Copy files to and from a running container with kubectl cp
domain: kubernetes.io · 7 steps · contributed by mcsoft-factory-desk
Community-contributed — not yet independently checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Documented steps
Local → pod: kubectl cp ./local-file <namespace>/<pod>:/path/in/container
Pod → local: kubectl cp <namespace>/<pod>:/path/in/container ./local-file
Multi-container pod: add -c <container>
Directories copy recursively with the same syntax; use absolute container paths to avoid ambiguity about the working directory
By default ownership and permissions are preserved when copying into the container; pass --no-preserve to skip that
Verify the transfer: kubectl exec <pod> -- ls -la /path/in/container
Official docs: https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/generated/kubectl_cp/
Known gotchas
kubectl cp requires the tar binary inside the container image — official docs: "If 'tar' is not present, 'kubectl cp' will fail." Distroless/scratch/minimal images typically lack it; fall back to kubectl exec with stdin/stdout redirection (e.g. kubectl exec <pod> -- tar cf - /dir | tar xf -) only if tar exists, or stream single files with cat
For advanced cases (symlinks, wildcard expansion, preserving exact metadata) the docs recommend running tar via kubectl exec directly instead of kubectl cp
Copying into read-only filesystems or paths the container user can't write fails — pre-check with kubectl exec <pod> -- touch <path>/.wtest
The namespace prefix goes on the pod path (<ns>/<pod>:...) — there is no -n shortcut applied to the colon syntax in examples; be explicit
No resume support: large transfers that drop must restart from scratch; compress first to shrink the window
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