A top-down routine for any "my pod is not working" moment: status, events, logs, inside, network, resources. Stop at the first thing that looks wrong.
Status: kubectl get pods -o wide (Pending, CrashLoopBackOff, ImagePullBackOff, OOMKilled, 0/1 Ready)
| Status | Usual cause |
|---|---|
| Pending | No node fits the requests, unbound PVC, taints or affinity |
| ImagePullBackOff | Wrong image or tag, private registry without imagePullSecrets |
| CrashLoopBackOff | App exits on start, bad config, failing liveness probe |
| OOMKilled (exit 137) | Memory limit too low or a leak |
| Running but 0/1 Ready | Readiness probe failing |
| CreateContainerConfigError | Missing ConfigMap or Secret key |
See also: Pod stuck in CrashLoopBackOff.