diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/attach/attach.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/attach/attach.go
index ba63cae65f5..cd33392dd5b 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/attach/attach.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/attach/attach.go
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
-	"k8s.io/klog/v2"
 
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
@@ -33,6 +32,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/client-go/tools/remotecommand"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/exec"
 	cmdutil "k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util"
+	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/podcmd"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/polymorphichelpers"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/scheme"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/i18n"
@@ -68,9 +68,7 @@ type AttachOptions struct {
 	// whether to disable use of standard error when streaming output from tty
 	DisableStderr bool
 
-	CommandName             string
-	ParentCommandName       string
-	EnableSuggestedCmdUsage bool
+	CommandName string
 
 	Pod *corev1.Pod
 
@@ -115,6 +113,7 @@ func NewCmdAttach(f cmdutil.Factory, streams genericclioptions.IOStreams) *cobra
 	cmd.Flags().StringVarP(&o.ContainerName, "container", "c", o.ContainerName, "Container name. If omitted, the first container in the pod will be chosen")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&o.Stdin, "stdin", "i", o.Stdin, "Pass stdin to the container")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&o.TTY, "tty", "t", o.TTY, "Stdin is a TTY")
+	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&o.Quiet, "quiet", "q", o.Quiet, "Only print output from the remote session")
 	return cmd
 }
 
@@ -184,14 +183,6 @@ func (o *AttachOptions) Complete(f cmdutil.Factory, cmd *cobra.Command, args []s
 	o.Resources = args
 	o.restClientGetter = f
 
-	cmdParent := cmd.Parent()
-	if cmdParent != nil {
-		o.ParentCommandName = cmdParent.CommandPath()
-	}
-	if len(o.ParentCommandName) > 0 && cmdutil.IsSiblingCommandExists(cmd, "describe") {
-		o.EnableSuggestedCmdUsage = true
-	}
-
 	config, err := f.ToRESTConfig()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -257,8 +248,8 @@ func (o *AttachOptions) Run() error {
 	}
 	if o.TTY && !containerToAttach.TTY {
 		o.TTY = false
-		if o.ErrOut != nil {
-			fmt.Fprintf(o.ErrOut, "Unable to use a TTY - container %s did not allocate one\n", containerToAttach.Name)
+		if !o.Quiet && o.ErrOut != nil {
+			fmt.Fprintf(o.ErrOut, "error: Unable to use a TTY - container %s did not allocate one\n", containerToAttach.Name)
 		}
 	} else if !o.TTY && containerToAttach.TTY {
 		// the container was launched with a TTY, so we have to force a TTY here, otherwise you'll get
@@ -292,7 +283,7 @@ func (o *AttachOptions) Run() error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	if o.Stdin && t.Raw && o.Pod.Spec.RestartPolicy == corev1.RestartPolicyAlways {
+	if !o.Quiet && o.Stdin && t.Raw && o.Pod.Spec.RestartPolicy == corev1.RestartPolicyAlways {
 		fmt.Fprintf(o.Out, "Session ended, resume using '%s %s -c %s -i -t' command when the pod is running\n", o.CommandName, o.Pod.Name, containerToAttach.Name)
 	}
 	return nil
@@ -311,32 +302,7 @@ func (o *AttachOptions) findAttachablePod(obj runtime.Object) (*corev1.Pod, erro
 // containerToAttach returns a reference to the container to attach to, given
 // by name or the first container if name is empty.
 func (o *AttachOptions) containerToAttachTo(pod *corev1.Pod) (*corev1.Container, error) {
-	if len(o.ContainerName) > 0 {
-		for i := range pod.Spec.Containers {
-			if pod.Spec.Containers[i].Name == o.ContainerName {
-				return &pod.Spec.Containers[i], nil
-			}
-		}
-		for i := range pod.Spec.InitContainers {
-			if pod.Spec.InitContainers[i].Name == o.ContainerName {
-				return &pod.Spec.InitContainers[i], nil
-			}
-		}
-		for i := range pod.Spec.EphemeralContainers {
-			if pod.Spec.EphemeralContainers[i].Name == o.ContainerName {
-				return (*corev1.Container)(&pod.Spec.EphemeralContainers[i].EphemeralContainerCommon), nil
-			}
-		}
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("container not found (%s)", o.ContainerName)
-	}
-
-	if o.EnableSuggestedCmdUsage {
-		fmt.Fprintf(o.ErrOut, "Defaulting container name to %s.\n", pod.Spec.Containers[0].Name)
-		fmt.Fprintf(o.ErrOut, "Use '%s describe pod/%s -n %s' to see all of the containers in this pod.\n", o.ParentCommandName, o.PodName, o.Namespace)
-	}
-
-	klog.V(4).Infof("defaulting container name to %s", pod.Spec.Containers[0].Name)
-	return &pod.Spec.Containers[0], nil
+	return podcmd.FindOrDefaultContainerByName(pod, o.ContainerName, o.Quiet, o.ErrOut)
 }
 
