kubectl-wait

kubectl wait [options] resource

kubectl wait blocks execution until one or more Kubernetes resources reach a specified condition, making it an essential synchronization primitive for shell scripts, CI/CD pipelines, and automation workflows. Rather than polling with repeated `kubectl get` calls, it efficiently watches the resource and returns as soon as the condition is satisfied or the timeout expires.The command supports built-in condition checks such as `condition=Ready` and `condition=Available`, resource deletion events via `--for=delete`, and arbitrary field matching through JSONPath expressions like `jsonpath='{.status.phase}'=Running`. It can target individual resources by name or groups of resources matched by label selectors, and always defaults to a 30-second timeout unless overridden with --timeout.

RESOURCE

Resource(s) to wait on, e.g. `pod/busybox`, `deployment/web`, or a type like `pods`.

Condition to wait on. Accepts `create`, `delete`, `condition=<name>[=<value>]`, or `jsonpath='{...}'[=<value>]`. Default condition value is `true`.

Maximum time to wait (e.g. 30s, 5m). Default is 30s. Zero means check once; a negative value waits up to a week.

Select all resources of the given type in the namespace.

Operate across all namespaces.

Label selector to filter resources.

Field selector to filter resources.

Identify the resource(s) via a manifest file or directory.

Target namespace.

Output format (json, yaml, name, go-template, jsonpath, ...).

Display help information.

Subcommand of kubectl. Blocks execution. Set reasonable timeouts.

kubectl wait provides synchronization for Kubernetes automation and scripting.

kubectl(1), kubectl-get(1), kubectl-apply(1), kubectl-rollout(1), kubectl-describe(1)