This is a cache of https://docs.okd.io/4.18/cli_reference/openshift_cli/configuring-cli.html. It is a snapshot of the page at 2025-08-12T22:25:01.602+0000.
Configuring the OpenShift CLI - OpenShift CLI (oc) | CLI tools | OKD 4.18
×

Enabling tab completion

You can enable tab completion for the Bash or Zsh shells.

Enabling tab completion for Bash

After you install the OpenShift CLI (oc), you can enable tab completion to automatically complete oc commands or suggest options when you press Tab. The following procedure enables tab completion for the Bash shell.

Prerequisites
  • You must have the OpenShift CLI (oc) installed.

  • You must have the package bash-completion installed.

Procedure
  1. Save the Bash completion code to a file:

    $ oc completion bash > oc_bash_completion
  2. Copy the file to /etc/bash_completion.d/:

    $ sudo cp oc_bash_completion /etc/bash_completion.d/

    You can also save the file to a local directory and source it from your .bashrc file instead.

Tab completion is enabled when you open a new terminal.

Enabling tab completion for Zsh

After you install the OpenShift CLI (oc), you can enable tab completion to automatically complete oc commands or suggest options when you press Tab. The following procedure enables tab completion for the Zsh shell.

Prerequisites
  • You must have the OpenShift CLI (oc) installed.

Procedure
  • To add tab completion for oc to your .zshrc file, run the following command:

    $ cat >>~/.zshrc<<EOF
    autoload -Uz compinit
    compinit
    if [ $commands[oc] ]; then
      source <(oc completion zsh)
      compdef _oc oc
    fi
    EOF

Tab completion is enabled when you open a new terminal.

Accessing kubeconfig by using the oc CLI

You can use the oc CLI to log in to your OpenShift cluster and retrieve a kubeconfig file for accessing the cluster from the command line.

Prerequisites
  • You have access to the OKD web console or api server endpoint.

Procedure
  1. Log in to your OpenShift cluster by running the following command:

    $ oc login <api-server-url> -u <username> -p <password> (1) (2) (3)
    1 Specify the full api server URL. For example: https://api.my-cluster.example.com:6443.
    2 Specify a valid username. For example: kubeadmin.
    3 Provide the password for the specified user. For example, the kubeadmin password generated during cluster installation.
  2. Save the cluster configuration to a local file by running the following command:

    $ oc config view --raw > kubeconfig
  3. Set the KUBECONFIG environment variable to point to the exported file by running the following command:

    $ export KUBECONFIG=./kubeconfig
  4. Use oc to interact with your OpenShift cluster by running the following command:

    $ oc get nodes

If you plan to reuse the exported kubeconfig file across sessions or machines, store it securely and avoid committing it to source control.