 // GetContainerName returns the name of the container to attach to, with a fallback.
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/attach/attach_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/attach/attach_test.go
index eaeeae02b8b..c9b809a441a 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/attach/attach_test.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/attach/attach_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package attach
 
 import (
+	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"net/http"
@@ -35,6 +36,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/client-go/tools/remotecommand"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/exec"
 	cmdtesting "k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/testing"
+	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/podcmd"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/polymorphichelpers"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/scheme"
 )
@@ -65,6 +67,7 @@ func TestPodAndContainerAttach(t *testing.T) {
 		expectError           string
 		expectedPodName       string
 		expectedContainerName string
+		expectOut             string
 		obj                   *corev1.Pod
 	}{
 		{
@@ -85,6 +88,25 @@ func TestPodAndContainerAttach(t *testing.T) {
 			expectedPodName:       "foo",
 			expectedContainerName: "bar",
 			obj:                   attachPod(),
+			expectOut:             `Defaulted container "bar" out of: bar, debugger (ephem), initfoo (init)`,
+		},
+		{
+			name:                  "no container, no flags, sets default expected container as annotation",
+			options:               &AttachOptions{GetPodTimeout: defaultPodLogsTimeout},
+			args:                  []string{"foo"},
+			expectedPodName:       "foo",
+			expectedContainerName: "bar",
+			obj:                   setDefaultContainer(attachPod(), "initfoo"),
+			expectOut:             ``,
+		},
+		{
+			name:                  "no container, no flags, sets default missing container as annotation",
+			options:               &AttachOptions{GetPodTimeout: defaultPodLogsTimeout},
+			args:                  []string{"foo"},
+			expectedPodName:       "foo",
+			expectedContainerName: "bar",
+			obj:                   setDefaultContainer(attachPod(), "does-not-exist"),
+			expectOut:             `Defaulted container "bar" out of: bar, debugger (ephem), initfoo (init)`,
 		},
 		{
 			name:                  "container in flag",
@@ -115,7 +137,7 @@ func TestPodAndContainerAttach(t *testing.T) {
 			options:         &AttachOptions{StreamOptions: exec.StreamOptions{ContainerName: "wrong"}, GetPodTimeout: 10},
 			args:            []string{"foo"},
 			expectedPodName: "foo",
-			expectError:     "container not found",
+			expectError:     "container wrong not found in pod foo",
 			obj:             attachPod(),
 		},
 		{
@@ -153,11 +175,23 @@ func TestPodAndContainerAttach(t *testing.T) {
 			pod, err := test.options.findAttachablePod(&corev1.Pod{
 				ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "test-pod", Namespace: "test"},
 				Spec: corev1.PodSpec{
+					InitContainers: []corev1.Container{
+						{
+							Name: "initfoo",
+						},
+					},
 					Containers: []corev1.Container{
 						{
 							Name: "foobar",
 						},
 					},
+					EphemeralContainers: []corev1.EphemeralContainer{
+						{
+							EphemeralContainerCommon: corev1.EphemeralContainerCommon{
+								Name: "ephemfoo",
+							},
+						},
+					},
 				},
 			})
 			if err != nil {
@@ -171,10 +205,17 @@ func TestPodAndContainerAttach(t *testing.T) {
 				t.Errorf("unexpected pod name: expected %q, got %q", test.expectedContainerName, pod.Name)
 			}
 
