This CKAD practice question tests your understanding of application observability and maintenance. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A container in a pod is crashing repeatedly. You want to see the logs from the previous (crashed) instance of the container. Which command should you use?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "which command"
Why it matters: Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
kubectl logs --tail=10 <pod>
Why wrong: Shows last 10 lines of current logs.
kubectl logs <pod> --previous
Shows logs from the previous crashed container.
kubectl logs -c <container> <pod>
Why wrong: Shows logs for a specific container, but not previous.
kubectl logs -f <pod>
Why wrong: Streams current logs, not previous.
Answer choices
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> --previous
Option B is correct because the `--previous` flag in `kubectl logs` retrieves logs from the previous instance of a container that has crashed and restarted. This allows you to inspect the logs of the terminated container to diagnose the crash, even though the current container instance is running or has restarted.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
kubectl logs --tail=10 <pod>
Why it's wrong here
Shows last 10 lines of current logs.
kubectl logs <pod> --previous
Why this is correct
Shows logs from the previous crashed container.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "which command" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
kubectl logs -c <container> <pod>
Why it's wrong here
Shows logs for a specific container, but not previous.
kubectl logs -f <pod>
Why it's wrong here
Streams current logs, not previous.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse `--previous` with `--tail` or `-f`, thinking they need to limit output or follow logs, when the key requirement is accessing logs from a terminated container instance.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
Shows last 10 lines of current logs.
Detailed technical explanation
The `--previous` flag works by reading the log file of the terminated container, which is retained by the kubelet until the pod is deleted or the log rotation policy removes it. This is particularly useful for CrashLoopBackOff scenarios where the container restarts repeatedly, as you can inspect the crash logs without needing to exec into a running container or modify the pod's restart policy.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Application Observability and Maintenance — This question tests Application Observability and Maintenance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: kubectl logs <pod> --previous — Option B is correct because the `--previous` flag in `kubectl logs` retrieves logs from the previous instance of a container that has crashed and restarted. This allows you to inspect the logs of the terminated container to diagnose the crash, even though the current container instance is running or has restarted.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "which command". Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
This CKAD practice question is part of Courseiva's free CNCF certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CKAD exam.
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