“Can I just access this pod on localhost?” Yes you can, and here’s two ways to do it.

Port-forward (quick local access)

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# Forward pod port to localhost
kubectl port-forward pod/my-pod 8080:80

# Forward service port to localhost
kubectl port-forward service/my-service 8080:80

# Forward deployment port
kubectl port-forward deployment/my-app 8080:80

# Specify namespace
kubectl port-forward -n my-namespace pod/my-pod 8080:80

# Listen on all interfaces (not just localhost)
kubectl port-forward --address 0.0.0.0 pod/my-pod 8080:80

Access: Open http://localhost:8080 in browser

Note: Port-forward terminates when you close the terminal. Use Ctrl+C to stop.

NodePort (persistent external access)

Quick one-liner to expose deployment

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# Expose deployment as NodePort service
kubectl expose deployment my-app --type=NodePort --port=80 --target-port=8080

# With specific NodePort
kubectl expose deployment my-app --type=NodePort --port=80 --target-port=8080 --name=my-service

# Expose pod
kubectl expose pod my-pod --type=NodePort --port=80

Or create service with YAML

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apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: my-service
spec:
  type: NodePort
  selector:
    app: my-app
  ports:
    - port: 80          # Service port
      targetPort: 8080  # Container port
      nodePort: 30080   # External port (30000-32767 range)

Or patch existing service

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# Change service type to NodePort
kubectl patch service my-service -p '{"spec":{"type":"NodePort"}}'

# Set specific NodePort
kubectl patch service my-service -p '{"spec":{"ports":[{"port":80,"nodePort":30080}]}}'

Access NodePort service

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# Get NodePort
kubectl get service my-service

# Access via node IP
curl http://<node-ip>:30080

# If running locally (minikube/kind)
curl http://localhost:30080

Quick comparison

MethodUse casePersistence
port-forwardQuick debugging, local devSession-based
NodePortTesting, temp external accessPersistent
LoadBalancerProduction external accessPersistent + managed

Common use cases

Debug service locally

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kubectl port-forward service/api 3000:3000
# Access on http://localhost:3000

Access database temporarily

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kubectl port-forward service/postgres 5432:5432
psql -h localhost -U postgres

Quick UI testing

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kubectl port-forward deployment/frontend 8080:80
# Open http://localhost:8080

Multiple ports

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kubectl port-forward pod/my-pod 8080:80 8443:443

Pro tip: Port-forward is great for development. Don’t use it in production - use Ingress or LoadBalancer instead.