> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://scriptcrunch.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How to Create Single-Container Pod and Multi-Container Pod on Kubernetes - URL: https://scriptcrunch.com/single-container-pod-and-multi-container-pod/ - Published: 2025-11-22T06:56:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-06-23T08:55:50.000Z - Author: Aswin Vijayan - Tags: #Migrated-1758801465347, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-09-25 11:57, Kubernetes Certifications Creating Pods is one of the most fundamental tasks in [Kubernetes](https://scriptcrunch.com/tag/kubernetes/) and a core skill required for the Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) exam. In this blog, we will discuss creating single-container Pods and multi-container Pods on Kubernetes. In the below example, we will see about creating pods and how to troubleshoot if any error occurs. ## Create Single-Container Pod First, we will see about creating a single-container pod, as the name suggests, we are going to deploy a single container on the pod. Run the following command to deploy a single container on the pod. ```bash kubectl run single-container --image nginx:latest ``` This command will deploy a single container of the latest nginx on the default namespace. You can check if the pod is deployed and running successfully using the command ```bash kubectl get pods ``` Output: ``` # kubectl get pods NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE single-container 1/1 Running 0 6m45s ``` Pod is running status ## Create Multi-Container Pod A multi-container Pod runs multiple containers that share resources such as network and storage. This is commonly used for sidecar patterns (log collector, proxy, helper container). Next, we will see about creating a multi-container pod, as the name suggests, we are going to deploy multiple containers on the pod. For this we have to use a manifest file, we cannot create multiple containers using the command line. ### Step 1: Create a base manifest Run the following command to create a manifest file, which will have nginx image configurations in which we are going to add a log reader for nginx as a sidecar container. ```bash kubectl run multi-container --image nginx --dry-run=client -o yaml > manifest.yaml ``` ### Step 2: Edit the manifest to add a sidecar Open the manifest file and add the log reader as another container as given below ```yaml apiVersion: v1 kind: Pod metadata: name: multi-container spec: containers: - name: nginx image: nginx volumeMounts: - name: logs mountPath: /var/log/nginx - name: log-reader image: busybox command: ["sh", "-c", "while true; do sleep 30; done"] volumeMounts: - name: logs mountPath: /var/log/nginx volumes: - name: logs emptyDir: {} ``` ### Step 3: Apply the manifest Once you have modified the manifest file, use the below command to deploy both containers. ```bash kubectl apply -f manifest.yaml ``` This command will deploy the multiple container species on the manifest file on the default namespace as shown below ### Step 4: Check the Pod is running ```bash kubectl get pods ``` If everything is correct, the Pod should be in Running status. Output: ``` # kubectl get pods NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE multi-container 2/2 Running 0 40s ``` This pod now runs both the main Nginx container and a sidecar log-reader container. ## TroubleShooting Pod When a Pod is not running correctly, or repeatedly restarts, Kubernetes provides two key describe and logs By using the describe command and logs command we can identify the issue and troubleshoot it easily. As an example, I am going to use the describe command on the single-container pod and the logs command on the multi-container pod. Run the following command to describe the single-container pod ```bash kubectl describe po single-container ``` You will get the following output: ``` # kubectl describe pod single-container Name: single-container Namespace: default Priority: 0 Service Account: default Node: node01/192.168.201.11 Start Time: Sun, 23 Nov 2025 17:56:50 +0000 Labels: run=single-container Annotations: cni.projectcalico.org/containerID: 6510ceeda05598cce119d64e541afd73a51148e57a76f1efc1694377d6d63a09 cni.projectcalico.org/podIP: 10.244.196.129/32 cni.projectcalico.org/podIPs: 10.244.196.129/32 Status: Running IP: 