+			var buf bytes.Buffer
+			test.options.ErrOut = &buf
 			container, err := test.options.containerToAttachTo(attachPod())
+
+			if len(test.expectOut) > 0 && !strings.Contains(buf.String(), test.expectOut) {
+				t.Errorf("unexpected output: output did not contain %q\n---\n%s", test.expectOut, buf.String())
+			}
+
 			if err != nil {
 				if test.expectError == "" || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), test.expectError) {
-					t.Errorf("unexpected error: expected %q, got %q", err, test.expectError)
+					t.Errorf("unexpected error: expected %q, got %q", test.expectError, err)
 				}
 				return
 			}
@@ -230,7 +271,7 @@ func TestAttach(t *testing.T) {
 			attachPath:   "/api/" + version + "/namespaces/test/pods/foo/attach",
 			pod:          attachPod(),
 			container:    "foo",
-			expectedErr:  "cannot attach to the container: container not found (foo)",
+			expectedErr:  "cannot attach to the container: container foo not found in pod foo",
 		},
 	}
 	for _, test := range tests {
@@ -435,3 +476,11 @@ func attachPod() *corev1.Pod {
 		},
 	}
 }
+
+func setDefaultContainer(pod *corev1.Pod, name string) *corev1.Pod {
+	if pod.Annotations == nil {
+		pod.Annotations = make(map[string]string)
+	}
+	pod.Annotations[podcmd.DefaultContainerAnnotationName] = name
+	return pod
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/exec/exec.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/exec/exec.go
index 6b874fc68bf..17f5fa08944 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/exec/exec.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/exec/exec.go
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/client-go/tools/remotecommand"
 
 	cmdutil "k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util"
+	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/podcmd"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/polymorphichelpers"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/scheme"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/i18n"
@@ -100,6 +101,7 @@ func NewCmdExec(f cmdutil.Factory, streams genericclioptions.IOStreams) *cobra.C
 	cmd.Flags().StringVarP(&options.ContainerName, "container", "c", options.ContainerName, "Container name. If omitted, the first container in the pod will be chosen")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&options.Stdin, "stdin", "i", options.Stdin, "Pass stdin to the container")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&options.TTY, "tty", "t", options.TTY, "Stdin is a TTY")
+	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&options.Quiet, "quiet", "q", options.Quiet, "Only print output from the remote session")
 	return cmd
 }
 
@@ -152,9 +154,6 @@ type ExecOptions struct {
 	Command          []string
 	EnforceNamespace bool
 
-	ParentCommandName       string
-	EnableSuggestedCmdUsage bool
-
 	Builder          func() *resource.Builder
 	ExecutablePodFn  polymorphichelpers.AttachablePodForObjectFunc
 	restClientGetter genericclioptions.RESTClientGetter
@@ -174,10 +173,14 @@ func (p *ExecOptions) Complete(f cmdutil.Factory, cmd *cobra.Command, argsIn []s
 	if argsLenAtDash > -1 {
 		p.Command = argsIn[argsLenAtDash:]
 	} else if len(argsIn) > 1 {
-		fmt.Fprint(p.ErrOut, "kubectl exec [POD] [COMMAND] is DEPRECATED and will be removed in a future version. Use kubectl exec [POD] -- [COMMAND] instead.\n")
+		if !p.Quiet {
+			fmt.Fprint(p.ErrOut, "kubectl exec [POD] [COMMAND] is DEPRECATED and will be removed in a future version. Use kubectl exec [POD] -- [COMMAND] instead.\n")
+		}
 		p.Command = argsIn[1:]
 	} else if len(argsIn) > 0 && len(p.FilenameOptions.Filenames) != 0 {
-		fmt.Fprint(p.ErrOut, "kubectl exec [POD] [COMMAND] is DEPRECATED and will be removed in a future version. Use kubectl exec [POD] -- [COMMAND] instead.\n")
+		if !p.Quiet {
+			fmt.Fprint(p.ErrOut, "kubectl exec [POD] [COMMAND] is DEPRECATED and will be removed in a future version. Use kubectl exec [POD] -- [COMMAND] instead.\n")
+		}
 		p.Command = argsIn[0:]
 		p.ResourceName = ""
 	}
@@ -198,14 +201,6 @@ func (p *ExecOptions) Complete(f cmdutil.Factory, cmd *cobra.Command, argsIn []s
 	p.Builder = f.NewBuilder
 	p.restClientGetter = f
 
-	cmdParent := cmd.Parent()
-	if cmdParent != nil {
-		p.ParentCommandName = cmdParent.CommandPath()
-	}
-	if len(p.ParentCommandName) > 0 && cmdutil.IsSiblingCommandExists(cmd, "describe") {
-		p.EnableSuggestedCmdUsage = true
-	}
-
 	p.Config, err = f.ToRESTConfig()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -260,7 +255,7 @@ func (o *StreamOptions) SetupTTY() term.TTY {
 	if !o.isTerminalIn(t) {
 		o.TTY = false
 
-		if o.ErrOut != nil {
+		if !o.Quiet && o.ErrOut != nil {
 			fmt.Fprintln(o.ErrOut, "Unable to use a TTY - input is not a terminal or the right kind of file")
 		}
 
@@ -323,7 +318,14 @@ func (p *ExecOptions) Run() error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("cannot exec into a container in a completed pod; current phase is %s", pod.Status.Phase)
 	}
 
-	containerName := getDefaultContainerName(p, pod)
+	containerName := p.ContainerName
+	if len(containerName) == 0 {
+		container, err := podcmd.FindOrDefaultContainerByName(pod, containerName, p.Quiet, p.ErrOut)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		containerName = container.Name
+	}
 
 	// ensure we can recover the terminal while attached
 	t := p.SetupTTY()
@@ -368,12 +370,3 @@ func (p *ExecOptions) Run() error {
 
 	return nil
 }
-
-func getDefaultContainerName(p *ExecOptions, pod *corev1.Pod) string {
-	containerName := p.ContainerName
-	if len(containerName) != 0 {
-		return containerName
-	}
-
-	return cmdutil.GetDefaultContainerName(pod, p.EnableSuggestedCmdUsage, p.ErrOut)
-}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/helpers.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/helpers.go
index a4a75fefe31..a6bfdd80afd 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/helpers.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/helpers.go
@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@ import (
 	jsonpatch "github.com/evanphx/json-patch"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
-	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	apierrors "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
@@ -45,7 +44,6 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/client-go/scale"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/tools/clientcmd"
 	"k8s.io/klog/v2"
-	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/podutils"
 	utilexec "k8s.io/utils/exec"
 )
 
@@ -746,28 +744,3 @@ func Warning(cmdErr io.Writer, newGeneratorName, oldGeneratorName string) {
 		oldGeneratorName,
 	)
 }
-
-// GetDefaultContainerName returns the default container name for a pod.
-// it checks the annotation kubectl.kubernetes.io/default-container at first and then the first container name.
-func GetDefaultContainerName(pod *corev1.Pod, enableSuggestedCmdUsage bool, w io.Writer) string {
-	if len(pod.Spec.Containers) > 1 {
-		// in case the "kubectl.kubernetes.io/default-container" annotation is present, we preset the opts.Containers to default to selected
-		// container. This gives users ability to preselect the most interesting container in pod.
-		if annotations := pod.Annotations; annotations != nil && len(annotations[podutils.DefaultContainerAnnotationName]) > 0 {
-			containerName := annotations[podutils.DefaultContainerAnnotationName]
-			if exists, _ := podutils.FindContainerByName(pod, containerName); exists != nil {
-				fmt.Fprintf(w, "Defaulting container name to container %s.\n", containerName)
-				return containerName
-			} else {
-				fmt.Fprintf(w, "Default container name %q in annotation not found in a pod\n", containerName)
-			}
-		}
-		fmt.Fprintf(w, "Defaulting container name to first container %s.\n", pod.Spec.Containers[0].Name)
-
-		if enableSuggestedCmdUsage {
-			fmt.Fprintf(w, "Use 'kubectl describe pod/%s -n %s' to see all of the containers in this pod.\n", pod.Name, pod.Namespace)
-		}
-	}
-
-	return pod.Spec.Containers[0].Name
-}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/podcmd/podcmd.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/podcmd/podcmd.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1c464419364
--- /dev/null
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/podcmd/podcmd.go
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2021 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package podcmd
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"strings"
+
+	v1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+	"k8s.io/klog/v2"
+)
+
+// DefaultContainerAnnotationName is an annotation name that can be used to preselect the interesting container
+// from a pod when running kubectl.
+const DefaultContainerAnnotationName = "kubectl.kubernetes.io/default-container"
+
+// FindContainerByName selects the named container from the spec of
+// the provided pod or return nil if no such container exists.
+func FindContainerByName(pod *v1.Pod, name string) (*v1.Container, string) {
+	for i := range pod.Spec.Containers {
+		if pod.Spec.Containers[i].Name == name {
+			return &pod.Spec.Containers[i], fmt.Sprintf("spec.containers{%s}", name)
+		}
+	}
+	for i := range pod.Spec.InitContainers {
+		if pod.Spec.InitContainers[i].Name == name {
+			return &pod.Spec.InitContainers[i], fmt.Sprintf("spec.initContainers{%s}", name)
+		}
+	}
+	for i := range pod.Spec.EphemeralContainers {
+		if pod.Spec.EphemeralContainers[i].Name == name {
+			return (*v1.Container)(&pod.Spec.EphemeralContainers[i].EphemeralContainerCommon), fmt.Sprintf("spec.ephemeralContainers{%s}", name)
+		}
+	}
+	return nil, ""
+}
+
+// FindOrDefaultContainerByName defaults a container for a pod to the first container if any
+// exists, or returns an error. It will print a message to the user indicating a default was
+// selected if there was more than one container.
+func FindOrDefaultContainerByName(pod *v1.Pod, name string, quiet bool, warn io.Writer) (*v1.Container, error) {
+	var container *v1.Container
+
+	if len(name) > 0 {
+		container, _ = FindContainerByName(pod, name)
+		if container == nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("container %s not found in pod %s", name, pod.Name)
+		}
+		return container, nil
+	}
+
+	// this should never happen, but just in case
+	if len(pod.Spec.Containers) == 0 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("pod %s/%s does not have any containers", pod.Namespace, pod.Name)
+	}
+
+	// read the default container the annotation as per
