highAdvancedSymptom-first#storage#pvc#pv#provisioning

PersistentVolumeClaim stuck in Pending — no provisioner

kubectl get pvc shows Pending

Likely source:availability

Focused incident mode — strips away everything but this runbook.

Symptoms

  • kubectl get pvc shows Pending
  • Pod that mounts the volume stays Pending
  • No StorageClass 'provisioner' events after wait

Evidence to grab

Collect these artifacts before you change anything — they prove (or rule out) each cause.

  • PVC status + storage class

    kubectl describe pvc <pvc> -n <namespace>

  • Available storage classes

    kubectl get storageclass

Diagnostic flow

Run the steps in order, marking each claim confirmed or refuted. The evidence you gather feeds the ranked causes below.

Guided decision tree is ready.

Steps with commands, expected output, and pass/fail branches.

Ranked root causes

Evidence checklist

  • PVC has no storageClassName and no default class is annotated
  • kubectl get storageclass returns a class without the default annotation

Confirm before fixing

kubectl get storageclass -o custom-columns=NAME:.metadata.name,PROVISIONER:.provisioner,DEFAULT:.metadata.annotations.storageclass\.kubernetes\.io/is-default-class
READ

Inspect classes and default annotation

Fix

kubectl patch storageclass <class> -p '{"metadata":{"annotations":{"storageclass.kubernetes.io/is-default-class":"true"}}}'
CHANGE

Mark a real class as default (or add storageClassName to the PVC)

Resolution runbook

Apply from top to bottom after the cause is confirmed. Review every command before running it — risk tags are shown on each.

1
kubectl describe pvc <pvc> -n <namespace> | tail -20
READ

Read the exact reason

2
kubectl get storageclass -o wide
READ

Check provisioner availability

3
kubectl patch storageclass <class> -p '{"metadata":{"annotations":{"storageclass.kubernetes.io/is-default-class":"true"}}}'
CHANGE

Fix default class if missing

4
kubectl get pvc <pvc> -n <namespace>
READ

Confirm it flips to Bound

Prevention

  • Install the platform CSI driver as part of cluster bootstrap.
  • Always declare storageClassName explicitly on PVCs.
  • Monitor pvc status and alert on Pending for > 5 minutes.

Related runbooks

Same stack, same failure family — worth a skim.

Pods stuck in Pending state — unschedulablehigh

kubectl get pods shows Pending for minutes

KubernetesIntermediate3 causes
Open runbook

Commands marked READ CHANGE DESTRUCTIVE — never run DESTRUCTIVE commands against production data you cannot restore. Copy → verify → execute.