K9s Terminal Dashboard

beginner

Terminal UI for managing Kubernetes clusters.

Overview

K9s is a terminal-based user interface for managing Kubernetes clusters that transforms the complexity of kubectl commands into an intuitive, vim-like dashboard experience. Originally developed by Fernand Galiana, k9s provides real-time cluster monitoring, resource management, and troubleshooting capabilities through a single terminal window, making it an essential tool for Kubernetes administrators who prefer command-line interfaces over web-based dashboards. This Docker configuration packages k9s in a containerized environment while maintaining access to your local Kubernetes configuration, enabling you to manage clusters without installing k9s directly on your host system. The setup mounts your kubeconfig file read-only and uses host networking to ensure k9s can communicate with your Kubernetes API servers exactly as if it were running natively. This approach is particularly valuable for teams working across multiple environments or systems where installing k9s locally isn't feasible, while providing the same powerful cluster management capabilities through an isolated container runtime.

Key Features

Real-time Kubernetes resource monitoring with automatic refresh and live updates
Vim-style keyboard navigation and shortcuts for efficient cluster management
Interactive resource inspection with built-in describe, logs, and shell access
Multi-cluster support with context switching directly from the interface
Resource filtering and search capabilities with regex pattern matching
Pod log streaming with color syntax highlighting and follow mode
Direct kubectl command execution through integrated shell access
Customizable resource views with sortable columns and field selection

Common Use Cases

1DevOps teams managing multiple Kubernetes clusters from a standardized containerized environment
2CI/CD pipeline integration where k9s provides debugging capabilities without host installation
3Remote Kubernetes administration through SSH sessions where GUI dashboards aren't accessible
4Development environment troubleshooting with quick pod log analysis and resource inspection
5Training and learning environments where k9s can be deployed consistently across student machines
6Production incident response requiring rapid cluster state assessment and resource manipulation
7Container platform migrations where k9s provides consistent tooling across different host systems

Prerequisites

Valid Kubernetes configuration file located at ~/.kube/config with cluster access credentials
Network connectivity to target Kubernetes API servers from the Docker host
Docker Engine with support for interactive TTY sessions and host networking
At least 512MB available RAM for k9s runtime and cluster data caching
Basic familiarity with Kubernetes resources and kubectl command concepts
Terminal emulator supporting UTF-8 encoding and color output for proper display

For development & testing. Review security settings, change default credentials, and test thoroughly before production use. See Terms

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  k9s: 
3    image: derailed/k9s:latest
4    container_name: k9s
5    stdin_open: true
6    tty: true
7    volumes: 
8      - ~/.kube/config:/root/.kube/config:ro
9    network_mode: host

.env Template

.env

1# Requires valid kubeconfig at ~/.kube/config

Usage Notes

1Docs: https://k9scli.io/
2Run: docker compose run k9s
3Navigate: arrows to move, Enter to select, Esc to go back
4Commands: ':pod' for pods, ':svc' for services, ':deploy' for deployments
5Actions: 'd' describe, 'l' logs, 's' shell, 'ctrl-d' delete
6Filter: '/' to search, 'ctrl-s' to save filter

Quick Start

terminal

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  k9s:
5    image: derailed/k9s:latest
6    container_name: k9s
7    stdin_open: true
8    tty: true
9    volumes:
10      - ~/.kube/config:/root/.kube/config:ro
11    network_mode: host
12EOF
13
14# 2. Create the .env file
15cat > .env << 'EOF'
16# Requires valid kubeconfig at ~/.kube/config
17EOF
18
19# 3. Start the services
20docker compose up -d
21
22# 4. View logs
23docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

terminal

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/k9s/run | bash

Troubleshooting

Error 'unable to load configuration': Verify ~/.kube/config exists and contains valid cluster credentials with proper formatting
Connection timeouts to API server: Check host networking configuration and ensure Docker can reach Kubernetes endpoints
Permission denied accessing kubeconfig: Confirm the mounted config file has readable permissions and proper ownership
K9s interface appears garbled: Ensure your terminal supports UTF-8 encoding and has sufficient width (minimum 80 columns)
Context switching fails: Verify all contexts in kubeconfig are accessible and credentials haven't expired
Resource views show empty data: Check RBAC permissions for the authenticated user to view cluster resources

Community Notes

Loading notes...

Download Recipe Kit

Get all files in a ready-to-deploy package

Includes docker-compose.yml, .env template, README, and license

Components

k9s

Related Recipes

Ad Space

Shortcuts: C CopyF FavoriteD Download