CKA Troubleshooting Practice Question
Which command should you use to view the logs of a container that has previously crashed in a Pod?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers assume `kubectl logs <pod-name>` alone will show crash logs, but it only shows the current container's logs, so they miss the `--previous` flag required for accessing logs from a terminated container.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
kubectl logs <pod-name> --previous
`kubectl logs <pod-name> --previous` retrieves the logs from the previous instance of a container in a Pod, which is exactly what you need when a container has crashed and restarted. The `--previous` flag accesses the logs of the terminated (crashed) container, not the current running one, allowing you to see the error that caused the crash.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
kubectl logs <pod-name>
Why it's wrong here
This shows current logs, not previous ones.
- ✗
kubectl describe pod <pod-name>
Why it's wrong here
kubectl describe shows events and status, not container logs.
- ✗
kubectl logs <pod-name> -c <container-name>
Why it's wrong here
This command retrieves the logs from the *current* instance of the specified container, failing to address the requirement for logs from a *previously crashed* container. When a container crashes and restarts, its prior log stream is typically lost from the default `kubectl logs` output. It is tempting because `kubectl logs` is the standard method for viewing container output, and `-c` correctly targets a specific container within a multi-container pod. This option would be the correct choice for viewing the *current* logs of a running container.
- ✓
kubectl logs <pod-name> --previous
Why this is correct
The --previous flag retrieves logs from the terminated container instance.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Configuring Storage Classes and Dynamic Provisioning
Key term
Log Analysis
Log analysis is the process of reviewing and interpreting system-generated records to understand what happened in an application or infrastructure.
Key term
kubectl Command Reference
kubectl is the command-line tool used to interact with and manage Kubernetes clusters by sending commands to the Kubernetes API.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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