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CLI Reference

Complete command-line interface reference for k13d.

Synopsis

k13d [flags]
k13d [command]

Modes

k13d can run in different modes:

Mode Command Description
TUI k13d Terminal dashboard (default)
Web k13d -web Web dashboard
MCP Server k13d --mcp MCP server mode
CLI k13d <command> Direct command execution

Global Flags

Configuration

Flag Type Default Description
--config string ~/.config/k13d/config.yaml Config file path
--kubeconfig string ~/.kube/config Kubeconfig file path
--context string current Kubernetes context
--namespace, -n string default Default namespace

Logging

Flag Type Default Description
--debug bool false Enable debug logging
--log-level string info Log level (debug, info, warn, error)
--log-file string - Log file path

AI Options

Flag Type Default Description
--llm-provider string openai LLM provider
--llm-model string gpt-4 LLM model name
--llm-endpoint string - Custom LLM endpoint
--embedded-llm bool false Use embedded LLM

TUI Mode

k13d [flags]

TUI Flags

Flag Type Default Description
--refresh duration 5s Refresh interval
--no-ai bool false Disable AI panel
--beginner bool false Enable beginner mode
--language string en UI language (en, ko, zh, ja)

Examples

# Default TUI mode
k13d

# With specific context
k13d --context production

# With custom kubeconfig
k13d --kubeconfig ~/.kube/prod-config

# Debug mode
k13d --debug

# With embedded LLM
k13d --embedded-llm

Web Mode

k13d -web [flags]

Web Flags

Flag Type Default Description
-web bool false Enable web mode
-port, -p int 8080 HTTP server port
-password string - Web UI password
-host string 0.0.0.0 Bind address
-tls bool false Enable TLS
-cert string - TLS certificate file
-key string - TLS key file

Examples

# Start web server
k13d -web

# Custom port
k13d -web -port 3000

# With password protection
k13d -web -password "secret"

# Bind to localhost only
k13d -web -host 127.0.0.1

# With TLS
k13d -web -tls -cert server.crt -key server.key

MCP Server Mode

k13d --mcp [flags]

MCP Flags

Flag Type Default Description
--mcp bool false Enable MCP server mode
--mcp-stdio bool true Use stdio transport

Examples

# Run as MCP server
k13d --mcp

# For Claude Desktop integration
# Add to claude_desktop_config.json:
# {
#   "mcpServers": {
#     "k13d": {
#       "command": "k13d",
#       "args": ["--mcp"]
#     }
#   }
# }

Commands

report

Generate cluster reports.

k13d report [flags]
Flag Type Default Description
--type string cluster-overview Report type
--format string markdown Output format
--output string - Output file path
--namespace string - Filter by namespace
--ai-analysis bool true Include AI analysis

Report types: - cluster-overview - security-audit - optimization - ai-analysis

# Generate cluster overview
k13d report --type cluster-overview

# PDF format
k13d report --type security-audit --format pdf --output report.pdf

# Specific namespace
k13d report --type optimization --namespace production

bench

Run AI benchmarks.

k13d bench [flags]
Flag Type Default Description
--all bool false Run all benchmarks
--category string - Benchmark category
--models string - Comma-separated models
--tasks string - Custom tasks file
--format string table Output format
--output string - Output file 
# Run all benchmarks
k13d bench --all

# Specific category
k13d bench --category troubleshooting

# Compare models
k13d bench --models gpt-4,gpt-3.5,ollama/llama3

# JSON output
k13d bench --format json --output results.json

version

Show version information.

k13d version

Output: 

k13d version v0.6.3
  Go version: go1.25.0
  Git commit: abc1234
  Built: 2024-01-15T10:30:00Z
  OS/Arch: linux/amd64

help

Show help for commands.

k13d help [command]
k13d --help
k13d -h

Environment Variables

CLI flags can be set via environment variables:

Environment Variable Equivalent Flag
KUBECONFIG --kubeconfig
K13D_CONFIG --config
K13D_CONTEXT --context
K13D_NAMESPACE --namespace
K13D_DEBUG --debug
K13D_PORT -port
K13D_PASSWORD -password
OPENAI_API_KEY -
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY -
K13D_LLM_PROVIDER --llm-provider
K13D_LLM_MODEL --llm-model

Example: 

export K13D_DEBUG=true
export K13D_PORT=3000
k13d -web

Configuration Precedence

Configuration is loaded in this order (later overrides earlier):

  1. Default values
  2. Config file (~/.config/k13d/config.yaml)
  3. Environment variables
  4. Command-line flags

Exit Codes

Code Description
0 Success
1 General error
2 Configuration error
3 Kubernetes connection error
4 LLM provider error

Shell Completion

Bash

# Generate completion script
k13d completion bash > /etc/bash_completion.d/k13d

# Or add to .bashrc
source <(k13d completion bash)

Zsh

# Generate completion script
k13d completion zsh > "${fpath[1]}/_k13d"

# Or add to .zshrc
source <(k13d completion zsh)

Fish

k13d completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/k13d.fish

PowerShell

k13d completion powershell | Out-String | Invoke-Expression

Examples

Development Workflow

# Start with debug logging
k13d --debug --log-file k13d.log

# Use local Ollama
k13d --llm-provider ollama --llm-endpoint http://localhost:11434

# Test with specific cluster
k13d --context minikube --namespace test

Production Deployment

# Web server with auth
k13d -web -port 8080 -password "$K13D_PASSWORD"

# With TLS
k13d -web -tls -cert /certs/server.crt -key /certs/server.key

# Custom config
k13d -web --config /etc/k13d/config.yaml

Automation

# Generate daily reports
k13d report --type cluster-overview \
  --format pdf \
  --output "/reports/cluster-$(date +%Y%m%d).pdf"

# Run benchmarks
k13d bench --all --format json --output benchmark-results.json

Next Steps