What is a pod?
A pod is the smallest unit Kubernetes runs: one or more containers that share a network address and storage.
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A pod wraps one or (rarely) a few tightly coupled containers so they are scheduled together on the same node, share one IP address and can share folders. Think of a pea pod: the peas are containers, and they travel as one unit. Most pods hold exactly one application container, sometimes plus a small helper called a sidecar.
You almost never create pods by hand; a Deployment creates and replaces them for you so that the desired number is always running. Pods are disposable: when one dies, a new one with a new name and IP appears. That is why Services exist to give a stable address in front of them. kubectl describe pod and kubectl logs are your first debugging tools.
kubectl get pods
kubectl logs web-7d9f8-abcde
kubectl describe pod web-7d9f8-abcdeSee also: What is Kubernetes? and What is a container?
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See also
- 0132 Pods, ReplicaSets and Deployments explained A Pod runs one or more containers together, a ReplicaSet keeps a fixed number of identical Pods alive, and a Deployment manages… Beginner · Explains an idea · Linux Article Concepts · Workloads & services 15 Oct 2026
- 0135 Deploy your first app on Kubernetes A step-by-step tutorial: write a Deployment and a Service in YAML, apply them, reach the app, add health probes, roll out a… Beginner · Step by step · Linux Article Ingress & networking · Workloads & services 15 Oct 2026
- 0136 Persistent storage in Kubernetes: PersistentVolumes, claims and StorageClasses How to give a Pod storage that survives restarts: request it with a PersistentVolumeClaim, let a StorageClass provision it, and mount it.… Intermediate · Step by step · Linux Article Config, secrets & storage · Workloads & services 15 Oct 2026
- 0144 Fix: Pod stuck in Pending with “0/3 nodes are available: Insufficient cpu” The scheduler cannot find a node with enough unreserved CPU for the pod's request. Compare the request with node allocatable resources, then… Advanced · Fixes an error · Linux Article Troubleshooting · Workloads & services 15 Oct 2026
- 0145 Fix: OOMKilled (exit code 137) in Kubernetes A container used more memory than its limit and the kernel killed it. Confirm the reason, measure real usage, then raise the… Advanced · Fixes an error · Linux Article Troubleshooting · Workloads & services 15 Oct 2026
- 0251 Learn Kubernetes on your laptop with kind: from first cluster to Ingress Build a throwaway Kubernetes cluster in Docker with kind, deploy a web app with config, secrets and probes, scale it, roll out… Beginner · Guided project · Linux, macOS, Windows Article Concepts · Workloads & services 15 Oct 2026
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