Platxa K8s Operations

Automated Kubernetes operations for the Platxa platform with guided debugging workflows.

Overview

This skill provides operational commands for managing Platxa's Kubernetes infrastructure:

Prerequisites

Required tools (verify with which <tool>):

• kubectl - Kubernetes CLI (configured with cluster access)
• helm - Helm package manager
• helmfile - Declarative Helm releases

Verify cluster connectivity:

kubectl cluster-info
kubectl get nodes

Operations Reference

Cluster Operations

Instance Operations

Infrastructure Operations

Workflow

When a user requests K8s operations, follow this workflow:

Step 1: Identify Operation Type

Detect intent from user message:

• "debug", "not working", "help" → Instance debugging
• "health", "status", "check" → Cluster health check
• "deploy", "update", "sync" → Infrastructure update
• "wake", "scale", "start" → Instance scaling
• "logs", "events" → Instance investigation

Step 2: Gather Context

Before executing commands:

1. Identify target (instance name, namespace, release)
2. Verify current cluster context: kubectl config current-context
3. Check if target exists: kubectl get ns <namespace>

Step 3: Execute Operation

Run appropriate commands from Operations Reference above. Always show the command before executing for transparency.

Step 4: Analyze Results

Interpret output and identify:

• Status indicators (Running, Pending, Error, CrashLoopBackOff)
• Resource issues (OOMKilled, insufficient CPU/memory)
• Configuration problems (missing secrets, wrong image)
• Network issues (service unreachable, policy blocking)

Step 5: Recommend Actions

Based on findings:

• Provide specific fix commands
• Suggest follow-up checks
• Link to relevant troubleshooting guide sections

Examples

Example 1: Debug Non-Responsive Instance

User: "The abc123xy instance isn't loading"

Response:

Checking instance status...

kubectl get all -n instance-abc123xy
# Output: deployment replicas=0

The instance is scaled to zero (sleeping). Waking it up:

kubectl scale deploy odoo-abc123xy -n instance-abc123xy --replicas=1
kubectl wait --for=condition=available deploy/odoo-abc123xy -n instance-abc123xy --timeout=120s

Instance is now running. Access at: https://abc123xy.platxa.com

Example 2: Pre-Deployment Health Check

User: "Is the cluster healthy before I deploy?"

Response:

Running cluster health check...

Nodes:
kubectl get nodes
# All nodes Ready ✓

Core Services:
kubectl get pods -n traefik-system
kubectl get pods -n postgres-system
kubectl get pods -n monitoring
# All pods Running ✓

Resource Availability:
kubectl top nodes
# CPU/Memory within limits ✓

Cluster is healthy. Safe to proceed with deployment.
Preview changes with: helmfile -e kind diff

Example 3: Investigate Pod CrashLoop

User: "Instance demo keeps restarting"

Response:

Investigating crash loop...

Pod Status:
kubectl get pods -n instance-demo -l app=odoo
# STATUS: CrashLoopBackOff, Restarts: 5

Recent Events:
kubectl get events -n instance-demo --sort-by='.lastTimestamp' | head -20
# Event: OOMKilled

Container Logs (last crash):
kubectl logs -n instance-demo -l app=odoo --previous --tail=50
# Error: Cannot allocate memory

Root Cause: Out of Memory (OOMKilled)

Fix Options:
1. Increase memory limit in instance tier
2. Reduce Odoo workers: kubectl edit configmap odoo-config -n instance-demo
3. Check for memory leaks in custom addons

Example 4: Helm Release Update

User: "Update the Traefik ingress controller"

Response:

Previewing Traefik update...

helmfile -e kind -l name=traefik diff

Changes:
- image: traefik:v2.10.5 -> traefik:v2.11.0
- Added new middleware configuration

Ready to apply? Running sync:

helmfile -e kind -l name=traefik sync

Verifying deployment:
kubectl rollout status deploy/traefik -n traefik-system

Traefik updated successfully. All ingress routes operational.

Error Handling

Connection Errors

Symptom: Unable to connect to the server

Causes:

• Kubeconfig not set or expired
• Cluster not running (Kind)
• Network issues (DOKS)

Fix:

# Kind: Restart cluster
kind get clusters
kind export kubeconfig --name platxa

# DOKS: Refresh credentials
doctl kubernetes cluster kubeconfig save <cluster-id>

Permission Denied

Symptom: forbidden: User cannot <action>

Causes:

• RBAC role not bound
• Service account missing permissions

Fix: Check and apply RBAC:

kubectl auth can-i <verb> <resource> -n <namespace>
# If denied, apply appropriate RoleBinding

Resource Not Found

Symptom: NotFound: <resource> not found

Causes:

• Wrong namespace
• Resource deleted
• Typo in name

Fix: Verify resource exists:

kubectl get <resource-type> -A | grep <name>
kubectl get ns | grep instance

Pod Stuck Pending

Symptom: Pod in Pending state

Causes:

• Insufficient resources
• PVC not bound
• Node selector mismatch

Fix:

kubectl describe pod <pod> -n <namespace>
# Check Events section for scheduling failure reason

Safety

Read-Only Operations (Safe)

• get, describe, logs, events - No cluster changes
• diff - Preview only, no apply

Write Operations (Caution)

• scale - Changes replica count
• sync - Applies Helm releases
• delete - Removes resources

Dangerous Operations (Require Confirmation)

• kubectl delete ns - Deletes entire namespace
• helmfile destroy - Removes all releases
• kubectl drain - Evicts all pods from node

Always preview changes with diff before sync. Never run destructive commands without explicit user confirmation.

Output Checklist

After completing an operation, verify:

• Command executed successfully (exit code 0)
• Output analyzed and interpreted
• Issues identified (if any)
• Fix recommendations provided
• Follow-up actions suggested
• User can proceed with confidence