ndots in Kubernetes

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Let’s see how the ndots option works in Kubernetes.

In Kubernetes, we connect to running pods either directly or via a Kubernetes Service. This post focuses on how service DNS resolution actually works under the hood.

The resolv.conf file

In Linux, /etc/resolv.conf is used by the system resolver for domain name resolution. Kubernetes automatically injects this file into every pod with the configuration needed to resolve services inside the cluster.

Here is an example from a CNPG cluster pod running in the database namespace:

mb on Ritesh Sonawane

ndots in Kubernetes

The resolv.conf file