A kubeconfig holds exactly one current-context, so kubectx rewrites the shared file - every tab, script, and tool follows, including the shell where you were mid-incident on dev. That is by design, not a bug. For per-shell isolation use kubech (per-terminal contexts), or point KUBECONFIG at a per-shell copy of the config in the shells that must stay put.

## The error
```text
Switched to context "prod". (and every other shell now targets prod too)
```

## What to do
1. Confirm the blast radius:
```bash
kubectl config current-context
```
in the other shell.
   Expected: It also prints the new context.
2. Option A - per-shell isolation with kubech:
```bash
# install kubech, then per shell:
kubech [context]
```
   Expected: Only that shell switches.
3. Option B - per-shell kubeconfig copy:
```bash
cp ~/.kube/config /tmp/kube-dev.yaml
export KUBECONFIG=/tmp/kube-dev.yaml
kubectx [context]
```
   Expected: Other shells keep the original context.
4. Verify isolation: run kubectl config current-context in both shells.
   Expected: Each prints its own context.

## When this applies
- context changed for all terminals after one kubectx
- scripts that broke because an interactive shell switched context mid-run
- multi-cluster work where tabs must stay on different clusters

## When it does NOT apply
- the switch itself failing
- wanting the global behavior (that is the default, nothing to fix)

## Works with
kubectx (ahmetb/kubectx); kubech for the fix

### CI job switched context and later steps hit the wrong cluster
Same shared-file cause. Give the job its own KUBECONFIG copy.

## Why it happens
kubectl resolves one current-context per kubeconfig file, and every process reads the same file. kubectx edits that single field in place, so there is no such thing as a per-shell switch without a per-shell file.

## Edge cases
- Tools that cache the context at startup (k9s, IDE plugins) may lag behind a switch - restart them.
- kubech-style isolation needs shell integration; plain ssh sessions still share the file.

## Resolved from
gh:DevOpsHiveHQ/kubech - https://github.com/DevOpsHiveHQ/kubech