10.244.196.129 IPs: IP: 10.244.196.129 Containers: single-container: Container ID: cri-o://2c1ef0c3c28916150fcf1ff8d92866207e59155ba19b9b96c8ffa45d70dcbac3 Image: nginx:latest Image ID: docker.io/library/nginx@sha256:553f64aecdc31b5bf944521731cd70e35da4faed96b2b7548a3d8e2598c52a42 Port: Host Port: State: Running Started: Sun, 23 Nov 2025 17:56:55 +0000 Ready: True Restart Count: 0 Environment: Mounts: /var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount from kube-api-access-g6655 (ro) Conditions: Type Status PodReadyToStartContainers True Initialized True Ready True ContainersReady True PodScheduled True Volumes: kube-api-access-g6655: Type: Projected (a volume that contains injected data from multiple sources) TokenExpirationSeconds: 3607 ConfigMapName: kube-root-ca.crt Optional: false DownwardAPI: true QoS Class: BestEffort Node-Selectors: Tolerations: node.kubernetes.io/not-ready:NoExecute op=Exists for 300s node.kubernetes.io/unreachable:NoExecute op=Exists for 300s Events: Type Reason Age From Message ---- ------ ---- ---- ------- Normal Scheduled 25s default-scheduler Successfully assigned default/single-container to node01 Normal Pulling 25s kubelet Pulling image "nginx:latest" Normal Pulled 20s kubelet Successfully pulled image "nginx:latest" in 4.484s (4.484s including waiting). Image size: 155491845 bytes. Normal Created 20s kubelet Created container: single-container Normal Started 20s kubelet Started container single-container ``` Single-container pod's describe If the pod has any errors, you can find them in the Events section at the bottom. Check the Events section for: - Image pull errors - Probe failures - CrashLoopBackOff - OOMKilled events - Volume mount issues **Check containers logs with `kubectl logs`** Now, let's use the **logs** command on the kubectl logs single-container multi-container pod, run the following command to get the logs ```bash kubectl logs single-container ``` Output: ``` root@controlplane:/home/vagrant# kubectl logs single-container /docker-entrypoint.sh: /docker-entrypoint.d/ is not empty, will attempt to perform configuration /docker-entrypoint.sh: Looking for shell scripts in /docker-entrypoint.d/ /docker-entrypoint.sh: Launching /docker-entrypoint.d/10-listen-on-ipv6-by-default.sh 10-listen-on-ipv6-by-default.sh: info: Getting the checksum of /etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf 10-listen-on-ipv6-by-default.sh: info: Enabled listen on IPv6 in /etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf /docker-entrypoint.sh: Sourcing /docker-entrypoint.d/15-local-resolvers.envsh /docker-entrypoint.sh: Launching /docker-entrypoint.d/20-envsubst-on-templates.sh /docker-entrypoint.sh: Launching /docker-entrypoint.d/30-tune-worker-processes.sh /docker-entrypoint.sh: Configuration complete; ready for start up 2025/11/23 17:56:55 [notice] 1#1: using the "epoll" event method 2025/11/23 17:56:55 [notice] 1#1: nginx/1.29.3 2025/11/23 17:56:55 [notice] 1#1: built by gcc 14.2.0 (Debian 14.2.0-19) 2025/11/23 17:56:55 [notice] 1#1: OS: Linux 6.8.0-53-generic 2025/11/23 17:56:55 [notice] 1#1: getrlimit(RLIMIT_NOFILE): 1048576:1048576 2025/11/23 17:56:55 [notice] 1#1: start worker processes 2025/11/23 17:56:55 [notice] 1#1: start worker process 24 ``` Single-container pod's logs You can find the logs of the pod with timestamps, and logs provide valuable insight into application-level errors. Logs for a specific container in a multi-container Pod: ```bash kubectl logs multi-container -c log-reader ``` ### Enhance Troubleshooting Section Add these everyday things to help you troubleshoot more efficiently ```bash # Check previous container logs (for crashlooping pods) kubectl logs multi-container -c nginx --previous # Follow logs in real-time kubectl logs -f single-container # Get last N lines kubectl logs single-container --tail=50 # Check pod status in detail kubectl get pod single-container -o yaml # Interactive troubleshooting kubectl exec -it multi-container -c nginx -- bash ``` ## Conclusion In this [guide](https://scriptcrunch.com/tag/guides/), you explored how to deploy both single-container and multi-container Pods, use YAML manifests to define sidecar containers, and troubleshoot Pods using `kubectl describe` and `kubectl logs`. These capabilities are fundamental to Kubernetes administration and are highly relevant for the CKA exam.