github.com/derailed/k9s

K9s is a terminal UI for managing Kubernetes clusters that respects your existing kubeconfig authentication and RBAC permissions. It handles credential chains well, supporting exec plugins, OIDC, and certificate-based auth without reimplementing authentication logic. The tool properly inherits cluster TLS configurations and validates certificates according to your kubeconfig settings.

From a security perspective, k9s operates with the privileges of your kubeconfig context - no elevation or bypassing of RBAC. Input validation is generally solid when interacting with resources, though like any interactive tool, destructive operations (delete, scale down) are just a few keystrokes away. The ability to shell into pods and port-forward increases your attack surface compared to read-only kubectl usage, but these are intentional features.

Error messages typically don't leak sensitive cluster information beyond what kubectl would show. However, there's limited audit logging of actions taken through k9s - you'll need to rely on Kubernetes audit logs to track changes. The application stores minimal local state and doesn't introduce new credential storage mechanisms beyond what kubectl uses.

K9s is a terminal-based UI for Kubernetes that's become indispensable in production environments. From an operations perspective, it handles resource management exceptionally well - memory footprint stays reasonable even when watching dozens of resources across namespaces, and the connection pooling to the API server is intelligent enough to avoid overwhelming clusters under load. The refresh intervals are configurable, and it gracefully degrades when facing API server throttling.

The observability hooks are particularly strong - you can tail logs from multiple pods simultaneously, exec into containers, and port-forward with minimal friction. Error handling is thoughtful: when resources disappear or RBAC denies access, you get clear feedback rather than crashes. The context switching between clusters and namespaces is fast and doesn't leak connections. Configuration through hotkeys and resource-specific views (with sorting, filtering) makes day-to-day troubleshooting significantly faster than kubectl.

One gotcha: the default timeout for certain operations could be more aggressive, and the learning curve for custom views requires reading docs. Version updates occasionally change keybindings, which can trip up muscle memory.

K9s is a terminal-based UI for Kubernetes that fundamentally changes how you interact with clusters. Rather than being a Go library you import, it's a standalone CLI tool that wraps kubectl with an incredibly intuitive interface. The keyboard-driven navigation feels natural within minutes - simple shortcuts like ':pods', ':deploy', or ':ns' to switch contexts, and vim-like bindings (j/k for navigation, '/' for search) make it immediately familiar.

The real-time resource monitoring and log streaming are where k9s shines in daily use. Viewing pod logs with 'l', describing resources with 'd', editing with 'e', and executing into containers with 's' all work seamlessly. The context switching and namespace filtering are so smooth that I rarely drop back to raw kubectl anymore. Error messages from the underlying kubectl operations are surfaced clearly, and the status bar provides helpful hints for available commands.

Configuration through ~/.k9s/config.yml is straightforward with sensible defaults. Custom resource definitions are automatically discovered, and the plugin system allows extending functionality. While not a library with APIs, its consistent UX patterns and muscle-memory shortcuts dramatically improve Kubernetes workflow efficiency.