K9s GUI - Kubernetes Management in Your Browser

A modern, intuitive web-based alternative to K9s terminal UI for Kubernetes cluster management

Features • Installation • Usage • Development • Contributing • License

Overview

K9s GUI brings the power of K9s to your web browser with a modern, user-friendly interface. If you find the terminal-based K9s challenging to navigate or want a more visual approach to Kubernetes management, K9s GUI is for you.

Why K9s GUI?

• Browser-Based: Access your Kubernetes clusters from any modern web browser
• Modern UI: Clean, intuitive interface with dark/light theme support
• Real-time Updates: Live cluster monitoring and resource management
• Powerful Search: Quick resource filtering and navigation
• Keyboard Shortcuts: K9s-style keyboard navigation for power users
• Secure: Uses your existing kubeconfig for authentication
• Multi-Context: Easy switching between different Kubernetes contexts

Screenshots

Features

Core Features

• Cluster Overview: Real-time cluster metrics and health status
• Resource Management: View and manage all Kubernetes resources
  • Pods, Deployments, Services, ConfigMaps, Secrets
  • StatefulSets, DaemonSets, ReplicaSets
  • Ingresses, PersistentVolumes, StorageClasses
  • Events, Nodes, Namespaces
• Context Switching: Seamlessly switch between different clusters
• Namespace Filtering: View resources by namespace or across all namespaces
• Resource Actions: View, edit, delete resources with ease
• YAML Editor: Built-in YAML editor for resource manifests
• Log Viewer: Stream container logs in real-time
• Shell Access: Execute commands in containers
• Port Forwarding: Forward ports from pods to your local machine

K9s Feature Parity

• Keyboard shortcuts matching K9s commands
• Fuzzy search across all resources
• Resource utilization metrics
• Quick actions and navigation

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16+ and npm/yarn
• kubectl configured with access to your Kubernetes cluster(s)
• A Kubernetes cluster (local or remote)

Quick Start

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/k9s-gui.git
cd k9s-gui

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start the application
npm start

# Open your browser at http://localhost:3002

Docker Installation

# Using Docker
docker run -d \
  -p 3002:3002 \
  -p 3003:3003 \
  -v ~/.kube:/home/node/.kube:ro \
  --name k9s-gui \
  k9s-gui:latest

# Using Docker Compose
docker-compose up -d

Usage

Basic Navigation

1. Cluster Selection: Use the dropdown in the header to switch between clusters
2. Namespace Selection: Choose a specific namespace or "All Namespaces"
3. Resource Navigation: Click on any resource type in the sidebar
4. Resource Actions: Click on resource names to view details

Keyboard Shortcuts

Key	Action
/	Focus search
j/k	Navigate up/down
Enter	View resource
e	Edit resource
d	Describe resource
l	View logs (pods)
s	Shell into container
Ctrl+D	Delete resource
Ctrl+K	Open command palette
?	Show help

Development

Project Structure

k9s-gui/
├── frontend/          # React TypeScript frontend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/   # Reusable UI components
│   │   ├── views/        # Resource-specific views
│   │   ├── features/     # Redux slices and state
│   │   └── app/          # App configuration
│   └── public/
├── backend/           # Express TypeScript backend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── controllers/  # API endpoints
│   │   ├── services/     # Business logic
│   │   └── config/       # Configuration
│   └── dist/
└── docs/              # Documentation

Development Setup

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start backend in development mode
cd backend
npm run dev

# In another terminal, start frontend
cd frontend
npm start

# Run tests
npm test

# Build for production
npm run build

Technology Stack

Frontend:

• React 18 with TypeScript
• Redux Toolkit for state management
• Ant Design UI components
• React Router for navigation
• Socket.io for real-time updates

Backend:

• Express.js with TypeScript
• @kubernetes/client-node for K8s API
• Socket.io for WebSocket connections
• Express middleware for security

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guide for details.

How to Contribute

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Development Guidelines

• Follow the existing code style
• Write tests for new features
• Update documentation as needed
• Ensure all tests pass before submitting PR

Bug Reports & Feature Requests

Found a bug or have a feature request? Please open an issue using our templates:

• Bug Report
• Feature Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• K9s - The amazing terminal UI that inspired this project
• Kubernetes - The container orchestration platform
• All contributors who help make this project better

Star History

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Made with love by the K9s GUI community