RESTful

kubectl makes API calls on your behalf, responding to typical HTTP verbs (GET, POST, DELETE). You can also make calls externally, using curl or other program. With the appropriate certificates and keys, you can make requests, or pass JSON files to make configuration changes.

$ curl --cert userbob.pem --key userBob-key.pem \  
--cacert /path/to/ca.pem \   
https://k8sServer:6443/api/v1/pods

The ability to impersonate other users or groups, subject to RBAC configuration, allows a manual override authentication. This can be helpful for debugging authorization policies of other users.