k9s Terminal UI

k9s provides a terminal-based UI for Kubernetes cluster management with real-time updates and keyboard-driven navigation.

Launch Options

k9s                                    # Default kubeconfig
k9s --kubeconfig /path/to/config       # Specific kubeconfig
k9s --context <context-name>           # Specific context
k9s -n <namespace>                     # Start in namespace
k9s --readonly                         # Read-only mode (no modifications)
k9s --headless                         # No splash screen
k9s -c <resource>                      # Start with resource view (e.g., k9s -c pods)
k9s info                               # Show config/log locations

Navigation Commands (: prefix)

Resource Views

Special Commands

Global Keyboard Shortcuts

Resource-Specific Actions

Pods

Deployments

General Resources

Sorting

Filtering & Search

/                    # Enter filter mode
/<term>              # Filter by term (regex)
/-f <term>           # Fuzzy search
/!<term>             # Inverse filter (exclude)
/-l app=nginx        # Filter by label
Esc                  # Clear filter

Namespace Operations

Favorites appear in header for quick access.

Logs View

Within pod logs (l):

Port Forwarding

After selecting a pod and pressing Shift+f:

1. •Select container/port
2. •Enter local port
3. •Port forward starts in background
4. •View active forwards: :pf

Configuration

Config Location

~/.config/k9s/config.yaml     # Main config (Linux)
~/Library/Application Support/k9s/config.yaml  # macOS

Key Settings

k9s:
  refreshRate: 2              # Refresh interval (seconds)
  maxConnRetry: 5
  readOnly: false             # Disable modifications
  ui:
    enableMouse: false
    headless: false           # Hide header
    logoless: false           # Hide logo
    crumbsless: false         # Hide breadcrumbs
  logger:
    tail: 1000                # Log lines to keep
    buffer: 5000
    sinceSeconds: -1          # -1 = all logs

Custom Views

~/.config/k9s/views.yaml:

k9s:
  views:
    v1/pods:
      sortColumn: AGE:desc
      columns:
        - AGE
        - NAMESPACE
        - NAME
        - STATUS
        - RESTARTS
        - CPU
        - MEM
        - IP
        - NODE

Skins/Themes

~/.config/k9s/skins/<name>.yaml - Custom color schemes

Set in config: skin: <name>

Plugins

Location: ~/.config/k9s/plugins.yaml

Example Plugin

plugins:
  stern:
    shortCut: Shift+L
    description: "Multi-pod logs with stern"
    scopes:
      - pods
    command: stern
    background: false
    args:
      - --context
      - $CONTEXT
      - --namespace
      - $NAMESPACE
      - $FILTER

Available variables: $NAMESPACE, $NAME, $CONTEXT, $CLUSTER, $USER, $COL-<column>

Workflow Examples

Debug Failing Deployment

1. •:deploy → find deployment
2. •Enter to see pods
3. •Select failing pod → d describe (check events)
4. •l for logs
5. •p for previous logs (if crashed)
6. •s to shell in for live debugging

Monitor Rollout

1. •:deploy → select deployment
2. •Enter to see ReplicaSets
3. •Watch old RS scale down, new RS scale up
4. •Check pod status in new RS

Quick Cluster Health

1. •:pulse for overview
2. •:node → check node status
3. •:event → recent cluster events
4. •Shift+c / Shift+m to sort by resource usage

Investigate Memory Issues

1. •:pod → Shift+m (sort by memory)
2. •Identify high consumers
3. •d describe for limits/requests
4. •l logs for memory-related errors

Tips

• •Speed: Learn :po, :dp, :svc shortcuts
• •Favorites: Mark frequently-used namespaces with u
• •Save often: Ctrl+s saves current view to /tmp/k9s-screens-<user>/
• •Mouse: Enable in config if preferred
• •Context switching: :ctx to quickly switch clusters
• •Wide view: Ctrl+w shows more columns (node, IP, etc.)
• •Xray: :xray deploy shows deployment→RS→pod tree