---
name: "podman-kube-apply"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "podman"
version: "6.1.4-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/podman-kube-apply"
---

# podman-kube-apply(1)

Apply Kubernetes YAML based on containers, pods, or volumes to a Kubernetes cluster

## NAME

podman-kube-apply - Apply Kubernetes YAML based on containers, pods, or volumes to a Kubernetes cluster

## SYNOPSIS

**podman kube apply** \[*options*\] \[*container...* \| *pod...* \| *volume...*\]

## DESCRIPTION

**podman kube apply** deploys a podman container, pod, or volume to a Kubernetes cluster. Use the **--file** option to deploy a Kubernetes YAML (v1 specification) to a Kubernetes cluster as well.

Note that the Kubernetes YAML file can be used to run the deployment in Podman via [podman-play-kube(1)](/podman-play-kube/1.md).

## OPTIONS

### --ca-cert-file=*ca cert file path \| insecure*

The path to the CA cert file for the Kubernetes cluster. Usually the kubeconfig has the CA cert file data and **generate kube** automatically picks that up if it is available in the kubeconfig. If no CA cert file data is available, set this to **insecure** to bypass the certificate verification.

### --file, -f=*kube yaml filepath*

Path to the kubernetes yaml file to deploy onto the kubernetes cluster. This file can be generated using the **podman kube generate** command. The input may be in the form of a yaml file, or stdin. For stdin, use **--file=-**.

### --kubeconfig, -k=*kubeconfig filepath*

Path to the kubeconfig file to be used when deploying the generated kube yaml to the Kubernetes cluster. The environment variable **KUBECONFIG** can be used to set the path for the kubeconfig file as well. Note: A kubeconfig can have multiple cluster configurations, but **kube generate** always picks the first cluster configuration in the given kubeconfig.

### --ns=*namespace*

The namespace or project to deploy the workloads of the generated kube yaml to in the Kubernetes cluster.

### --service, -s

Used to create a service for the corresponding container or pod being deployed to the cluster. In particular, if the container or pod has portmap bindings, the service specification includes a NodePort declaration to expose the service. A random port is assigned by Podman in the service specification that is deployed to the cluster.

## EXAMPLES

Apply a podman volume and container to the "default" namespace in a Kubernetes cluster.

```
$ podman kube apply --kubeconfig /tmp/kubeconfig myvol vol-test-1
Deploying to cluster...
Successfully deployed workloads to cluster!
$ kubectl get pods
NAME             READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
vol-test-1-pod   1/1     Running   0          9m
```

Apply a Kubernetes YAML file to the "default" namespace in a Kubernetes cluster.

```
$ podman kube apply --kubeconfig /tmp/kubeconfig -f vol.yaml
Deploying to cluster...
Successfully deployed workloads to cluster!
$ kubectl get pods
NAME             READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
vol-test-2-pod   1/1     Running   0          9m
```

Apply a Kubernetes YAML file to the "test1" namespace in a Kubernetes cluster.

```
$ podman kube apply --kubeconfig /tmp/kubeconfig --ns test1 vol-test-3
Deploying to cluster...
Successfully deployed workloads to cluster!
$ kubectl get pods --namespace test1
NAME             READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
vol-test-3-pod   1/1     Running   0          9m
```

## SEE ALSO

**[podman(1)](/podman/1.md)**, **[podman-container(1)](/podman-container/1.md)**, **[podman-pod(1)](/podman-pod/1.md)**, **[podman-kube-play(1)](/podman-kube-play/1.md)**, **[podman-kube-generate(1)](/podman-kube-generate/1.md)**

## HISTORY

September 2022, Originally compiled by Urvashi Mohnani (umohnani at redhat dot com)