How to Debug Kubernetes Pod Issues

By Admin · Mar 1, 2026 · Updated Apr 23, 2026 · 28 views · 1 min read

Common Pod Problems

When a Pod is not running correctly on your Breeze, Kubernetes provides several tools to diagnose the issue. This guide covers the most common problems and how to resolve them.

Check Pod Status

kubectl get pods
kubectl get pods -o wide

Status Meanings

Pending — waiting for scheduling or resource allocation
CrashLoopBackOff — container starts and immediately crashes
ImagePullBackOff — cannot pull the container image
ErrImagePull — image pull failed (wrong name or no access)
OOMKilled — container ran out of memory

Describe the Pod

kubectl describe pod my-pod

Look at the Events section at the bottom for scheduling errors, volume mount failures, or image pull issues.

View Container Logs

kubectl logs my-pod
kubectl logs my-pod --previous
kubectl logs my-pod -c sidecar-container

Execute into a Running Pod

kubectl exec -it my-pod -- /bin/sh

Use this to inspect files, test connectivity, or check running processes inside the container.

Debug Resource Issues

kubectl top pods
kubectl top nodes
kubectl describe node your-node-name

Common Fixes

CrashLoopBackOff — check logs for application errors, verify environment variables and configs
ImagePullBackOff — verify image name, check registry credentials with kubectl get secret
OOMKilled — increase memory limits in the Pod spec
Pending — check node resources with kubectl describe node

Debug with Ephemeral Containers

kubectl debug -it my-pod --image=busybox --target=app

This attaches a debug container without restarting the Pod.