KCNA Kubernetes Fundamentals Practice Question
Which command would you use to view the logs of a container named 'nginx' in a Pod named 'web-pod'?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to assume `kubectl logs` can accept the container name as a positional argument without the `-c` flag, confusing it with `kubectl exec` syntax where the container name can be specified with `-c` but is optional if there's only one 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 web-pod -c nginx
The `kubectl logs` command retrieves container logs from a Pod, and when a Pod contains multiple containers, the `-c` flag is required to specify which container's logs to view. Here, `kubectl logs web-pod -c nginx` explicitly targets the 'nginx' container within the 'web-pod' Pod, which is the standard Kubernetes API approach for fetching container stdout/stderr streams.
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 web-pod -c nginx
Why this is correct
The -c flag specifies the container name when there are multiple containers.
- ✗
kubectl logs web-pod nginx
Why it's wrong here
The syntax 'kubectl logs <pod> <container>' is not valid; the container name must be specified with -c.
- ✗
kubectl describe pod web-pod
Why it's wrong here
Describe shows details about the pod but not logs.
- ✗
kubectl exec web-pod -- cat /var/log/nginx/access.log
Why it's wrong here
This command execs into the container and reads a log file, but it's not the standard way to view container logs; kubectl logs is preferred.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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