Source - Access Services Running on Clusters

Original file: raw/Access Services Running on Clusters.md

Source URL: https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/access-application-cluster/access-cluster-services/#manually-constructing-apiserver-proxy-urls

Summary

This Kubernetes documentation page explains how to manually construct API server proxy URLs to access services running inside a cluster. The kubectl cluster-info command returns a base proxy URL, and users can append service endpoints, suffixes, and parameters to reach specific services without exposing them directly.

Key Takeaways

• The API server can proxy requests to cluster services via a consistent URL pattern
• Proxy URL format: http://<kubernetes_master_address>/api/v1/namespaces/<namespace_name>/services/[https:]<service_name>[:port_name]/proxy
• If no port name is specified, the default or unnamed port is used; port numbers can also substitute for port names
• HTTPS proxying requires prefixing the service name with https: in the URL path
• Supported <service_name> formats:
  • <service_name> — HTTP to default/unnamed port
  • <service_name>:<port_name> — HTTP to specified port
  • https:<service_name>: — HTTPS to default/unnamed port (note trailing colon)
  • https:<service_name>:<port_name> — HTTPS to specified port

Notable Claims / Quotes

http://kubernetes_master_address/api/v1/namespaces/namespace_name/services/[https:]service_name[:port_name]/proxy

Examples

• Elasticsearch endpoint _search?q=user:kimchy:

  http://192.0.2.1/api/v1/namespaces/kube-system/services/elasticsearch-logging/proxy/_search?q=user:kimchy
  

• Elasticsearch cluster health via HTTPS:

  https://192.0.2.1/api/v1/namespaces/kube-system/services/https:elasticsearch-logging:/proxy/_cluster/health?pretty=true
  

Context

• Author: Kubernetes Documentation
• Date: 2026-04-30 (clipped)
• Publication: kubernetes.io

Related

• Concept - Kubernetes API Server Proxy
• index