --container-path /var/configs \
  --compress --tar-exclude waterfowl --tar-exclude tmp --tar-exclude '*.log'

Template variables for --local-path:

Variable	Value
{namespace}	Kubernetes namespace
{pod}	Pod name
{date}	Timestamp (YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS)
{container}	Target container name

Run as Root

# Launch debug container as root user
kdebug -n myapp --pod frontend-abc123 --as-root

Verbose Mode

# Show all kubectl commands being executed
kdebug -n myapp --pod frontend-abc123 --verbose

Config File

kdebug supports a JSON config file at ~/.config/kdebug/kdebug.json (respects XDG_CONFIG_HOME). CLI flags always take priority over config values.

{
  "debugImage": "busybox:latest",
  "cmd": "sh",
  "cdInto": "/app",
  "backupContainerPath": "/var/data",
  "backupLocalPath": "./backups/{namespace}/{date}_{pod}"
}

Key	Description	Default
debugImage	Debug container image	ghcr.io/jessegoodier/toolbox-common:latest
cmd	Shell command for debug sessions	bash
cdInto	Directory to cd into on start	(none)
backupContainerPath	Default container path for backups	(none)
backupLocalPath	Default local path template for backups	./backups/{namespace}/{date}_{pod}

String values support ${ENV_VAR} expansion:

{
  "debugImage": "${MY_DEBUG_IMAGE}",
  "backupLocalPath": "${HOME}/kdebug-backups/{namespace}/{date}_{pod}"
}

Example: Using busybox as debug image

If you don't need the full toolbox image, busybox is a lightweight alternative:

{
  "debugImage": "busybox:latest",
  "cmd": "sh"
}

Since busybox doesn't include bash, set cmd to sh. With this config, simply run kdebug --pod my-pod and it will use busybox with sh automatically.

Shell Completion

kdebug supports tab completion for bash and zsh with dynamic lookups for namespaces, pods, controller names, and subcommands.

Bash

# Add to ~/.bashrc
source <(kdebug --completions bash)

# Or source the file directly
source /path/to/kdebug/completions/kdebug.bash

Zsh

# Option 1: Source directly (add to ~/.zshrc)
source <(kdebug --completions zsh)

# Option 2: Install to fpath (recommended)
mkdir -p ~/.zsh/completions
kdebug --completions zsh > ~/.zsh/completions/_kdebug
# Add to ~/.zshrc before compinit:
fpath=(~/.zsh/completions $fpath)
autoload -Uz compinit && compinit

Completion Features

• kdebug <TAB> - Complete subcommands (debug, backup)
• kdebug --<TAB> - Complete shared options
• kdebug debug --<TAB> - Complete debug-specific options
• kdebug backup --<TAB> - Complete backup-specific options
• kdebug -n <TAB> - Complete namespace names from cluster
• kdebug --pod <TAB> - Complete pod names (respects -n flag)
• kdebug --controller <TAB> - Complete controller types and names
• kdebug --context <TAB> - Complete context names from kubeconfig

Examples

Example 1: Interactive Pod Selection

$ kdebug -n production

Starting interactive pod selection...

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Select Pod in namespace: production
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

▶ 1. frontend-abc123 (Running)
  2. frontend-def456 (Running)
  3. backend-ghi789 (Running)
  4. database-0 (Running)
  5. worker-jkl012 (Pending)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Use ↑/↓ arrows or numbers to select, Enter to confirm, q to quit
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Example 2: Quick Debug Session

# Launch debug container and get bash shell
kdebug -n kubecost --controller sts/aggregator --container aggregator

# Output:
# ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
# Starting interactive session in pod aggregator-0
# Container: debugger-xyz
# Command: bash
# ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Example 3: Backup with Custom Local Path

# Backup with compression to a custom path
kdebug backup -n production --pod api-server-0 \
  --container-path /etc/app/config \
  --local-path ./config-backups/{namespace}/{date}_{pod} \
  --compress

# Output:
# ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
# Creating backup from pod api-server-0
# Container path: /etc/app/config
# Local path: ./config-backups/production/2024-02-04_10-30-45_api-server-0.tar.gz
# Mode: Compressed (tar.gz)
# ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
# ✓ Path exists: /etc/app/config
# ✓ Backup archive created
# ✓ Backup saved to: ./config-backups/production/2024-02-04_10-30-45_api-server-0.tar.gz

Color Scheme

kdebug uses a kubecolor-inspired color scheme:

• 🔵 Blue - Borders and separators
• 🟢 Green - Success messages and running status
• 🟡 Yellow - Warnings and pending status
• 🔴 Red - Errors and failed status
• 🟣 Magenta - Namespaces
• 🔷 Cyan - Pod and container names
• ⚪ White/Gray - General text and metadata

Requirements

• Python 3.9+
• kubectl configured with cluster access
• Kubernetes cluster with ephemeral containers support (v1.23+)

How It Works

1. Resource Discovery - Queries Kubernetes API for controllers/pods
2. Debug Container Launch - Creates ephemeral container with debug image
3. Process Sharing - Enables --share-processes for full pod access
4. Interactive Session - Attaches to container with TTY
5. Cleanup - Terminates debug container after session ends

Troubleshooting

"Operation not supported on socket" Error

The interactive TUI requires a real terminal (TTY). Ensure you're running kdebug in:

• A standard terminal (not piped or redirected)
• Not through automation tools that don't provide TTY
• With proper terminal emulation support

"Pod Security Policy" Warnings

If you see warnings about runAsNonRoot, the pod has security restrictions. Try:

• Running without --as-root flag
• Checking pod security policies
• Using a different debug image

Container Won't Start

Check:

• Debug image is accessible from cluster
• Pod has sufficient resources
• Network policies allow image pull
• Use --verbose flag to see kubectl commands

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please open issues or pull requests.

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Made with ❤️ and Bob