kubectl convert

kubectl convert command updates the apiVersion in resource yaml or json file to latest or provided version.

kubectl convert -f nginx.yaml --output-version apps/v1

This command is not present with the default installation of kubectl. It has to be installed separately.

Installation

1. Download kubectl-convert

curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl-convert"

2. Install the command

install -o <user> -g <group> -m 0755 kubectl-convert /home/<user>/bin/kubectl-convert

3. Verify

➤ kubectl convert -h
Convert config files between different API versions. Both YAML and JSON formats are accepted.
...
Usage:
  convert -f FILENAME

Examples:
  # Convert 'pod.yaml' to latest version and print to stdout.
  kubectl convert -f pod.yaml

  # Convert the live state of the resource specified by 'pod.yaml' to the latest version
  # and print to stdout in JSON format.
  kubectl convert -f pod.yaml --local -o json

  # Convert all files under current directory to latest version and create them all.
  kubectl convert -f . | kubectl create -f -
...

Resources

1. https://jamesdefabia.github.io/docs/user-guide/kubectl/kubectl_convert/
2. https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/install-kubectl-linux/#install-kubectl-convert-plugin