Investigate Pod Failure

Preconditions

Before applying this skill, verify:

• Pod is in a failed or error state
• Pod has been created (not stuck in Pending)

Actions

1. Get Pod Status and Details

Retrieve the full pod specification and current status.

mcp_tool: kubernetes-mcp-server/pods_get
params:
  name: $pod_name
  namespace: $namespace
timeout: 30s

2. Get Pod Logs

Retrieve recent logs from the pod container.

mcp_tool: kubernetes-mcp-server/pods_log
params:
  name: $pod_name
  namespace: $namespace
  tail: 100
timeout: 30s

3. Get Recent Events

Retrieve recent events related to the pod.

mcp_tool: kubernetes-mcp-server/events_list
params:
  namespace: $namespace
timeout: 30s

Success Criteria

The skill succeeds when:

• Root cause identified from logs or events
• Investigation produces actionable findings

Failure Handling

If investigation is inconclusive:

1. Check previous container logs (--previous flag)
2. Describe the pod for more context
3. Check node events if pod failed to schedule
4. Escalate with all gathered data

Examples

Input Context:

{
  "pod_name": "backend-api-abc123",
  "namespace": "production",
  "status": "Error",
  "exit_code": 1
}

Expected Outcome: Investigation reveals root cause (e.g., missing config, connection refused, OOM killed) with specific actionable recommendations.