KubeCove is a fast Kubernetes workspace for cluster inspection, GitOps, and troubleshooting. Use the desktop app locally, or run its headless server with independent concurrent sessions on a remote host that already has kubeconfig access. It is built for application developers and cluster operators who want to browse resources across contexts and namespaces, understand ownership and topology, inspect Argo CD, Flux, and Helm state, and use guarded cluster operations.
KubeCove is a calm, evidence-oriented workspace: see what is running, what owns it, and what is broken before acting.
Download the latest release · Getting started · Public Wiki
- Browse Kubernetes resources across cluster contexts, namespaces, built-in kinds, and discovered custom resources.
- Inspect workload health, ownership relationships, topology, conditions, events, logs, metrics when available, YAML, and deployment revisions.
- View Argo CD and Flux objects alongside live Kubernetes resources, and review Helm release and reconciliation evidence.
- Use target-scoped workflows for Pod and Service port forwarding, exact-Pod exec, scale, rollout restart, selected-resource YAML apply, and delete.
- Run the supported Argo CD refresh and sync operations through explicit, reviewed workflows.
Kubernetes troubleshooting often spans kubectl, a terminal UI, a GitOps interface, and one or more dashboards. KubeCove focuses on the handoff between a signal and the evidence behind it: a local, scope-aware view that keeps the context, namespace, ownership, and exact resource target visible while you investigate. It complements those tools rather than trying to replace all of them.
| Tool or interface | Where KubeCove fits |
|---|---|
kubectl |
Keep using it for scripts and command-line workflows. KubeCove adds visual browsing, relationships, evidence, and guarded forms. |
k9s |
k9s is a terminal UI; KubeCove is a desktop GUI with a different interaction model, including detail panes, topology, and GitOps or Helm context. |
| Argo CD UI | The Argo CD UI remains the specialized interface for Argo CD administration. KubeCove places supported Argo CD state beside live Kubernetes resources and exposes only selected connected operations. |
| Hosted dashboards | KubeCove runs locally with the user's kubeconfig. It is not a hosted dashboard or a multi-tenant Kubernetes management service. |
These tools remain useful. KubeCove is a local Kubernetes workspace for the parts of cluster inspection and troubleshooting where scope, relationships, and an explicit target matter.
| Integration | Current scope |
|---|---|
| Kubernetes | Uses the Kubernetes API through selected kubeconfig contexts. Resource kinds and custom resources are discovered from the cluster when needed. |
| Argo CD | Inspects Argo CD resources through Kubernetes CRDs. An optional connected transport supports manual external HTTPS URLs and private tunnels to discovered eligible Kubernetes Services for bounded application inspection plus supported refresh and sync operations. Connected inspection can visibly fall back to a complete Kubernetes view when required connected reads fail; reviewed operations stay bound to the transport selected at confirmation. |
| Flux | Inspects installed Flux CRDs, status, source references, revisions, and inventory. Flux workflows are inspection-only in the current release. |
| Helm | Inspects Helm release storage, decoded manifest references, and conservative live-resource reconciliation evidence. Helm install, upgrade, rollback, uninstall, and release mutation are not provided. |
KubeCove has a Tauri desktop app and a separate kubecove-server for concurrent remote-host sessions. The Svelte frontend uses typed Tauri commands locally; remote clients use authenticated HTTP and WebSocket adapters over the same Rust command surface.
- Kubeconfig contents, tokens, client keys, and certificate data remain backend-side rather than becoming normal frontend state.
- The application deploys no cluster agent and exposes no generic local-shell bridge. Pod exec is a specific, target-scoped workflow.
- Cluster-changing actions identify one exact target and require explicit confirmation. Port forwards bind to loopback on the client or server host.
- Connected Argo CD credentials and operation review sessions use native credential storage when available. The headless Unix server can use the protected encrypted file store in ADR 0021 when native storage is unavailable.
- The headless server runs independent concurrent sessions on a remote host or as an operator-built container in Kubernetes. Each server uses one sign-in mode: a per-start token, Cloudflare Access, or OIDC. Browsers support all three; the desktop remote client supports token mode. Kubernetes uses the server's credentials by default; opt-in OIDC forwarding uses each signed-in user's ID token. Kubeconfig sources remain operator-managed. Non-loopback TCP requires explicit remote mode and TLS. The container and k0s example uses a dedicated read-only account and private port forwarding.
- Download an installer from the latest release.
- Make a readable Kubernetes context available through
$KUBECONFIGor the standard default kubeconfig location. - Launch KubeCove, create a workspace, choose a context, and narrow namespaces or resource kinds when useful.
- Follow the installation and first-use guide for platform notes and the public Wiki for task guides. To keep cluster access on a remote operations host, see Run KubeCove on a remote host.
On Linux with Nix, run a checkout directly:
nix runRun a tagged release by replacing X.Y.Z with its version:
nix run github:Timpan4/kubecove/app-vX.Y.ZInstallers are beta builds and may show platform trust prompts. KubeCove does not include your cluster credentials, kubectl, Helm, or GitOps CLIs.
- Getting started and downloading
- Run KubeCove on a remote host
- Kubernetes resource browser and topology
- Argo CD and Flux integration
- Helm inspection and reconciliation
- Security, data handling, and architecture
- Product and architecture
Contributing guide · Security policy
KubeCove is built with Svelte and Tauri/Rust. Product and architecture covers the desktop trust boundary and engineering structure.
KubeCove is licensed under GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later.