Incompatible kubectl version warning is misleading

[steinybot]

Using minikube 1.6.2, kubernetes-cli 1.17.0 and trying to start a cluster with Kubernetes version 1.15.3 it produces a misleading warning:

⚠️  /usr/local/bin/kubectl is version 1.17.0, and is incompatible with Kubernetes 1.15.3. You will need to update /usr/local/bin/kubectl or use 'minikube kubectl' to connect with this cluster

This is misleading because "updating" /usr/local/bin/kubectl will not fix the problem.

It should say "downgrade" rather than "update".

The exact command to reproduce the issue:

minikube start --kubernetes-version=1.15.3

The full output of the command that failed:

😄  [observability] minikube v1.6.2 on Darwin 10.14.6
    ▪ MINIKUBE_PROFILE=observability
    ▪ MINIKUBE_KUBERNETES_VERSION=1.15.3
✨  Selecting 'hyperkit' driver from existing profile (alternates: [virtualbox])
👍  Kubernetes 1.17.0 is now available. If you would like to upgrade, specify: --kubernetes-version=1.17.0
🔄  Starting existing hyperkit VM for "observability" ...
⌛  Waiting for the host to be provisioned ...
🐳  Preparing Kubernetes v1.15.3 on Docker '19.03.5' ...
    ▪ kubelet.authentication-token-webhook=true
    ▪ kubelet.authorization-mode=Webhook
    ▪ scheduler.address=0.0.0.0
    ▪ controller-manager.address=0.0.0.0
🚀  Launching Kubernetes ...
💗  To connect to this cluster, use: kubectl --context=observability
⚠️  /usr/local/bin/kubectl is version 1.17.0, and is incompatible with Kubernetes 1.15.3. You will need to update /usr/local/bin/kubectl or use 'minikube kubectl' to connect with this cluster

The output of the minikube logs command:

The operating system version:

macOS 10.14.6 (18G103)

[steinybot]

Looks to have originally been implemented in #3329

[afbjorklund]

I guess "change" might be less ambiguous than "update" (which rhymes with upgrade) ?

Kubernetes only guarantees clients to differ by one major version, so warning itself is OK.

[medyagh]

I would accept a PR that would change this wording to be less confusing. as @afbjorklund suggests

[tstromberg]

Fixed in v1.9. Message now says:

❗  /usr/local/bin/kubectl is v1.16.3, which may be incompatible with Kubernetes v1.18.0.
💡  You can also use 'minikube kubectl -- get pods' to invoke a matching version

[khiemnd5]

@tstromberg I had still this problem

[steinybot]

@khiemnd5 That appears to be working as expected. What did you expect to happen instead?

[medyagh]

@khiemnd5 that is the right message that kubernetes is giving you, if you wanna all the pods you can try
minikube kubectl -- get pods -A

[khiemnd5]

@medyagh ok. I see. Thank you! :D

[EricoCartmanez]

So to upgrade kubectl on mac:
brew upgrade kubectl

Then you 'll probably need: brew link --overwrite kubernetes-cli