Getting Started

This guide walks you through downloading Kuberniq, installing it on your platform, and connecting to your first Kubernetes cluster.

Download

Kuberniq is available as a native desktop application for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

macOS

Open the .dmg file and drag Kuberniq into your Applications folder. On first launch, macOS may prompt you to confirm opening an app from an identified developer.

Windows

Run the installer. Kuberniq uses the Squirrel framework, so it installs to your user profile and does not require administrator privileges. A desktop shortcut is created automatically.

Linux

Install with your package manager:

# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo dpkg -i kuberniq_*.deb

# Fedora / RHEL
sudo rpm -i kuberniq-*.rpm

Terminal Install

You can also install Kuberniq from your terminal with a single command.

macOS and Linux

curl -fsSL https://kuberniq.dev/install.sh | bash

The script detects your operating system and architecture, downloads the latest release, and installs it to the appropriate location. On macOS, it copies the app to /Applications. On Linux, it installs the .deb or .rpm package depending on your distribution.

Windows (PowerShell)

irm https://kuberniq.dev/install.ps1 | iex

Run this command in an elevated PowerShell prompt. The script downloads and runs the Squirrel installer, which places Kuberniq in your user profile.

First Launch

When you open Kuberniq for the first time, it automatically reads your kubeconfig file from the default path:

  • macOS / Linux: ~/.kube/config
  • Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.kube\config

If the KUBECONFIG environment variable is set, Kuberniq respects it and merges all referenced config files. Every context defined in your kubeconfig appears in the sidebar immediately — no additional setup required.

Kuberniq first launch showing the home screen with available cluster contexts

Connect to a Cluster

  1. Select a context. In the sidebar, you will see a list of all Kubernetes contexts from your kubeconfig. Click on any context to initiate a connection.
  2. Wait for connection. Kuberniq establishes a WebSocket connection to its built-in backend process, which then connects to the Kubernetes API server. The connection status indicator turns green when the cluster is ready.
  3. Explore resources. Once connected, the sidebar populates with resource categories. Click any category to view its resources in the main panel.

Each connected cluster opens in its own browser-style tab, so you can work with multiple clusters simultaneously by clicking different contexts.

Kuberniq home screen showing the cluster list with available contexts

Navigate Resources

The sidebar organizes Kubernetes resources into intuitive categories:

  • Workloads — Pods, Deployments, StatefulSets, DaemonSets, Jobs, CronJobs
  • Helm — Helm releases and chart catalog
  • Network — Services, Ingresses, NetworkPolicies
  • Config — ConfigMaps, Secrets
  • Storage — PersistentVolumeClaims, PersistentVolumes, StorageClasses
  • Apps — HPA, ReplicaSet, PDB, ResourceQuota, LimitRange
  • Cluster — Nodes, Namespaces
  • RBAC — Roles, ClusterRoles, RoleBindings, ClusterRoleBindings, ServiceAccounts
  • Events — Cluster-wide event stream

Click any resource category to see a sortable table of resources. Click a row to open the detail panel with tabs for Overview, Logs, Terminal, Metrics, Events, Graph, and more (where applicable).

Auto-Updates

Kuberniq checks for updates automatically on launch. When a new version is available, a notification appears with the option to download and install it. The update is applied the next time you restart the application. You can also check for updates manually from the application menu.