When using Kubernetes, kubectl is the command we use the most to visualize and debug objects.

However, it currently does not support colored output, though there is a feature request opened for this.

Let’s see how we can add color support. I’ll be using zsh with oh my zsh.

Edit: this feature was merged in oh my zsh, so it is now standard.

Zsh plugin

Let’s make this extension into a zsh plugin called kubectl_color:

❯ mkdir -p ~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/plugins/kubectl_color
❯ touch ~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/plugins/kubectl_color/kubectl_color.plugin.zsh

Now we need to fill in this plugin.

JSON colorizing

Let’s start with JSON, by adding an alias that colorizes JSON output using the infamous jq:

kj() {
  kubectl "$@" -o json | jq
}

compdef kj=kubectl

The compdef line ensures the kj function gets autocompleted just like kubectl.

Edit: I’ve added another wrapper for fx, which provides a dynamic way to parse JSON:

kjx() {
  kubectl "$@" -o json | fx
}

compdef kjx=kubectl

Just like for JSON, we can use yh to colorize YAML output:

ky() {
  kubectl "$@" -o yaml | yh
}

compdef ky=kubectl

Our plugin is now ready, we only need to activate it in ~/.zshrc by adding it to the list of plugins, e.g.:

plugins=(git ruby kubectl kubectl_color)

and with fx: