kubectl: add --support to get, patch, edit and replace commands

Co-authored-by: Nikhita Raghunath <nikitaraghunath@gmail.com>

pkg/printers/internalversion/printers.go

@@ -588,6 +588,7 @@ func AddHandlers(h printers.PrintHandler) {
 		{Name: "Name", Type: "string", Description: metav1.ObjectMeta{}.SwaggerDoc()["name"]},
 		{Name: "Desired", Type: "integer", Description: autoscalingv1.ScaleSpec{}.SwaggerDoc()["replicas"]},
 		{Name: "Available", Type: "integer", Description: autoscalingv1.ScaleStatus{}.SwaggerDoc()["replicas"]},
+		{Name: "Age", Type: "string", Description: metav1.ObjectMeta{}.SwaggerDoc()["creationTimestamp"]},
 	}
 	h.TableHandler(scaleColumnDefinitions, printScale)
 }
@@ -2627,7 +2628,7 @@ func printScale(obj *autoscaling.Scale, options printers.GenerateOptions) ([]met
 	row := metav1.TableRow{
 		Object: runtime.RawExtension{Object: obj},
 	}
-	row.Cells = append(row.Cells, obj.Name, obj.Spec.Replicas, obj.Status.Replicas)
+	row.Cells = append(row.Cells, obj.Name, obj.Spec.Replicas, obj.Status.Replicas, translateTimestampSince(obj.CreationTimestamp))
 	return []metav1.TableRow{row}, nil
 }
 

pkg/printers/internalversion/printers_test.go

@@ -5841,7 +5841,7 @@ func TestPrintScale(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			expected: []metav1.TableRow{
 				{
-					Cells: []interface{}{"test-autoscaling", int32(2), int32(1)},
+					Cells: []interface{}{"test-autoscaling", int32(2), int32(1), string("0s")},
 				},
 			},
 		},

staging/src/k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/resource/builder.go

@@ -83,7 +83,8 @@ type Builder struct {
 	limitChunks       int64
 	requestTransforms []RequestTransform
 
-	resources []string
+	resources   []string
+	subresource string
 
 	namespace    string
 	allNamespace bool
@@ -555,6 +556,13 @@ func (b *Builder) TransformRequests(opts ...RequestTransform) *Builder {
 	return b
 }
 
+// Subresource instructs the builder to retrieve the object at the
+// subresource path instead of the main resource path.
+func (b *Builder) Subresource(subresource string) *Builder {
+	b.subresource = subresource
+	return b
+}
+
 // SelectEverythingParam
 func (b *Builder) SelectAllParam(selectAll bool) *Builder {
 	if selectAll && (b.labelSelector != nil || b.fieldSelector != nil) {
@@ -886,6 +894,10 @@ func (b *Builder) visitBySelector() *Result {
 	if len(b.resources) == 0 {
 		return result.withError(fmt.Errorf("at least one resource must be specified to use a selector"))
 	}
+	if len(b.subresource) != 0 {
+		return result.withError(fmt.Errorf("subresource cannot be used when bulk resources are specified"))
+	}
+
 	mappings, err := b.resourceMappings()
 	if err != nil {
 		result.err = err
@@ -1007,10 +1019,11 @@ func (b *Builder) visitByResource() *Result {
 		}
 
 		info := &Info{
-			Client:    client,
+			Client:      client,
-			Mapping:   mapping,
+			Mapping:     mapping,
-			Namespace: selectorNamespace,
+			Namespace:   selectorNamespace,
-			Name:      tuple.Name,
+			Name:        tuple.Name,
+			Subresource: b.subresource,
 		}
 		items = append(items, info)
 	}
@@ -1071,10 +1084,11 @@ func (b *Builder) visitByName() *Result {
 	visitors := []Visitor{}
 	for _, name := range b.names {
 		info := &Info{
-			Client:    client,
+			Client:      client,
-			Mapping:   mapping,
+			Mapping:     mapping,
-			Namespace: selectorNamespace,
+			Namespace:   selectorNamespace,
-			Name:      name,
+			Name:        name,
+			Subresource: b.subresource,
 		}
 		visitors = append(visitors, info)
 	}

staging/src/k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/resource/builder_test.go

@@ -150,6 +150,14 @@ func streamTestData() (io.Reader, *v1.PodList, *v1.ServiceList) {
 	return r, pods, svc
 }
 
+func subresourceTestData(name string) *v1.Pod {
+	return &v1.Pod{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: name, Namespace: "test", ResourceVersion: "10"},
+		Spec:       V1DeepEqualSafePodSpec(),
+		Status:     V1DeepEqualSafePodStatus(),
+	}
+}
+
 func JSONToYAMLOrDie(in []byte) []byte {
 	data, err := yaml.JSONToYAML(in)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -915,6 +923,37 @@ func TestResourceByName(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("unexpected resource mapping: %#v", mapping)
 	}
 }
+func TestSubresourceByName(t *testing.T) {
+	pod := subresourceTestData("foo")
+	b := newDefaultBuilderWith(fakeClientWith("", t, map[string]string{
+		"/namespaces/test/pods/foo/status": runtime.EncodeOrDie(corev1Codec, pod),
+	})).NamespaceParam("test")
+
+	test := &testVisitor{}
+	singleItemImplied := false
+
+	if b.Do().Err() == nil {
+		t.Errorf("unexpected non-error")
+	}
+
+	b.ResourceTypeOrNameArgs(true, "pods", "foo").Subresource("status")
+
+	err := b.Do().IntoSingleItemImplied(&singleItemImplied).Visit(test.Handle)
+	if err != nil || !singleItemImplied || len(test.Infos) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected response: %v %t %#v", err, singleItemImplied, test.Infos)
+	}
+	if !apiequality.Semantic.DeepEqual(pod, test.Objects()[0]) {
+		t.Errorf("unexpected object: %#v", test.Objects()[0])
+	}
+
+	mapping, err := b.Do().ResourceMapping()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+	if mapping.Resource != (schema.GroupVersionResource{Group: "", Version: "v1", Resource: "pods"}) {
+		t.Errorf("unexpected resource mapping: %#v", mapping)
+	}
+}
 
 func TestRestMappingErrors(t *testing.T) {
 	pods, _ := testData()
@@ -1260,8 +1299,9 @@ func TestResourceTuple(t *testing.T) {
 	expectNoErr := func(err error) bool { return err == nil }
 	expectErr := func(err error) bool { return err != nil }
 	testCases := map[string]struct {
-		args  []string
+		args        []string
-		errFn func(error) bool
+		subresource string
+		errFn       func(error) bool
 	}{
 		"valid": {
 			args:  []string{"pods/foo"},
@@ -1303,6 +1343,16 @@ func TestResourceTuple(t *testing.T) {
 			args:  []string{"bar/"},
 			errFn: expectErr,
 		},
+		"valid status subresource": {
+			args:        []string{"pods/foo"},
+			subresource: "status",
+			errFn:       expectNoErr,
+		},
+		"valid status subresource for multiple with name indirection": {
+			args:        []string{"pods/foo", "pod/bar"},
+			subresource: "status",
+			errFn:       expectNoErr,
+		},
 	}
 	for k, tt := range testCases {
 		t.Run("using default namespace", func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -1311,14 +1361,18 @@ func TestResourceTuple(t *testing.T) {
 				if requireObject {
 					pods, _ := testData()
 					expectedRequests = map[string]string{
-						"/namespaces/test/pods/foo": runtime.EncodeOrDie(corev1Codec, &pods.Items[0]),
+						"/namespaces/test/pods/foo":        runtime.EncodeOrDie(corev1Codec, &pods.Items[0]),
-						"/namespaces/test/pods/bar": runtime.EncodeOrDie(corev1Codec, &pods.Items[0]),
+						"/namespaces/test/pods/bar":        runtime.EncodeOrDie(corev1Codec, &pods.Items[0]),
-						"/nodes/foo":                runtime.EncodeOrDie(corev1Codec, &v1.Node{ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "foo"}}),
+						"/namespaces/test/pods/foo/status": runtime.EncodeOrDie(corev1Codec, subresourceTestData("foo")),
+						"/namespaces/test/pods/bar/status": runtime.EncodeOrDie(corev1Codec, subresourceTestData("bar")),
+						"/nodes/foo":                       runtime.EncodeOrDie(corev1Codec, &v1.Node{ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "foo"}}),
 					}
 				}
 				b := newDefaultBuilderWith(fakeClientWith(k, t, expectedRequests)).
 					NamespaceParam("test").DefaultNamespace().
-					ResourceTypeOrNameArgs(true, tt.args...).RequireObject(requireObject)
+					ResourceTypeOrNameArgs(true, tt.args...).
+					RequireObject(requireObject).
+					Subresource(tt.subresource)
 
 				r := b.Do()
 
@@ -1557,6 +1611,23 @@ func TestListObjectWithDifferentVersions(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestListObjectSubresource(t *testing.T) {
+	pods, _ := testData()
+	labelKey := metav1.LabelSelectorQueryParam(corev1GV.String())
+	b := newDefaultBuilderWith(fakeClientWith("", t, map[string]string{
+		"/namespaces/test/pods?" + labelKey: runtime.EncodeOrDie(corev1Codec, pods),
+	})).
+		NamespaceParam("test").
+		ResourceTypeOrNameArgs(true, "pods").
+		Subresource("status").
+		Flatten()
+
+	_, err := b.Do().Object()
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "subresource cannot be used when bulk resources are specified") {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected response: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestWatch(t *testing.T) {
 	_, svc := testData()
 	w, err := newDefaultBuilderWith(fakeClientWith("", t, map[string]string{

staging/src/k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/resource/helper.go

@@ -37,6 +37,8 @@ var metadataAccessor = meta.NewAccessor()
 type Helper struct {
 	// The name of this resource as the server would recognize it
 	Resource string
+	// The name of the subresource as the server would recognize it
+	Subresource string
 	// A RESTClient capable of mutating this resource.
 	RESTClient RESTClient
 	// True if the resource type is scoped to namespaces
@@ -77,11 +79,18 @@ func (m *Helper) WithFieldManager(fieldManager string) *Helper {
 	return m
 }
 
+// Subresource sets the helper to access (<resource>/[ns/<namespace>/]<name>/<subresource>)
+func (m *Helper) WithSubresource(subresource string) *Helper {
+	m.Subresource = subresource
+	return m
+}
+
 func (m *Helper) Get(namespace, name string) (runtime.Object, error) {
 	req := m.RESTClient.Get().
 		NamespaceIfScoped(namespace, m.NamespaceScoped).
 		Resource(m.Resource).
-		Name(name)
+		Name(name).
+		SubResource(m.Subresource)
 	return req.Do(context.TODO()).Get()
 }
 
@@ -237,6 +246,7 @@ func (m *Helper) Patch(namespace, name string, pt types.PatchType, data []byte,
 		NamespaceIfScoped(namespace, m.NamespaceScoped).
 		Resource(m.Resource).
 		Name(name).
+		SubResource(m.Subresource).
 		VersionedParams(options, metav1.ParameterCodec).
 		Body(data).
 		Do(context.TODO()).
@@ -261,7 +271,7 @@ func (m *Helper) Replace(namespace, name string, overwrite bool, obj runtime.Obj
 	}
 	if version == "" && overwrite {
 		// Retrieve the current version of the object to overwrite the server object
-		serverObj, err := c.Get().NamespaceIfScoped(namespace, m.NamespaceScoped).Resource(m.Resource).Name(name).Do(context.TODO()).Get()
+		serverObj, err := c.Get().NamespaceIfScoped(namespace, m.NamespaceScoped).Resource(m.Resource).Name(name).SubResource(m.Subresource).Do(context.TODO()).Get()
 		if err != nil {
 			// The object does not exist, but we want it to be created
 			return m.replaceResource(c, m.Resource, namespace, name, obj, options)
@@ -283,6 +293,7 @@ func (m *Helper) replaceResource(c RESTClient, resource, namespace, name string,
 		NamespaceIfScoped(namespace, m.NamespaceScoped).
 		Resource(resource).
 		Name(name).
+		SubResource(m.Subresource).
 		VersionedParams(options, metav1.ParameterCodec).
 		Body(obj).
 		Do(context.TODO()).

staging/src/k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/resource/helper_test.go

@@ -68,6 +68,17 @@ func V1DeepEqualSafePodSpec() corev1.PodSpec {
 	}
 }
 
+func V1DeepEqualSafePodStatus() corev1.PodStatus {
+	return corev1.PodStatus{
+		Conditions: []corev1.PodCondition{
+			{
+				Status: corev1.ConditionTrue,
+				Type:   corev1.PodReady,
+			},
+		},
+	}
+}
+
 func TestHelperDelete(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {
 		name    string
@@ -257,11 +268,12 @@ func TestHelperCreate(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestHelperGet(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {
-		name    string
+		name        string
-		Err     bool
+		subresource string
-		Req     func(*http.Request) bool
+		Err         bool
-		Resp    *http.Response
+		Req         func(*http.Request) bool
-		HttpErr error
+		Resp        *http.Response
+		HttpErr     error
 	}{
 		{
 			name:    "test1",
@@ -301,6 +313,35 @@ func TestHelperGet(t *testing.T) {
 				return true
 			},
 		},
+		{
+			name:        "test with subresource",
+			subresource: "status",
+			Resp: &http.Response{
+				StatusCode: http.StatusOK,
+				Header:     header(),
+				Body:       objBody(&corev1.Pod{TypeMeta: metav1.TypeMeta{APIVersion: "v1", Kind: "Pod"}, ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "foo"}}),
+			},
+			Req: func(req *http.Request) bool {
+				if req.Method != "GET" {
+					t.Errorf("unexpected method: %#v", req)
+					return false
+				}
+				parts := splitPath(req.URL.Path)
+				if parts[1] != "bar" {
+					t.Errorf("url doesn't contain namespace: %#v", req)
+					return false
+				}
+				if parts[2] != "foo" {
+					t.Errorf("url doesn't contain name: %#v", req)
+					return false
+				}
+				if parts[3] != "status" {
+					t.Errorf("url doesn't contain subresource: %#v", req)
+					return false
+				}
+				return true
+			},
+		},
 	}
 	for i, tt := range tests {
 		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -313,6 +354,7 @@ func TestHelperGet(t *testing.T) {
 			modifier := &Helper{
 				RESTClient:      client,
 				NamespaceScoped: true,
+				Subresource:     tt.subresource,
 			}
 			obj, err := modifier.Get("bar", "foo")
 
@@ -382,6 +424,34 @@ func TestHelperList(t *testing.T) {
 				return true
 			},
 		},
+		{
+			name: "test with",
+			Resp: &http.Response{
+				StatusCode: http.StatusOK,
+				Header:     header(),
+				Body: objBody(&corev1.PodList{
+					Items: []corev1.Pod{{
+						ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "foo"},
+					},
+					},
+				}),
+			},
+			Req: func(req *http.Request) bool {
+				if req.Method != "GET" {
+					t.Errorf("unexpected method: %#v", req)
+					return false
+				}
+				if req.URL.Path != "/namespaces/bar" {
+					t.Errorf("url doesn't contain name: %#v", req.URL)
+					return false
+				}
+				if req.URL.Query().Get(metav1.LabelSelectorQueryParam(corev1GV.String())) != labels.SelectorFromSet(labels.Set{"foo": "baz"}).String() {
+					t.Errorf("url doesn't contain query parameters: %#v", req.URL)
+					return false
+				}
+				return true
+			},
+		},
 	}
 	for _, tt := range tests {
 		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -501,6 +571,7 @@ func TestHelperReplace(t *testing.T) {
 		Object          runtime.Object
 		Namespace       string
 		NamespaceScoped bool
+		Subresource     string
 
 		ExpectPath   string
 		ExpectObject runtime.Object
@@ -592,6 +663,29 @@ func TestHelperReplace(t *testing.T) {
 			Resp:            &http.Response{StatusCode: http.StatusOK, Header: header(), Body: objBody(&metav1.Status{Status: metav1.StatusSuccess})},
 			Req:             expectPut,
 		},
+		{
+			Name:            "test7 - with status subresource",
+			Namespace:       "bar",
+			NamespaceScoped: true,
+			Subresource:     "status",
+			Object: &corev1.Pod{
+				ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "foo"},
+				Status:     V1DeepEqualSafePodStatus(),
+			},
+			ExpectPath: "/namespaces/bar/foo/status",
+			ExpectObject: &corev1.Pod{
+				ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "foo", ResourceVersion: "10"},
+				Status:     V1DeepEqualSafePodStatus(),
+			},
+			Overwrite: true,
+			HTTPClient: fake.CreateHTTPClient(func(req *http.Request) (*http.Response, error) {
+				if req.Method == "PUT" {
+					return &http.Response{StatusCode: http.StatusOK, Header: header(), Body: objBody(&metav1.Status{Status: metav1.StatusSuccess})}, nil
+				}
+				return &http.Response{StatusCode: http.StatusOK, Header: header(), Body: objBody(&corev1.Pod{ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "foo", ResourceVersion: "10"}})}, nil
+			}),
+			Req: expectPut,
+		},
 	}
 	for _, tt := range tests {
 		t.Run(tt.Name, func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -605,6 +699,7 @@ func TestHelperReplace(t *testing.T) {
 			modifier := &Helper{
 				RESTClient:      client,
 				NamespaceScoped: tt.NamespaceScoped,
+				Subresource:     tt.Subresource,
 			}
 			_, err := modifier.Replace(tt.Namespace, "foo", tt.Overwrite, tt.Object)
 			if (err != nil) != tt.Err {

staging/src/k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/resource/visitor.go

@@ -78,12 +78,16 @@ type Info struct {
 	// defined. If retrieved from the server, the Builder expects the mapping client to
 	// decide the final form. Use the AsVersioned, AsUnstructured, and AsInternal helpers
 	// to alter the object versions.
+	// If Subresource is specified, this will be the object for the subresource.
 	Object runtime.Object
 	// Optional, this is the most recent resource version the server knows about for
 	// this type of resource. It may not match the resource version of the object,
 	// but if set it should be equal to or newer than the resource version of the
 	// object (however the server defines resource version).
 	ResourceVersion string
+	// Optional, if specified, the object is the most recent value of the subresource
+	// returned by the server if available.
+	Subresource string
 }
 
 // Visit implements Visitor
@@ -93,7 +97,7 @@ func (i *Info) Visit(fn VisitorFunc) error {
 
 // Get retrieves the object from the Namespace and Name fields
 func (i *Info) Get() (err error) {
-	obj, err := NewHelper(i.Client, i.Mapping).Get(i.Namespace, i.Name)
+	obj, err := NewHelper(i.Client, i.Mapping).WithSubresource(i.Subresource).Get(i.Namespace, i.Name)
 	if err != nil {
 		if errors.IsNotFound(err) && len(i.Namespace) > 0 && i.Namespace != metav1.NamespaceDefault && i.Namespace != metav1.NamespaceAll {
 			err2 := i.Client.Get().AbsPath("api", "v1", "namespaces", i.Namespace).Do(context.TODO()).Error()

staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/edit/edit.go

@@ -63,7 +63,10 @@ var (
 		kubectl edit job.v1.batch/myjob -o json
 
 		# Edit the deployment 'mydeployment' in YAML and save the modified config in its annotation
-		kubectl edit deployment/mydeployment -o yaml --save-config`))
+		kubectl edit deployment/mydeployment -o yaml --save-config
+
+		# Edit the deployment/mydeployment's status subresource
+		kubectl edit deployment mydeployment --subresource='status'`))
 )
 
 // NewCmdEdit creates the `edit` command
@@ -80,6 +83,7 @@ func NewCmdEdit(f cmdutil.Factory, ioStreams genericclioptions.IOStreams) *cobra
 		ValidArgsFunction:     util.ResourceTypeAndNameCompletionFunc(f),
 		Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 			cmdutil.CheckErr(o.Complete(f, args, cmd))
+			cmdutil.CheckErr(o.Validate())
 			cmdutil.CheckErr(o.Run())
 		},
 	}
@@ -96,5 +100,6 @@ func NewCmdEdit(f cmdutil.Factory, ioStreams genericclioptions.IOStreams) *cobra
 		"Defaults to the line ending native to your platform.")
 	cmdutil.AddFieldManagerFlagVar(cmd, &o.FieldManager, "kubectl-edit")
 	cmdutil.AddApplyAnnotationVarFlags(cmd, &o.ApplyAnnotation)
+	cmdutil.AddSubresourceFlags(cmd, &o.Subresource, "If specified, edit will operate on the subresource of the requested object.", editor.SupportedSubresources...)
 	return cmd
 }

staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/edit/edit_test.go

@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ type EditTestCase struct {
 	Output           string   `yaml:"outputFormat"`
 	OutputPatch      string   `yaml:"outputPatch"`
 	SaveConfig       string   `yaml:"saveConfig"`
+	Subresource      string   `yaml:"subresource"`
 	Namespace        string   `yaml:"namespace"`
 	ExpectedStdout   []string `yaml:"expectedStdout"`
 	ExpectedStderr   []string `yaml:"expectedStderr"`
@@ -253,6 +254,9 @@ func TestEdit(t *testing.T) {
 			if len(testcase.SaveConfig) > 0 {
 				cmd.Flags().Set("save-config", testcase.SaveConfig)
 			}
+			if len(testcase.Subresource) > 0 {
+				cmd.Flags().Set("subresource", testcase.Subresource)
+			}
 
 			cmdutil.BehaviorOnFatal(func(str string, code int) {
 				errBuf.WriteString(str)

staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/edit/testdata/testcase-edit-subresource-status/0.response

@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+{
+    "apiVersion": "apps/v1",
+    "kind": "Deployment",
+    "metadata": {
+        "annotations": {
+            "deployment.kubernetes.io/revision": "1"
+        },
+        "creationTimestamp": "2021-06-23T17:01:10Z",
+        "generation": 5,
+        "labels": {
+            "app": "nginx"
+        },
+        "name": "nginx",
+        "namespace": "edit-test",
+        "resourceVersion": "121107",
+        "uid": "a598ee47-9635-482b-bacb-16c9e3ade05c"
+    },
+    "spec": {
+        "progressDeadlineSeconds": 600,
+        "replicas": 3,
+        "revisionHistoryLimit": 10,
+        "selector": {
+            "matchLabels": {
+                "app": "nginx"
+            }
+        },
+        "strategy": {
+            "rollingUpdate": {
+                "maxSurge": "25%",
+                "maxUnavailable": "25%"
+            },
+            "type": "RollingUpdate"
+        },
+        "template": {
+            "metadata": {
+                "creationTimestamp": null,
+                "labels": {
+                    "app": "nginx"
+                }
+            },
+            "spec": {
+                "containers": [
+                    {
+                        "image": "gcr.io/kakaraparthy-devel/nginx:latest",
+                        "imagePullPolicy": "Always",
+                        "name": "nginx",
+                        "resources": {},
+                        "terminationMessagePath": "/dev/termination-log",
+                        "terminationMessagePolicy": "File"
+                    }
+                ],
+                "dnsPolicy": "ClusterFirst",
+                "restartPolicy": "Always",
+                "schedulerName": "default-scheduler",
+                "securityContext": {},
+                "terminationGracePeriodSeconds": 30
+            }
+        }
+    },
+    "status": {
+        "availableReplicas": 3,
+        "conditions": [
+            {
+                "lastTransitionTime": "2021-06-23T17:01:10Z",
+                "lastUpdateTime": "2021-06-23T17:01:18Z",
+                "message": "ReplicaSet \"nginx-6f5fdbd667\" has successfully progressed.",
+                "reason": "NewReplicaSetAvailable",
+                "status": "True",
+                "type": "Progressing"
+            },
+            {
+                "lastTransitionTime": "2021-06-23T17:59:01Z",
+                "lastUpdateTime": "2021-06-23T17:59:01Z",
+                "message": "Deployment has minimum availability.",
+                "reason": "MinimumReplicasAvailable",
+                "status": "True",
+                "type": "Available"
+            }
+        ],
+        "observedGeneration": 5,
+        "readyReplicas": 3,
+        "replicas": 3,
+        "updatedReplicas": 3
+    }
+}

staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/edit/testdata/testcase-edit-subresource-status/1.edited

@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+# Please edit the object below. Lines beginning with a '#' will be ignored,
+# and an empty file will abort the edit. If an error occurs while saving this file will be
+# reopened with the relevant failures.
+#
+apiVersion: apps/v1
+kind: Deployment
+metadata:
+  annotations:
+    deployment.kubernetes.io/revision: "1"
+  creationTimestamp: "2021-06-23T17:01:10Z"
+  generation: 5
+  labels:
+    app: nginx
+  name: nginx
+  namespace: edit-test
+  resourceVersion: "121107"
+  uid: a598ee47-9635-482b-bacb-16c9e3ade05c
+spec:
+  progressDeadlineSeconds: 600
+  replicas: 3
+  revisionHistoryLimit: 10
+  selector:
+    matchLabels:
+      app: nginx
+  strategy:
+    rollingUpdate:
+      maxSurge: 25%
+      maxUnavailable: 25%
+    type: RollingUpdate
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      creationTimestamp: null
+      labels:
+        app: nginx
+    spec:
+      containers:
+      - image: gcr.io/kakaraparthy-devel/nginx:latest
+        imagePullPolicy: Always
+        name: nginx
+        resources: {}
+        terminationMessagePath: /dev/termination-log
+        terminationMessagePolicy: File
+      dnsPolicy: ClusterFirst
+      restartPolicy: Always
+      schedulerName: default-scheduler
+      securityContext: {}
+      terminationGracePeriodSeconds: 30
+status:
+  availableReplicas: 3
+  conditions:
+  - lastTransitionTime: "2021-06-23T17:01:10Z"
+    lastUpdateTime: "2021-06-23T17:01:18Z"
+    message: ReplicaSet "nginx-6f5fdbd667" has successfully progressed.
+    reason: NewReplicaSetAvailable
+    status: "True"
+    type: Progressing
+  - lastTransitionTime: "2021-06-23T17:59:01Z"
+    lastUpdateTime: "2021-06-23T17:59:01Z"
+    message: Deployment has minimum availability.
+    reason: MinimumReplicasAvailable
+    status: "True"
+    type: Available
+  observedGeneration: 5
+  readyReplicas: 3
+  replicas: 4
+  updatedReplicas: 3

staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/edit/testdata/testcase-edit-subresource-status/1.original

@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+# Please edit the object below. Lines beginning with a '#' will be ignored,
+# and an empty file will abort the edit. If an error occurs while saving this file will be
+# reopened with the relevant failures.
+#
+apiVersion: apps/v1
+kind: Deployment
+metadata:
+  annotations:
+    deployment.kubernetes.io/revision: "1"
+  creationTimestamp: "2021-06-23T17:01:10Z"
+  generation: 5
+  labels:
+    app: nginx
+  name: nginx
+  namespace: edit-test
+  resourceVersion: "121107"
+  uid: a598ee47-9635-482b-bacb-16c9e3ade05c
+spec:
+  progressDeadlineSeconds: 600
+  replicas: 3
+  revisionHistoryLimit: 10
+  selector:
+    matchLabels:
+      app: nginx
+  strategy:
+    rollingUpdate:
+      maxSurge: 25%
+      maxUnavailable: 25%
+    type: RollingUpdate
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      creationTimestamp: null
+      labels:
+        app: nginx
+    spec:
+      containers:
+      - image: gcr.io/kakaraparthy-devel/nginx:latest
+        imagePullPolicy: Always
+        name: nginx
+        resources: {}
+        terminationMessagePath: /dev/termination-log
+        terminationMessagePolicy: File
+      dnsPolicy: ClusterFirst
+      restartPolicy: Always
+      schedulerName: default-scheduler
+      securityContext: {}
+      terminationGracePeriodSeconds: 30
+status:
+  availableReplicas: 3
+  conditions:
+  - lastTransitionTime: "2021-06-23T17:01:10Z"
+    lastUpdateTime: "2021-06-23T17:01:18Z"
+    message: ReplicaSet "nginx-6f5fdbd667" has successfully progressed.
+    reason: NewReplicaSetAvailable
+    status: "True"
+    type: Progressing
+  - lastTransitionTime: "2021-06-23T17:59:01Z"
+    lastUpdateTime: "2021-06-23T17:59:01Z"
+    message: Deployment has minimum availability.
+    reason: MinimumReplicasAvailable
+    status: "True"
+    type: Available
+  observedGeneration: 5
+  readyReplicas: 3
+  replicas: 3
+  updatedReplicas: 3

staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/edit/testdata/testcase-edit-subresource-status/2.request

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+{
+  "status": {
+    "replicas": 4
+  }
+}

staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/edit/testdata/testcase-edit-subresource-status/2.response

@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+{
+    "apiVersion": "apps/v1",
+    "kind": "Deployment",
+    "metadata": {
+        "annotations": {
+            "deployment.kubernetes.io/revision": "1"
+        },
+        "creationTimestamp": "2021-06-23T17:01:10Z",
+        "generation": 5,
+        "labels": {
+            "app": "nginx"
+        },
+        "name": "nginx",
+        "namespace": "edit-test",
+        "resourceVersion": "121107",
+        "uid": "a598ee47-9635-482b-bacb-16c9e3ade05c"
+    },
+    "spec": {
+        "progressDeadlineSeconds": 600,
+        "replicas": 3,
+        "revisionHistoryLimit": 10,
+        "selector": {
+            "matchLabels": {
+                "app": "nginx"
+            }
+        },
+        "strategy": {
+            "rollingUpdate": {
+                "maxSurge": "25%",
+                "maxUnavailable": "25%"
+            },
+            "type": "RollingUpdate"
+        },
+        "template": {
+            "metadata": {
+                "creationTimestamp": null,
+                "labels": {
+                    "app": "nginx"
+                }
+            },
+            "spec": {
+                "containers": [
+                    {
+                        "image": "gcr.io/kakaraparthy-devel/nginx:latest",
+                        "imagePullPolicy": "Always",
+                        "name": "nginx",
+                        "resources": {},
+                        "terminationMessagePath": "/dev/termination-log",
+                        "terminationMessagePolicy": "File"
+                    }
+                ],
+                "dnsPolicy": "ClusterFirst",
+                "restartPolicy": "Always",
+                "schedulerName": "default-scheduler",
+                "securityContext": {},
+                "terminationGracePeriodSeconds": 30
+            }
+        }
+    },
+    "status": {
+        "availableReplicas": 3,
+        "conditions": [
+            {
+                "lastTransitionTime": "2021-06-23T17:01:10Z",
+                "lastUpdateTime": "2021-06-23T17:01:18Z",
+                "message": "ReplicaSet \"nginx-6f5fdbd667\" has successfully progressed.",
+                "reason": "NewReplicaSetAvailable",
+                "status": "True",
+                "type": "Progressing"
+            },
+            {
+                "lastTransitionTime": "2021-06-23T17:59:01Z",
+                "lastUpdateTime": "2021-06-23T17:59:01Z",
+                "message": "Deployment has minimum availability.",
+                "reason": "MinimumReplicasAvailable",
+                "status": "True",
+                "type": "Available"
+            }
+        ],
+        "observedGeneration": 5,
+        "readyReplicas": 3,
+        "replicas": 4,
+        "updatedReplicas": 3
+    }
+}

staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/edit/testdata/testcase-edit-subresource-status/test.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+description: edit the status subresource
+mode: edit
+args:
+  - deployment
+  - nginx
+namespace: edit-test
+subresource: status
+expectedStdOut:
+  - deployment.apps/nginx edited
+expectedExitCode: 0
+steps:
+  - type: request
+    expectedMethod: GET
+    expectedPath: /apis/extensions/v1beta1/namespaces/edit-test/deployments/nginx/status
+    expectedInput: 0.request
+    resultingStatusCode: 200
+    resultingOutput: 0.response
+  - type: edit
+    expectedInput: 1.original
+    resultingOutput: 1.edited
+  - type: request
+    expectedMethod: PATCH
+    expectedPath: /apis/apps/v1/namespaces/edit-test/deployments/nginx/status
+    expectedContentType: application/strategic-merge-patch+json
+    expectedInput: 2.request
+    resultingStatusCode: 200
+    resultingOutput: 2.response

staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/get/get.go

@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/scheme"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/i18n"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/interrupt"
+	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/slice"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/templates"
 	utilpointer "k8s.io/utils/pointer"
 )
@@ -78,6 +79,7 @@ type GetOptions struct {
 	AllNamespaces     bool
 	Namespace         string
 	ExplicitNamespace bool
+	Subresource       string
 
 	ServerPrint bool
 
@@ -132,7 +134,10 @@ var (
 		kubectl get rc,services
 
 		# List one or more resources by their type and names
-		kubectl get rc/web service/frontend pods/web-pod-13je7`))
+		kubectl get rc/web service/frontend pods/web-pod-13je7
+
+		# List status subresource for a single pod.
+		kubectl get pod web-pod-13je7 --subresource status`))
 )
 
 const (
@@ -140,6 +145,8 @@ const (
 	useServerPrintColumns          = "server-print"
 )
 
+var supportedSubresources = []string{"status", "scale"}
+
 // NewGetOptions returns a GetOptions with default chunk size 500.
 func NewGetOptions(parent string, streams genericclioptions.IOStreams) *GetOptions {
 	return &GetOptions{
@@ -197,6 +204,7 @@ func NewCmdGet(parent string, f cmdutil.Factory, streams genericclioptions.IOStr
 	cmdutil.AddFilenameOptionFlags(cmd, &o.FilenameOptions, "identifying the resource to get from a server.")
 	cmdutil.AddChunkSizeFlag(cmd, &o.ChunkSize)
 	cmdutil.AddLabelSelectorFlagVar(cmd, &o.LabelSelector)
+	cmdutil.AddSubresourceFlags(cmd, &o.Subresource, "If specified, gets the subresource of the requested object.", supportedSubresources...)
 	return cmd
 }
 
@@ -331,6 +339,9 @@ func (o *GetOptions) Validate(cmd *cobra.Command) error {
 	if o.OutputWatchEvents && !(o.Watch || o.WatchOnly) {
 		return cmdutil.UsageErrorf(cmd, "--output-watch-events option can only be used with --watch or --watch-only")
 	}
+	if len(o.Subresource) > 0 && !slice.ContainsString(supportedSubresources, o.Subresource, nil) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("invalid subresource value: %q. Must be one of %v", o.Subresource, supportedSubresources)
+	}
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -484,6 +495,7 @@ func (o *GetOptions) Run(f cmdutil.Factory, cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) e
 		FilenameParam(o.ExplicitNamespace, &o.FilenameOptions).
 		LabelSelectorParam(o.LabelSelector).
 		FieldSelectorParam(o.FieldSelector).
+		Subresource(o.Subresource).
 		RequestChunksOf(chunkSize).
 		ResourceTypeOrNameArgs(true, args...).
 		ContinueOnError().

staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/get/get_test.go

@@ -242,6 +242,60 @@ foo    <unknown>
 	}
 }
 
+func TestGetObjectSubresourceStatus(t *testing.T) {
+	_, _, replicationcontrollers := cmdtesting.TestData()
+
+	tf := cmdtesting.NewTestFactory().WithNamespace("test")
+	defer tf.Cleanup()
+	codec := scheme.Codecs.LegacyCodec(scheme.Scheme.PrioritizedVersionsAllGroups()...)
+
+	tf.UnstructuredClient = &fake.RESTClient{
+		NegotiatedSerializer: resource.UnstructuredPlusDefaultContentConfig().NegotiatedSerializer,
+		Resp:                 &http.Response{StatusCode: http.StatusOK, Header: cmdtesting.DefaultHeader(), Body: cmdtesting.ObjBody(codec, &replicationcontrollers.Items[0])},
+	}
+
+	streams, _, buf, _ := genericclioptions.NewTestIOStreams()
+	cmd := NewCmdGet("kubectl", tf, streams)
+	cmd.SetOutput(buf)
+	cmd.Flags().Set("subresource", "status")
+	cmd.Run(cmd, []string{"replicationcontrollers", "rc1"})
+
+	expected := `NAME   AGE
+rc1    <unknown>
+`
+
+	if e, a := expected, buf.String(); e != a {
+		t.Errorf("expected\n%v\ngot\n%v", e, a)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGetObjectSubresourceScale(t *testing.T) {
+	_, _, replicationcontrollers := cmdtesting.TestData()
+
+	tf := cmdtesting.NewTestFactory().WithNamespace("test")
+	defer tf.Cleanup()
+	codec := scheme.Codecs.LegacyCodec(scheme.Scheme.PrioritizedVersionsAllGroups()...)
+
+	tf.UnstructuredClient = &fake.RESTClient{
+		NegotiatedSerializer: resource.UnstructuredPlusDefaultContentConfig().NegotiatedSerializer,
+		Resp:                 &http.Response{StatusCode: http.StatusOK, Header: cmdtesting.DefaultHeader(), Body: replicationControllersScaleSubresourceTableObjBody(codec, replicationcontrollers.Items[0])},
+	}
+
+	streams, _, buf, _ := genericclioptions.NewTestIOStreams()
+	cmd := NewCmdGet("kubectl", tf, streams)
+	cmd.SetOutput(buf)
+	cmd.Flags().Set("subresource", "scale")
+	cmd.Run(cmd, []string{"replicationcontrollers", "rc1"})
+
+	expected := `NAME   DESIRED   AVAILABLE
+rc1    1         0
+`
+
+	if e, a := expected, buf.String(); e != a {
+		t.Errorf("expected\n%v\ngot\n%v", e, a)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestGetTableObjects(t *testing.T) {
 	pods, _, _ := cmdtesting.TestData()
 
@@ -2902,3 +2956,23 @@ func emptyTableObjBody(codec runtime.Codec) io.ReadCloser {
 	}
 	return cmdtesting.ObjBody(codec, table)
 }
+
+func replicationControllersScaleSubresourceTableObjBody(codec runtime.Codec, replicationControllers ...corev1.ReplicationController) io.ReadCloser {
+	table := &metav1.Table{
+		ColumnDefinitions: []metav1.TableColumnDefinition{
+			{Name: "Name", Type: "string", Description: metav1.ObjectMeta{}.SwaggerDoc()["name"]},
+			{Name: "Desired", Type: "integer", Description: autoscalingv1.ScaleSpec{}.SwaggerDoc()["replicas"]},
+			{Name: "Available", Type: "integer", Description: autoscalingv1.ScaleStatus{}.SwaggerDoc()["replicas"]},
+		},
+	}
+
+	for i := range replicationControllers {
+		b := bytes.NewBuffer(nil)
+		codec.Encode(&replicationControllers[i], b)
+		table.Rows = append(table.Rows, metav1.TableRow{
+			Object: runtime.RawExtension{Raw: b.Bytes()},
+			Cells:  []interface{}{replicationControllers[i].Name, replicationControllers[i].Spec.Replicas, replicationControllers[i].Status.Replicas},
+		})
+	}
+	return cmdtesting.ObjBody(codec, table)
+}

staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/patch/patch.go

@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/scheme"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/i18n"
+	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/slice"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/templates"
 )
 
@@ -56,10 +57,11 @@ type PatchOptions struct {
 	ToPrinter   func(string) (printers.ResourcePrinter, error)
 	Recorder    genericclioptions.Recorder
 
-	Local     bool
+	Local       bool
-	PatchType string
+	PatchType   string
-	Patch     string
+	Patch       string
-	PatchFile string
+	PatchFile   string
+	Subresource string
 
 	namespace                    string
 	enforceNamespace             bool
@@ -94,9 +96,14 @@ var (
 		kubectl patch pod valid-pod -p '{"spec":{"containers":[{"name":"kubernetes-serve-hostname","image":"new image"}]}}'
 
 		# Update a container's image using a JSON patch with positional arrays
-		kubectl patch pod valid-pod --type='json' -p='[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/containers/0/image", "value":"new image"}]'`))
+		kubectl patch pod valid-pod --type='json' -p='[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/containers/0/image", "value":"new image"}]'
+		
+		# Update a deployment's replicas through the scale subresource using a merge patch.
+		kubectl patch deployment nginx-deployment --subresource='scale' --type='merge' -p '{"spec":{"replicas":2}}'`))
 )
 
+var supportedSubresources = []string{"status", "scale"}
+
 func NewPatchOptions(ioStreams genericclioptions.IOStreams) *PatchOptions {
 	return &PatchOptions{
 		RecordFlags: genericclioptions.NewRecordFlags(),
@@ -133,6 +140,7 @@ func NewCmdPatch(f cmdutil.Factory, ioStreams genericclioptions.IOStreams) *cobr
 	cmdutil.AddFilenameOptionFlags(cmd, &o.FilenameOptions, "identifying the resource to update")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&o.Local, "local", o.Local, "If true, patch will operate on the content of the file, not the server-side resource.")
 	cmdutil.AddFieldManagerFlagVar(cmd, &o.fieldManager, "kubectl-patch")
+	cmdutil.AddSubresourceFlags(cmd, &o.Subresource, "If specified, patch will operate on the subresource of the requested object.", supportedSubresources...)
 
 	return cmd
 }
@@ -192,7 +200,9 @@ func (o *PatchOptions) Validate() error {
 			return fmt.Errorf("--type must be one of %v, not %q", sets.StringKeySet(patchTypes).List(), o.PatchType)
 		}
 	}
-
+	if len(o.Subresource) > 0 && !slice.ContainsString(supportedSubresources, o.Subresource, nil) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("invalid subresource value: %q. Must be one of %v", o.Subresource, supportedSubresources)
+	}
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -224,6 +234,7 @@ func (o *PatchOptions) RunPatch() error {
 		LocalParam(o.Local).
 		NamespaceParam(o.namespace).DefaultNamespace().
 		FilenameParam(o.enforceNamespace, &o.FilenameOptions).
+		Subresource(o.Subresource).
 		ResourceTypeOrNameArgs(false, o.args...).
 		Flatten().
 		Do()
@@ -255,7 +266,8 @@ func (o *PatchOptions) RunPatch() error {
 			helper := resource.
 				NewHelper(client, mapping).
 				DryRun(o.dryRunStrategy == cmdutil.DryRunServer).
-				WithFieldManager(o.fieldManager)
+				WithFieldManager(o.fieldManager).
+				WithSubresource(o.Subresource)
 			patchedObj, err := helper.Patch(namespace, name, patchType, patchBytes, nil)
 			if err != nil {
 				return err

staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/patch/patch_test.go

@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
+	jsonpath "github.com/exponent-io/jsonpath"
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	"k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/genericclioptions"
 	"k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/resource"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/rest/fake"
@@ -190,3 +192,51 @@ func TestPatchObjectFromFileOutput(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("unexpected output: %s", buf.String())
 	}
 }
+
+func TestPatchSubresource(t *testing.T) {
+	pod := cmdtesting.SubresourceTestData()
+
+	tf := cmdtesting.NewTestFactory().WithNamespace("test")
+	defer tf.Cleanup()
+
+	expectedStatus := corev1.PodRunning
+
+	codec := scheme.Codecs.LegacyCodec(scheme.Scheme.PrioritizedVersionsAllGroups()...)
+
+	tf.UnstructuredClient = &fake.RESTClient{
+		NegotiatedSerializer: resource.UnstructuredPlusDefaultContentConfig().NegotiatedSerializer,
+		Client: fake.CreateHTTPClient(func(req *http.Request) (*http.Response, error) {
+			switch p, m := req.URL.Path, req.Method; {
+			case p == "/namespaces/test/pods/foo/status" && (m == "PATCH" || m == "GET"):
+				obj := pod
+
+				// ensure patched object reflects successful
+				// patch edits from the client
+				if m == "PATCH" {
+					obj.Status.Phase = expectedStatus
+				}
+				return &http.Response{StatusCode: http.StatusOK, Header: cmdtesting.DefaultHeader(), Body: cmdtesting.ObjBody(codec, obj)}, nil
+			default:
+				t.Fatalf("unexpected request: %#v\n%#v", req.URL, req)
+				return nil, nil
+			}
+		}),
+	}
+	stream, _, buf, _ := genericclioptions.NewTestIOStreams()
+
+	cmd := NewCmdPatch(tf, stream)
+	cmd.Flags().Set("namespace", "test")
+	cmd.Flags().Set("patch", `{"status":{"phase":"Running"}}`)
+	cmd.Flags().Set("output", "json")
+	cmd.Flags().Set("subresource", "status")
+	cmd.Run(cmd, []string{"pod/foo"})
+
+	decoder := jsonpath.NewDecoder(buf)
+	var actualStatus corev1.PodPhase
+	decoder.SeekTo("status", "phase")
+	decoder.Decode(&actualStatus)
+	// check the status.phase value is updated in the response
+	if actualStatus != expectedStatus {
+		t.Errorf("unexpected pod status to be set to %s got: %s", expectedStatus, actualStatus)
+	}
+}

staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/replace/replace.go

@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/scheme"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/i18n"
+	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/slice"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/templates"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/validation"
 )
@@ -67,6 +68,8 @@ var (
 		kubectl replace --force -f ./pod.json`))
 )
 
+var supportedSubresources = []string{"status", "scale"}
+
 type ReplaceOptions struct {
 	PrintFlags  *genericclioptions.PrintFlags
 	RecordFlags *genericclioptions.RecordFlags
@@ -92,6 +95,8 @@ type ReplaceOptions struct {
 
 	Recorder genericclioptions.Recorder
 
+	Subresource string
+
 	genericclioptions.IOStreams
 
 	fieldManager string
@@ -132,6 +137,7 @@ func NewCmdReplace(f cmdutil.Factory, streams genericclioptions.IOStreams) *cobr
 
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&o.Raw, "raw", o.Raw, "Raw URI to PUT to the server.  Uses the transport specified by the kubeconfig file.")
 	cmdutil.AddFieldManagerFlagVar(cmd, &o.fieldManager, "kubectl-replace")
+	cmdutil.AddSubresourceFlags(cmd, &o.Subresource, "If specified, replace will operate on the subresource of the requested object.", supportedSubresources...)
 
 	return cmd
 }
@@ -238,6 +244,10 @@ func (o *ReplaceOptions) Validate(cmd *cobra.Command) error {
 		}
 	}
 
