kops

kops is the Kubernetes project CLI for provisioning and operating self-managed Kubernetes clusters from declarative specs or flags. It manages cluster state, cloud resource changes, and day-2 operations such as upgrades, rolling updates, validation, and kubeconfig export.

• Create cluster specs and instance groups, then preview or apply the cloud changes needed to bring them up.
• Upgrade, validate, rolling-update, and delete clusters, or export kubeconfig and manage secrets, SSH public keys, and keypairs in the kOps state store.
• Generate Terraform output instead of applying changes directly when you want infrastructure plans in version control or separate approval steps.

• Preview-first flows like create --dry-run, update cluster without --yes, and rolling-update without --yes fit inspect-change-verify loops for infrastructure work.
• JSON and YAML output exist on get, validate cluster, dry-run create, and some toolbox paths, but the structured surface is not uniform across the whole CLI.
• Useful for agents that already have cloud credentials and state-store access; long-running mutations, provider prerequisites, and optional interactive rolling updates make unattended use heavier.

• You usually need cloud credentials, DNS and state-store setup, and companion tools like kubectl; Terraform is separate when using --target=terraform.
• Provider support is uneven: AWS and GCE are official, while other documented clouds carry beta or alpha status and feature gaps.