CKAD Application Observability and Maintenance Practice Question
Which TWO of the following commands can be used to view events related to a specific pod? (Select TWO.)
⚠ Common exam trap
The CKAD exam often tests the distinction between `kubectl get events` (which requires a field selector to filter) and `kubectl describe pod` (which implicitly includes events), and candidates mistakenly think `kubectl events --pod=<pod>` is a valid shorthand, but it does not exist in the kubectl command set.
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 get events --field-selector involvedObject.name=<pod>
`kubectl get events --field-selector involvedObject.name=<pod>` filters events by the `involvedObject.name` field, which directly corresponds to the pod's name. This command retrieves all events where the pod is the involved object, such as scheduling, pulling images, or container restarts. Option C is correct because `kubectl describe pod <pod>` includes a dedicated 'Events' section at the bottom of its output, showing recent events for that specific pod in chronological order.
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 get events --field-selector involvedObject.name=<pod>
Why this is correct
The `--field-selector` flag filters the Kubernetes Event API server-side, using `involvedObject.name=<pod>` to return only events whose involved object is the named pod. This leverages field selectors on the Event object to identify the specific resource (the pod) that the event references, making it a precise and scriptable way to view pod-scoped events.
- ✗
kubectl events --pod=<pod>
Why it's wrong here
There is no `kubectl events` subcommand in the Kubernetes CLI; the correct invocation is `kubectl get events` (or the short alias `kubectl get ev`). Additionally, the `--pod` flag does not exist on `kubectl get events` — attempting to use it would result in a 'unknown flag' error. The intended filtering mechanism is `--field-selector`, not a dedicated `--pod` option.
- ✓
kubectl describe pod <pod>
Why this is correct
Running `kubectl describe pod <pod>` displays a detailed summary of the pod's configuration and status, and near the end it includes an 'Events' section listing recent events directly associated with that pod, such as successful scheduling, image pulls, container creation, and restarts. This command conveniently aggregates pod details and its event history in a human-readable format, making it a quick way to inspect a single pod's lifecycle events.
- ✗
kubectl logs <pod>
Why it's wrong here
`kubectl logs <pod>` retrieves the captured output (stdout/stderr) from the containers within the pod, which is application or process log data. Kubernetes events, by contrast, are cluster-level metadata generated by the control plane and kubelet to record state changes, errors, and status updates — they are not part of the container's log stream. Thus, this command would show none of the pod's event records.
- ✗
kubectl get events
Why it's wrong here
While `kubectl get events` does display Kubernetes events, without a `--field-selector` filter it returns all events in the current namespace (or cluster with `--all-namespaces`), which typically includes many unrelated events from deployments, services, jobs, and other resources. This does not fulfill the requirement to view events for a specific pod, and the output can be too broad and noisy for troubleshooting a single resource.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This CKAD question is part of Courseiva's 826-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.