+	if len(o.Subresource) > 0 && !slice.ContainsString(supportedSubresources, o.Subresource, nil) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("invalid subresource value: %q. Must be one of %v", o.Subresource, supportedSubresources)
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -262,6 +272,7 @@ func (o *ReplaceOptions) Run(f cmdutil.Factory) error {
 		ContinueOnError().
 		NamespaceParam(o.Namespace).DefaultNamespace().
 		FilenameParam(o.EnforceNamespace, &o.DeleteOptions.FilenameOptions).
+		Subresource(o.Subresource).
 		Flatten().
 		Do()
 	if err := r.Err(); err != nil {
@@ -295,6 +306,7 @@ func (o *ReplaceOptions) Run(f cmdutil.Factory) error {
 			NewHelper(info.Client, info.Mapping).
 			DryRun(o.DryRunStrategy == cmdutil.DryRunServer).
 			WithFieldManager(o.fieldManager).
+			WithSubresource(o.Subresource).
 			Replace(info.Namespace, info.Name, true, info.Object)
 		if err != nil {
 			return cmdutil.AddSourceToErr("replacing", info.Source, err)
@@ -330,6 +342,7 @@ func (o *ReplaceOptions) forceReplace() error {
 		NamespaceParam(o.Namespace).DefaultNamespace().
 		ResourceTypeOrNameArgs(false, o.BuilderArgs...).RequireObject(false).
 		FilenameParam(o.EnforceNamespace, &o.DeleteOptions.FilenameOptions).
+		Subresource(o.Subresource).
 		Flatten()
 	if stdinInUse {
 		b = b.StdinInUse()
@@ -369,6 +382,7 @@ func (o *ReplaceOptions) forceReplace() error {
 		ContinueOnError().
 		NamespaceParam(o.Namespace).DefaultNamespace().
 		FilenameParam(o.EnforceNamespace, &o.DeleteOptions.FilenameOptions).
+		Subresource(o.Subresource).
 		Flatten()
 	if stdinInUse {
 		b = b.StdinInUse()

staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/testing/util.go

@@ -150,6 +150,22 @@ func EmptyTestData() (*corev1.PodList, *corev1.ServiceList, *corev1.ReplicationC
 	return pods, svc, rc
 }
 
+func SubresourceTestData() *corev1.Pod {
+	return &corev1.Pod{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "foo", Namespace: "test", ResourceVersion: "10"},
+		Spec: corev1.PodSpec{
+			RestartPolicy:                 corev1.RestartPolicyAlways,
+			DNSPolicy:                     corev1.DNSClusterFirst,
+			TerminationGracePeriodSeconds: &grace,
+			SecurityContext:               &corev1.PodSecurityContext{},
+			EnableServiceLinks:            &enableServiceLinks,
+		},
+		Status: corev1.PodStatus{
+			Phase: corev1.PodPending,
+		},
+	}
+}
+
 func GenResponseWithJsonEncodedBody(bodyStruct interface{}) (*http.Response, error) {
 	jsonBytes, err := json.Marshal(bodyStruct)
 	if err != nil {

staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/editor/editoptions.go

@@ -51,8 +51,11 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/editor/crlf"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/scheme"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util"
+	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/slice"
 )
 
+var SupportedSubresources = []string{"status"}
+
 // EditOptions contains all the options for running edit cli command.
 type EditOptions struct {
 	resource.FilenameOptions
@@ -84,6 +87,8 @@ type EditOptions struct {
 	updatedResultGetter func(data []byte) *resource.Result
 
 	FieldManager string
+
+	Subresource string
 }
 
 // NewEditOptions returns an initialized EditOptions instance
@@ -184,6 +189,7 @@ func (o *EditOptions) Complete(f cmdutil.Factory, args []string, cmd *cobra.Comm
 	}
 	r := b.NamespaceParam(cmdNamespace).DefaultNamespace().
 		FilenameParam(enforceNamespace, &o.FilenameOptions).
+		Subresource(o.Subresource).
 		ContinueOnError().
 		Flatten().
 		Do()
@@ -198,6 +204,7 @@ func (o *EditOptions) Complete(f cmdutil.Factory, args []string, cmd *cobra.Comm
 		return f.NewBuilder().
 			Unstructured().
 			Stream(bytes.NewReader(data), "edited-file").
+			Subresource(o.Subresource).
 			ContinueOnError().
 			Flatten().
 			Do()
@@ -216,6 +223,9 @@ func (o *EditOptions) Complete(f cmdutil.Factory, args []string, cmd *cobra.Comm
 
 // Validate checks the EditOptions to see if there is sufficient information to run the command.
 func (o *EditOptions) Validate() error {
+	if len(o.Subresource) > 0 && !slice.ContainsString(SupportedSubresources, o.Subresource, nil) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("invalid subresource value: %q. Must be one of %v", o.Subresource, SupportedSubresources)
+	}
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -561,7 +571,7 @@ func (o *EditOptions) annotationPatch(update *resource.Info) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	helper := resource.NewHelper(client, mapping).WithFieldManager(o.FieldManager)
+	helper := resource.NewHelper(client, mapping).WithFieldManager(o.FieldManager).WithSubresource(o.Subresource)
 	_, err = helper.Patch(o.CmdNamespace, update.Name, patchType, patch, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -699,7 +709,7 @@ func (o *EditOptions) visitToPatch(originalInfos []*resource.Info, patchVisitor
 		}
 
 		patched, err := resource.NewHelper(info.Client, info.Mapping).
-			WithFieldManager(o.FieldManager).
+			WithFieldManager(o.FieldManager).WithSubresource(o.Subresource).
 			Patch(info.Namespace, info.Name, patchType, patch, nil)
 		if err != nil {
 			fmt.Fprintln(o.ErrOut, results.addError(err, info))

staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/helpers.go

@@ -468,6 +468,10 @@ func AddLabelSelectorFlagVar(cmd *cobra.Command, p *string) {
 	cmd.Flags().StringVarP(p, "selector", "l", *p, "Selector (label query) to filter on, supports '=', '==', and '!='.(e.g. -l key1=value1,key2=value2). Matching objects must satisfy all of the specified label constraints.")
 }
 
+func AddSubresourceFlags(cmd *cobra.Command, subresource *string, usage string, allowedSubresources ...string) {
+	cmd.Flags().StringVar(subresource, "subresource", "", fmt.Sprintf("%s Must be one of %v. This flag is alpha and may change in the future.", usage, allowedSubresources))
+}
+
 type ValidateOptions struct {
 	EnableValidation bool
 }

test/cmd/get.sh

@@ -175,6 +175,14 @@ run_kubectl_get_tests() {
   output_message=$(! kubectl get pod valid-pod --allow-missing-template-keys=false -o go-template='{{.missing}}' "${kube_flags[@]}")
   kube::test::if_has_string "${output_message}" 'map has no entry for key "missing"'
 
+  ## check --subresource=status works
+  output_message=$(kubectl get "${kube_flags[@]}" pod valid-pod --subresource=status)
+  kube::test::if_has_string "${output_message}" 'valid-pod'
+
+   ## check --subresource=scale returns an error for pods
+  output_message=$(! kubectl get pod valid-pod --subresource=scale 2>&1 "${kube_flags[@]:?}")
+  kube::test::if_has_string "${output_message}" 'the server could not find the requested resource'
+
   ### Test kubectl get watch
   output_message=$(kubectl get pods -w --request-timeout=1 "${kube_flags[@]}")
   kube::test::if_has_string "${output_message}" 'STATUS'    # headers