+	// https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/tree/master/keps/sig-cli/2227-kubectl-default-container
+	if name := pod.Annotations[DefaultContainerAnnotationName]; len(name) > 0 {
+		if container, _ = FindContainerByName(pod, name); container != nil {
+			klog.V(4).Infof("Defaulting container name from annotation %s", container.Name)
+			return container, nil
+		}
+		klog.V(4).Infof("Default container name from annotation %s was not found in the pod", name)
+	}
+
+	// pick the first container as per existing behavior
+	container = &pod.Spec.Containers[0]
+	if !quiet && (len(pod.Spec.Containers) > 1 || len(pod.Spec.InitContainers) > 0 || len(pod.Spec.EphemeralContainers) > 0) {
+		fmt.Fprintf(warn, "Defaulted container %q out of: %s\n", container.Name, allContainerNames(pod))
+	}
+
+	klog.V(4).Infof("Defaulting container name to %s", container.Name)
+	return &pod.Spec.Containers[0], nil
+}
+
+func allContainerNames(pod *v1.Pod) string {
+	var containers []string
+	for _, container := range pod.Spec.Containers {
+		containers = append(containers, container.Name)
+	}
+	for _, container := range pod.Spec.EphemeralContainers {
+		containers = append(containers, fmt.Sprintf("%s (ephem)", container.Name))
+	}
+	for _, container := range pod.Spec.InitContainers {
+		containers = append(containers, fmt.Sprintf("%s (init)", container.Name))
+	}
+	return strings.Join(containers, ", ")
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/polymorphichelpers/logsforobject.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/polymorphichelpers/logsforobject.go
index f6fb2400923..5395596fc34 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/polymorphichelpers/logsforobject.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/polymorphichelpers/logsforobject.go
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import (
 	corev1client "k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes/typed/core/v1"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/rest"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/tools/reference"
+	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/podcmd"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/scheme"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/podutils"
 )
@@ -79,8 +80,8 @@ func logsForObjectWithClient(clientset corev1client.CoreV1Interface, object, opt
 			// container. This gives users ability to preselect the most interesting container in pod.
 			if annotations := t.GetAnnotations(); annotations != nil && len(opts.Container) == 0 {
 				var containerName string
-				if len(annotations[podutils.DefaultContainerAnnotationName]) > 0 {
-					containerName = annotations[podutils.DefaultContainerAnnotationName]
+				if len(annotations[podcmd.DefaultContainerAnnotationName]) > 0 {
+					containerName = annotations[podcmd.DefaultContainerAnnotationName]
 				} else if len(annotations[defaultLogsContainerAnnotationName]) > 0 {
 					// Only log deprecation if we have only the old annotation. This allows users to
 					// set both to support multiple versions of kubectl; if they are setting both
@@ -90,7 +91,7 @@ func logsForObjectWithClient(clientset corev1client.CoreV1Interface, object, opt
 					fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Using deprecated annotation `kubectl.kubernetes.io/default-logs-container` in pod/%v. Please use `kubectl.kubernetes.io/default-container` instead\n", t.Name)
 				}
 				if len(containerName) > 0 {
-					if exists, _ := podutils.FindContainerByName(t, containerName); exists != nil {
+					if exists, _ := podcmd.FindContainerByName(t, containerName); exists != nil {
 						opts.Container = containerName
 					} else {
 						fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Default container name %q not found in a pod\n", containerName)
@@ -121,7 +122,7 @@ func logsForObjectWithClient(clientset corev1client.CoreV1Interface, object, opt
 				containerName = opts.Container
 			}
 
