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k9s — Kubernetes TUI

k9s

Category: Development Type: Workload Template Tags: development · kubernetes Compatibility: genesis-deployment>=3.0.0-beta.1 · orion-deployment>=3.0.0-beta.1

Overview

k9s is a terminal-based Kubernetes management UI that provides a fast, keyboard-driven interface for interacting with cluster resources. The k9s workload template delivers k9s accessible directly from the browser, allowing developers and operators to inspect pods, view logs, exec into containers, and manage cluster resources without installing any local tooling. Each workload instance runs in its own container with configurable Kubernetes RBAC access and persistent storage.

How It Works

Workload Template — Installs the k9s workload schema into Genesis. Once installed, the k9s type appears in Genesis on the Workloads page, where it can be authored into a workload template. Users can then launch and provision a browser-accessible k9s session on demand within a project through Hubble.

Prerequisites

  • Platform versions: genesis-deployment >= 3.0.0-beta.1, orion-deployment >= 3.0.0-beta.1
  • A Kubernetes storage class available in the cluster
  • RBAC permissions appropriate for the level of cluster access you want to grant

Installation

  1. Open Terra and navigate to the Plugin Marketplace
  2. Search for "k9s"
  3. Click Install
  4. Click Confirm to deploy (no install-time fields required)

Once installed, the k9s schema is available in Genesis. From the Workloads page, author the template — users can then launch and provision k9s sessions on demand through Hubble.

Configuration

Install-Time Fields

No install-time configuration is required for this plugin.

Workload Launch Fields

These fields are configured when authoring the workload template in Genesis and used each time a user provisions a k9s session through Hubble:

Field Details
registry string · Required · Default: docker.io
Container registry for the nginx sidecar image
repo string · Required · Default: nginx
nginx sidecar image repository
tag string · Required · Default: alpine
nginx sidecar image tag
timezone string · Required · Default: America/New_York
Timezone for the k9s instance
cluster_access select · Required · Default: readonly-ns
Kubernetes RBAC access level (readonly-ns or admin-ns)
storage_class k8sStorageClass · Required
Storage class for the k9s data disk
storage_size string · Required · Default: 10Gi
Size of the persistent volume for k9s data

Custom Environment Variables

Genesis lets you add arbitrary environment variables to the workload at launch time. These are commonly useful for a k9s/kubectl terminal session:

Variable Description
EDITOR Text editor invoked by the k9s e (edit resource) command.

Notes

  • readonly-ns grants read-only access to the project's resources; admin-ns grants full admin access — choose carefully based on your security requirements
  • k9s is a powerful tool with direct cluster access; restrict who can launch k9s workloads using Genesis project permissions
  • The nginx sidecar provides the browser-accessible web proxy for the k9s terminal interface
plugins/k9s/terra.yaml
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resource_id: k9s
name: k9s - Kubernetes TUI
icon: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/juno-fx/Terra-Official-Plugins/refs/heads/main/plugins/k9s/assets/logo.png
description: k9s is a Kubernetes CLI dashboard tool accessible via browser.
category: Development
compatibility: genesis-deployment>=3.0.0-beta.1, orion-deployment>=3.0.0-beta.1
tags:
  - cluster-level
  - development
  - kubernetes
fields: []