Multi-Cluster Kubernetes Management

Cross-cluster operations and context management using kubectl-mcp-server's multi-cluster support.

When to Apply

Use this skill when:

• User mentions: "cluster", "context", "multi-cluster", "cross-cluster"
• Operations: switching contexts, comparing clusters, federated deployments
• Keywords: "different environment", "production vs staging", "all clusters"

Priority Rules

Priority	Rule	Impact	Tools
1	Always specify context for prod	CRITICAL	context parameter
2	List contexts before switching	HIGH	list_contexts_tool
3	Compare before promoting	MEDIUM	compare_namespaces
4	Use naming conventions	LOW	prod-*, staging-*

Quick Reference

Task	Tool	Example
List contexts	list_contexts_tool	list_contexts_tool()
View kubeconfig	kubeconfig_view	kubeconfig_view()
List CAPI clusters	capi_clusters_list_tool	capi_clusters_list_tool(namespace)
Get CAPI kubeconfig	capi_cluster_kubeconfig_tool	capi_cluster_kubeconfig_tool(name, namespace)

Context Management

List Available Contexts

list_contexts_tool()

View Current Context

kubeconfig_view()

Switch Context

CLI: kubectl-mcp-server context <context-name>

Cross-Cluster Operations

All kubectl-mcp-server tools support the context parameter:

get_pods(namespace="default", context="production-cluster")

get_pods(namespace="default", context="staging-cluster")

Common Multi-Cluster Patterns

Compare Environments

compare_namespaces(
    namespace1="production",
    namespace2="staging",
    resource_type="deployment",
    context="production-cluster"
)

Parallel Queries

Query multiple clusters simultaneously:

get_pods(namespace="app", context="prod-us-east")
get_pods(namespace="app", context="prod-eu-west")

get_pods(namespace="app", context="development")

Cross-Cluster Health Check

for context in ["prod-1", "prod-2", "staging"]:
    get_nodes(context=context)
    get_pods(namespace="kube-system", context=context)

Cluster API (CAPI) Management

For managing cluster lifecycle:

List Managed Clusters

capi_clusters_list_tool(namespace="capi-system")

Get Cluster Details

capi_cluster_get_tool(name="prod-cluster", namespace="capi-system")

Get Workload Cluster Kubeconfig

capi_cluster_kubeconfig_tool(name="prod-cluster", namespace="capi-system")

Machine Management

capi_machines_list_tool(namespace="capi-system")
capi_machinedeployments_list_tool(namespace="capi-system")

Scale Cluster

capi_machinedeployment_scale_tool(
    name="prod-cluster-md-0",
    namespace="capi-system",
    replicas=5
)

See CONTEXT-SWITCHING.md for detailed patterns.

Multi-Cluster Helm

Deploy charts to specific clusters:

install_helm_chart(
    name="nginx",
    chart="bitnami/nginx",
    namespace="web",
    context="production-cluster"
)

list_helm_releases(
    namespace="web",
    context="staging-cluster"
)

Multi-Cluster GitOps

Flux Across Clusters

flux_kustomizations_list_tool(
    namespace="flux-system",
    context="cluster-1"
)

flux_reconcile_tool(
    kind="kustomization",
    name="apps",
    namespace="flux-system",
    context="cluster-2"
)

ArgoCD Across Clusters

argocd_apps_list_tool(namespace="argocd", context="management-cluster")

Federation Patterns

Secret Synchronization

get_secrets(namespace="app", context="source-cluster")

kubectl_apply(secret_manifest, namespace="app", context="target-cluster")

Cross-Cluster Service Discovery

With Cilium ClusterMesh or Istio multi-cluster:

cilium_nodes_list_tool(context="cluster-1")
istio_proxy_status_tool(context="cluster-2")

Best Practices

1. Naming Convention: Use descriptive context names (prod-us-east-1, staging-eu-west-1)
2. Access Control: Different kubeconfigs per environment
3. Always Specify Context: Avoid accidental cross-cluster operations
4. Cluster Groups: Organize by purpose (prod-*, staging-*, dev-*)

Related Skills

• k8s-troubleshoot - Debug across clusters
• k8s-gitops - GitOps multi-cluster
• k8s-capi - Cluster API management