-			container, fieldPath := podutils.FindContainerByName(t, containerName)
+			container, fieldPath := podcmd.FindContainerByName(t, containerName)
 			if container == nil {
 				return nil, fmt.Errorf("container %s is not valid for pod %s", opts.Container, t.Name)
 			}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/polymorphichelpers/logsforobject_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/polymorphichelpers/logsforobject_test.go
index 60c340f73ca..928df2480d0 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/polymorphichelpers/logsforobject_test.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/polymorphichelpers/logsforobject_test.go
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/diff"
 	fakeexternal "k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes/fake"
 	testclient "k8s.io/client-go/testing"
-	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/podutils"
+	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/podcmd"
 )
 
 var (
@@ -430,7 +430,7 @@ func TestLogsForObjectWithClient(t *testing.T) {
 			name: "two container pod with default container selected",
 			podFn: func() *corev1.Pod {
 				pod := testPodWithTwoContainers()
-				pod.Annotations = map[string]string{podutils.DefaultContainerAnnotationName: "foo-2-c1"}
+				pod.Annotations = map[string]string{podcmd.DefaultContainerAnnotationName: "foo-2-c1"}
 				return pod
 			},
 			podLogOptions:     &corev1.PodLogOptions{},
@@ -440,7 +440,7 @@ func TestLogsForObjectWithClient(t *testing.T) {
 			name: "two container pod with default container selected but also container set explicitly",
 			podFn: func() *corev1.Pod {
 				pod := testPodWithTwoContainers()
-				pod.Annotations = map[string]string{podutils.DefaultContainerAnnotationName: "foo-2-c1"}
+				pod.Annotations = map[string]string{podcmd.DefaultContainerAnnotationName: "foo-2-c1"}
 				return pod
 			},
 			podLogOptions: &corev1.PodLogOptions{
@@ -452,7 +452,7 @@ func TestLogsForObjectWithClient(t *testing.T) {
 			name: "two container pod with non-existing default container selected",
 			podFn: func() *corev1.Pod {
 				pod := testPodWithTwoContainers()
-				pod.Annotations = map[string]string{podutils.DefaultContainerAnnotationName: "non-existing"}
+				pod.Annotations = map[string]string{podcmd.DefaultContainerAnnotationName: "non-existing"}
 				return pod
 			},
 			podLogOptions: &corev1.PodLogOptions{},
@@ -462,7 +462,7 @@ func TestLogsForObjectWithClient(t *testing.T) {
 			name: "two container pod with default container set, but allContainers also set",
 			podFn: func() *corev1.Pod {
 				pod := testPodWithTwoContainers()
-				pod.Annotations = map[string]string{podutils.DefaultContainerAnnotationName: "foo-2-c1"}
+				pod.Annotations = map[string]string{podcmd.DefaultContainerAnnotationName: "foo-2-c1"}
 				return pod
 			},
 			allContainers:     true,
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/podutils/podutils.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/podutils/podutils.go
index 580f3706e49..847eb7e88b4 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/podutils/podutils.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/podutils/podutils.go
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ limitations under the License.
 package podutils
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
 	"time"
 
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
@@ -25,10 +24,6 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/utils/integer"
 )
 
-// DefaultContainerAnnotationName is an annotation name that can be used to preselect the interesting container
-// from a pod when running kubectl.
-const DefaultContainerAnnotationName = "kubectl.kubernetes.io/default-container"
-
 // IsPodAvailable returns true if a pod is available; false otherwise.
 // Precondition for an available pod is that it must be ready. On top
 // of that, there are two cases when a pod can be considered available:
@@ -191,25 +186,3 @@ func maxContainerRestarts(pod *corev1.Pod) int {
 	}
 	return maxRestarts
 }
-
-// FindContainerByName searches for a container by name amongst all containers in a pod.
-// Returns a pointer to a container and a field path.
-func FindContainerByName(pod *corev1.Pod, name string) (container *corev1.Container, fieldPath string) {
-	for _, c := range pod.Spec.InitContainers {
-		if c.Name == name {
-			return &c, fmt.Sprintf("spec.initContainers{%s}", c.Name)
-		}
-	}
-	for _, c := range pod.Spec.Containers {
-		if c.Name == name {
-			return &c, fmt.Sprintf("spec.containers{%s}", c.Name)
-		}
-	}
-	for _, c := range pod.Spec.EphemeralContainers {
-		if c.Name == name {
-			containerCommon := corev1.Container(c.EphemeralContainerCommon)
-			return &containerCommon, fmt.Sprintf("spec.ephemeralContainers{%s}", containerCommon.Name)
-		}
-	}
-	return nil, ""
-}
diff --git a/vendor/modules.txt b/vendor/modules.txt
index 8e5ad4518fc..d79dbe54012 100644
--- a/vendor/modules.txt
+++ b/vendor/modules.txt
@@ -2407,6 +2407,7 @@ k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/top
 k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util
 k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/editor
 k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/editor/crlf
+k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/podcmd
 k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/sanity
 k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/version
 k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/wait