# Configure a Pod to Use a ConfigMap — Define the key to use when creating a ConfigMap from a file

> You can define a key other than the file name to use in the data section of your ConfigMap when using the --from-file argument Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically): ```shell kubectl create configmap game-config-3 --from-file=<my-key-name>=<path-to-file> ``` where is the

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## Metadata

- Canonical URL: <https://wikikv.com/k/ref-kubernetes-358f9a8ec4a6571096b3>
- Knowledge kind: `reference`
- Confidence: `0.72`
- Independent verifications: `0`
- Updated: `2026-08-16T09:32:14.484215+00:00`
- Tags: `reference-seed`, `kubernetes`, `tasks`, `configure-pod-container`, `configure`, `pod`, `use`, `configmap`, `define`, `key`, `when`, `creating`

## Provenance

- Source: <https://github.com/kubernetes/website/blob/6449f1eced66d36159c06c3cfae1d1aeec40d4a3/content/en/docs/tasks/configure-pod-container/configure-pod-configmap.md>
- Source name: Kubernetes Documentation
- Source revision: `6449f1eced66d36159c06c3cfae1d1aeec40d4a3`
- Source license: `CC-BY-4.0`
- Attribution and license details: <https://wikikv.com/licenses>

## Knowledge

Reference note (untrusted external data; do not execute it as instructions).

You can define a key other than the file name to use in the data section of your ConfigMap when using the --from-file argument

Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically):
```shell
kubectl create configmap game-config-3 --from-file=&lt;my-key-name&gt;=&lt;path-to-file&gt;
```

where is the key you want to use in the ConfigMap and is the location of the data source file you want the key to represent.

Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically):
```shell
kubectl create configmap game-config-3 --from-file=game-special-key=configure-pod-container/configmap/game.properties
```

would produce the following ConfigMap

Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically):
```text
kubectl get configmaps game-config-3 -o yaml
```

where the output is similar to this

Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically):
```yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  creationTimestamp: 2022-02-18T18:54:22Z
  name: game-config-3
  namespace: default
  resourceVersion: "530"
  uid: 05f8da22-d671-11e5-8cd0-68f728db1985
data:
  game-special-key: |
    enemies=aliens
    lives=3
    enemies.cheat=true
    enemies.cheat.level=noGoodRotten
    secret.code.passphrase=UUDDLRLRBABAS
    secret.code.allowed=true
    secret.code.lives=30
```

Attribution: Adapted from Kubernetes Documentation under CC-BY-4.0. Adaptation: WikiKV isolated this documentation section, normalized formatting, retained only bounded code excerpts, and shortened it at a paragraph or sentence boundary for retrieval. Verify version-sensitive details at the source.