Concepts·Certified Kubernetes Administrator

Static Pods

Your control plane is four static pods. Drop a manifest in a directory on a node and the kubelet runs it with no scheduler, no controller and no API server involved. See why kubectl delete cannot remove one, and why that is exactly what a control plane needs.

Cluster Architecture and Configuration Guide 14 of 103 Intermediate

Kubernetes1.36.4
Cluster4 nodes
Runtimecontainerd 2.2.6
kubelet config/var/lib/kubelet/config.yaml
TimeAbout 30 min
Reviewed21 August 2026

Written against the versions above. Mirror hashes, addresses and line numbers in the kubelet config differ per cluster. The mechanism does not.

The static pod is created on the worker; every observation is made through the control plane.
Server Name	IP Address	OS	Roles	CPU	RAM	HDD
CKA1001	192.168.0.175	Ubuntu 26.04 LTS	Control Plane Node	2 Core	4 GB	50 GB
CKA1001-NODE01	192.168.0.176	Ubuntu 26.04 LTS	Worker Node	2 Core	4 GB	50 GB
CKA1001-NODE02	192.168.0.177	Ubuntu 26.04 LTS	Worker Node	2 Core	4 GB	50 GB
CKA1001-NODE03	192.168.0.178	Ubuntu 26.04 LTS	Worker Node	2 Core	4 GB	50 GB

Before you start

sudo on a node, because static pods are files on disk and nothing else can create them.
kubectl against the same cluster, to watch what the API server makes of them.
The Pods guide. A static pod is an ordinary Pod spec; only who runs it is different.

You have been running static pods since day one
How to tell a static pod from a normal one
Where the kubelet looks
Create one on a worker
Watch it appear through the API
kubectl delete cannot remove it
Remove the file instead

Official sources

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Static Pods

Before you start

You have been running static pods since day one

How to tell a static pod from a normal one

Where the kubelet looks

Create one on a worker

Watch it appear through the API

kubectl delete cannot remove it

Remove the file instead

Official sources