k9s is a terminal-based UI for managing Kubernetes clusters. It provides a fast, interactive way to observe and manage your Kubernetes resources without needing to memorize complex kubectl commands.

Key Features

• Interactive UI - Navigate Kubernetes resources with keyboard shortcuts
• Real-time Updates - Live monitoring of pods, deployments, and services
• Resource Management - View, edit, delete, and describe resources
• Log Streaming - View container logs in real-time
• Port Forwarding - Quick access to services and pods
• Context Switching - Easily switch between clusters and namespaces

Core Capabilities

• Resource Views - Browse all Kubernetes resources (pods, deployments, services, etc.)
• Search & Filter - Quickly find resources with fuzzy search
• YAML Editing - Edit resource definitions directly in your editor
• Shell Access - Execute into containers for debugging
• Custom Views - Create custom resource views with aliases
• Benchmarking - Built-in HTTP load testing

Common Use Cases

• Debugging - Quickly troubleshoot pod and container issues
• Monitoring - Real-time cluster health and resource status
• DevOps Workflows - Rapid cluster management during development
• Learning Kubernetes - Explore resources and understand relationships
• Production Support - Fast incident response and investigation

Getting Started

# Install k9s
brew install k9s  # macOS
# or download from https://k9scli.io/

# Launch k9s (uses current kubectl context)
k9s

# Launch with specific namespace
k9s -n my-namespace

# Launch with specific context
k9s --context my-cluster

# Key commands (in k9s):
# :pods     - View pods
# :deploy   - View deployments
# :svc      - View services
# /         - Search/filter
# l         - View logs
# d         - Describe resource
# e         - Edit resource
# Ctrl+d    - Delete resource

Why Choose k9s?

k9s excels when you need:

• Speed - Faster than typing kubectl commands repeatedly
• Visibility - Real-time view of cluster state
• Productivity - Keyboard-driven workflow for power users
• Accessibility - No need to memorize complex kubectl syntax
• Efficiency - Quickly navigate between namespaces and resources

k9s is essential for anyone working with Kubernetes clusters, from developers to DevOps engineers, providing a powerful alternative to kubectl for daily cluster management.