Kubernetes Debugging Guide: Logs, Events, and Probes That Save Hours

Kubernetes is a game-changing technology — until something breaks. Then it can become a complex beast of YAML files, ephemeral logs, mysterious probes, and non-obvious errors.

At Ananta Cloud, we’ve helped engineering teams across industries debug production-grade Kubernetes environments. In this guide, we’ll walk through the three most powerful tools for Kubernetes debugging:

• Logs

• Events

• Probes

With real-world examples, battle-tested strategies, and a consulting lens, we’ll show you how to dramatically reduce your debugging time.

The Debugging Mindset

Kubernetes is declarative, but bugs are dynamic. Debugging Kubernetes workloads requires:

• Understanding the control plane flow: scheduler → controller → kubelet

• Knowing where logs live: application, system, audit

• Reading signals from probes, events, restarts, and autoscalers

• Identifying patterns across distributed containers

The goal is to identify the root cause fast, not just symptoms.

Inspecting Pod Logs Effectively

Basic Commands

kubectl logs my-pod-name
kubectl logs my-pod-name -c my-container
kubectl logs my-pod-name --previous

Use Case: CrashLoopBackOff

kubectl get pods

NAME         READY   STATUS             RESTARTS   AGE  
app-pod      0/1     CrashLoopBackOff   6          10m

Check logs:

kubectl logs app-pod --previous

Output:

Error: Missing environment variable DATABASE_URL

Diagnosis: Misconfigured deployment. This would not be visible in live logs, only via --previous.

Consulting Insight: In client audits, we often find multiple deployments missing critical env validations. We

recommend using startup probes to fail fast if envs are missing.

Leveraging Kubernetes Events

Events tell you why Kubernetes made certain decisions.

kubectl describe pod app-pod

Look at the Events: section:

Warning  FailedScheduling  0s  default-scheduler  0/5 nodes are available: 5 Insufficient memory.

Root Cause: Scheduler failed to find a suitable node.

Ananta Tip: Integrate event alerts into your CI/CD so you can auto-detect resource misalignments early in the pipeline.

Understanding and Using Probes

Kubernetes probes (liveness, readiness, startup) are critical to application health management.

Liveness Probe

livenessProbe:
  httpGet:
    path: /healthz
    port: 8080
  initialDelaySeconds: 10
  periodSeconds: 5

Restarts container if it’s unhealthy.

Readiness Probe

readinessProbe:
  exec:
    command:
    - cat
    - /tmp/app-ready
  initialDelaySeconds: 5
  periodSeconds: 5

Removes Pod from Service endpoint if not ready.

Startup Probe

startupProbe:
  httpGet:
    path: /startup
    port: 8080
  failureThreshold: 30
  periodSeconds: 10

Gives time for slow-starting apps to come online.

Real-World Use Cases from the Field

Scenario: Pods Not Ready Despite No Errors

kubectl get pods

NAME         READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE  
web-pod      0/1     Running   0          15m

kubectl describe pod web-pod

Readiness probe failed: HTTP probe failed with statuscode: 500

Issue: Application is running, but readiness probe never passes.

Fix: Adjust the probe threshold or fix the /readyz endpoint logic.

Scenario: ImagePullBackOff

Events:
  Warning  Failed     Failed to pull image "company/private-image"

Issue: Missing image pull secret.

Fix:

imagePullSecrets:
- name: regcred

Ananta Insight: In over 60% of CI/CD pipeline audits, private registry pull failures are misconfigured in non-prod namespaces.

Ananta Cloud Debugging Framework

Our consultants use a 3-phase debugging framework when helping teams troubleshoot:

Phase 1: Triage

• Collect kubectl get pods -o wide

• Fetch kubectl describe and kubectl logs

• Identify CrashLoop, Pending, NotReady

Phase 2: Diagnosis

• Cross-reference events, probes, and deployments

• Identify root causes: resource constraints, misprobes, secrets, DNS, etc.

Phase 3: Resolution

• Propose manifest fixes

• Patch configurations or rollout updated versions

• Implement observability (if missing)

Conclusion

Debugging Kubernetes doesn’t have to be a trial-and-error exercise. With the right use of logs, events, and probes, teams can cut through the noise and get to root causes fast. At Ananta Cloud, we empower engineering teams to operate Kubernetes with confidence — from real-time troubleshooting to system-wide audits. Don’t let complexity stall your progress — let our experts guide your journey.

Need Help? Ananta Cloud Can Guide You

Debugging Kubernetes in production is not for the faint of heart. With hundreds of successful engagements, Ananta Cloud’s Kubernetes experts bring clarity to even the most chaotic clusters.

Whether you're:

• Stuck in a CrashLoopBackOff spiral

• Fighting persistent ReadinessProbe failures

• Suffering from broken deployments

• Or just need a health check of your Kubernetes setup...

➡️ Ananta Cloud has your back.

Work with Ananta Cloud

💡Don’t let Kubernetes complexity drain your engineering time. Partner with Ananta Cloud to diagnose faster, fix smarter, and scale confidently.

🔍From on-demand incident response to full Kubernetes audits and training, our consultants help you build reliable, observable systems.

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