Kubernetes Specialist Skill (Jeffallan) for Claude Code

Makes Claude write and check Kubernetes manifests, security rules and Helm charts to a fixed set of safe defaults, for anyone deploying workloads.

Installs: 14.3K; on skills.sh
Stars: 12.2K; on GitHub
Files: 11; besides SKILL.md
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

kubernetes-specialist is a skill by Jeffallan that makes Claude follow a five-step workflow for Kubernetes work: analyze the requirements, design, write the manifests, secure them, and validate. It sets firm rules, such as resource limits and probes on every container, secrets instead of plain environment variables, and no default ServiceAccount.

It triggers on tasks like deployment manifests, RBAC, NetworkPolicies, Helm charts, GitOps and debugging pod crashes. It bundles 11 reference guides and no scripts. Its validation step lists kubectl commands, so Claude may run them against whichever cluster your kubectl points to.

Good for

Developers writing Deployments, Services and Ingress for the first time
Platform and DevOps engineers who want consistent RBAC and NetworkPolicies
Teams debugging crash loops or right-sizing resource limits
Engineers setting up Helm, GitOps or multi-cluster work

Install kubernetes-specialist

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the kubernetes-specialist skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

/plugin marketplace add jeffallan/claude-skills
/plugin install fullstack-dev-skills@fullstack-dev-skills

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

The plugin installs all 67 skills and also the slash commands, which the README says need an Atlassian MCP server. The skills CLI route installs only kubernetes-specialist. Pick one route, not both.

From the project README. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Use when deploying or managing Kubernetes workloads. Invoke to create deployment manifests, configure pod security policies, set up service accounts, define network isolation rules, debug pod crashes, analyze resource limits, inspect container logs, or right-size workloads. Use for Helm charts, RBAC policies, NetworkPolicies, storage configuration, performance optimization, GitOps pipelines, and multi-cluster management.

Sections in SKILL.md

When to Use This Skill
Core Workflow
Reference Guide
Constraints
MUST DO
MUST NOT DO
Common YAML Patterns
Deployment with resource limits, probes, and security context
Minimal RBAC (least privilege)
NetworkPolicy (default-deny + explicit allow)
Validation Commands
Output Templates

Key facts

Author: Jeffallan (Synergetic Solutions)
Repository: jeffallan/claude-skills
Installs on skills.sh: 14,343 as of 2026-11-02
GitHub stars: 12,161 for the whole jeffallan/claude-skills repo
License: MIT (SKILL.md frontmatter)
Last repo commit: 2026-10-30
What is inside: 12 files including SKILL.md: SKILL.md and 11 reference guides. It bundles no scripts.
Part of: The fullstack-dev-skills plugin (67 skills per the README)
Skill version: 1.1.2 (SKILL.md frontmatter)

What it includes

Analyze, design, implement, secure, validate
Five steps. The last one runs kubectl rollout status, kubectl get pods -w and kubectl describe pod, and rolls back with kubectl rollout undo if needed.
Try: “Write a Deployment and Service for my API with limits and probes, then lock it down with a NetworkPolicy.”
Core workflow
9 rules, such as limits, probes and least-privilege RBAC
Declarative YAML, resource requests and limits, liveness and readiness probes, secrets for sensitive data, least privilege RBAC, NetworkPolicies, namespaces, consistent labels and annotated decisions.
Constraints: must do
8 rules, such as no latest tag and no root without reason
No production without limits, no secrets in ConfigMaps or plain env vars, no default ServiceAccount, no allow-all networking, no unjustified root, no skipped probes, no latest image tag, no needless open ports.
Constraints: must not
Deployment, minimal RBAC and default-deny NetworkPolicy
Three ready-to-adapt examples: a hardened Deployment with probes and a security context, a ServiceAccount with Role and RoleBinding, and a default-deny policy with one allow rule.
Write · YAML patterns
kubectl status, logs, top, auth can-i and rollout undo
Seven kubectl commands for rollout status, a pod watch, describe, logs (--previous for crashes), resource use, RBAC audit with auth can-i, and rollback.
Runs code · Validation commands
Manifests, RBAC, NetworkPolicy and design notes
Every answer should include complete YAML, RBAC if needed, a NetworkPolicy and a short explanation of design and security choices.
Write · Output templates
Deployments, StatefulSets, DaemonSets, Jobs, CronJobs
Loaded when the task is about workload types.
Read · references/workloads.md
Services, Ingress, NetworkPolicies, DNS
Loaded for networking tasks.
Read · references/networking.md
ConfigMaps and Secrets; PV, PVC and StorageClasses
Two guides: one for configuration and secrets, one for persistent storage and CSI drivers.
Read · references/configuration.md and storage.md
Chart structure, values, templates, hooks, testing
Includes helm install, helm upgrade and helm uninstall examples.
Runs code · references/helm-charts.md
kubectl debug, logs, events and common issues
Includes kubectl exec, kubectl scale and kubectl delete networkpolicy examples.
Runs code · references/troubleshooting.md
CRDs, Operator SDK, controller-runtime
Loaded for operator and reconciliation work.
Read · references/custom-operators.md
Istio, Linkerd, traffic management, mTLS, canary
Includes installer commands that download and run scripts for Istio and Linkerd.
Runs code · references/service-mesh.md
ArgoCD, Flux, progressive delivery, sealed secrets
Includes kubectl apply of manifests fetched from GitHub URLs.
Runs code · references/gitops.md
VPA, HPA tuning, spot instances, quotas, right-sizing
Includes a Helm install of Kubecost and scale-down jobs for a development namespace.
Runs code · references/cost-optimization.md
Cluster API, federation, cross-cluster networking, DR
Includes downloading clusterctl and a Submariner installer.
Runs code · references/multi-cluster.md

From the official docs

Permissions

Medium risk

The skill can lead Claude to run kubectl and Helm commands that change a live cluster. Use a test cluster, and read each command before you approve it.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

Guides contain installers that pipe to a shell
service-mesh.md and multi-cluster.md show curl commands piped to sh or bash. Download and read an installer before running it. github.com
Examples can change or delete cluster resources
troubleshooting.md has kubectl scale and kubectl delete networkpolicy, helm-charts.md has helm uninstall, and cost-optimization.md has a CronJob that scales every deployment in a development namespace to zero. Run them only on a cluster you can rebuild. github.com
Remote manifests are applied by URL
gitops.md applies manifests straight from GitHub URLs. Pin versions and read the file first. github.com
The plugin route adds 67 skills and slash commands
The README says the plugin install includes workflow commands that need an Atlassian MCP server. The skills CLI route installs only this skill. github.com

Security advisories

No published security advisories as of Nov 2, 2026.

Technical details

Turning on read-only	No read-only mode. The skill only holds instructions, and what runs depends on your approvals.
Talks to	service-mesh.md shows curl installers for Istio and Linkerd that pipe into sh. multi-cluster.md shows downloading clusterctl and a Submariner installer piped to bash. gitops.md shows kubectl apply of manifests fetched from GitHub URLs
Sign-in and keys	No key or account is mentioned in SKILL.md. Cluster access is whatever your kubectl and Helm are already signed in to.
Data retention	The skill does not describe any storage. Output is the YAML and notes Claude writes in your session.
Scopes	Claude may run the kubectl commands listed in SKILL.md, such as rollout status, logs, top, auth can-i and rollout undo Reference guides include helm install, helm upgrade, helm uninstall, kubectl apply, kubectl scale and kubectl delete examples The skill bundles no scripts

Questions

What does the kubernetes-specialist skill do?

It makes Claude work through a fixed Kubernetes routine: requirements, design, manifests, security, validation. It also sets rules such as resource limits, probes, least-privilege RBAC and NetworkPolicies on every workload.

How do I install kubernetes-specialist?

Use the install box at the top of this page. The plugin route installs the whole fullstack-dev-skills set, 67 skills in all. The skills CLI route installs only this skill.

Does it need kubectl or a cluster?

To write manifests, no. The validation step lists kubectl commands, so a cluster and kubectl are needed if you want Claude to check a rollout.

Will it change my cluster?

The skill writes YAML and lists commands. Its validation list includes kubectl rollout undo, which rolls back a deployment, and its reference guides include helm install, kubectl apply and kubectl delete examples. Approve each command and check which cluster your kubectl points to.

Does it work in the Claude app or Codex?

The README documents Claude Code and the skills CLI. The skill is a folder of Markdown files, so the install box also shows the Claude app upload and the Codex folder, but the author does not list those clients.

Is kubernetes-specialist safe?

It bundles no scripts, but its guides contain commands that install tools, apply remote manifests and delete resources, and Claude may run them in your shell. Read each command and test on a non-production cluster first. See the safety section on this page.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: jeffallan/claude-skills
Folder: skills/kubernetes-specialist

jeffallan/claude-skills skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 11

Using skills in Claude · support.claude.com
Jeffallan/claude-skills README · github.com
Quick Start Guide · github.com
skills CLI commands · github.com
kubernetes-specialist SKILL.md · github.com
references/helm-charts.md · github.com
references/troubleshooting.md · github.com
references/service-mesh.md · github.com
references/gitops.md · github.com
cost-optimization.md · github.com
references/multi-cluster.md · github.com