Overview

Native Kubernetes support in Dockerman — workloads, networking, config, storage, RBAC, CRDs, Helm, and debug.

Dockerman's Kubernetes support is a lightweight, GUI-first way to run and inspect a real Kubernetes cluster without switching tools or learning a new dashboard.

Why Kubernetes in Dockerman

Use Dockerman when you want Kubernetes in the same app you already use for Docker. Keep the interface local and fast, bring k3d along for one-click cluster setup, and stay inside a native Rust and Tauri desktop app instead of jumping to another dashboard. It is lighter than Docker Desktop's built-in Kubernetes path and fits local development, small clusters, and CI sanity checks.

What's included

Cluster

Start local k3d clusters, import existing kubeconfigs, and switch between clusters independently from your Docker hosts.

Workloads

Browse Pods, Deployments, StatefulSets, DaemonSets, Jobs, CronJobs, and ReplicaSets.

Networking

Inspect Services, Ingresses, Endpoints, and NetworkPolicies.

Config & Storage

Work with ConfigMaps, Secrets, PVCs, PersistentVolumes, StorageClasses, and Namespaces.

RBAC

See who can do what across accounts, roles, and bindings.

Helm

Manage repositories and Helm releases from the GUI.

Port Forward & DNS

Forward ports and register automatic local DNS entries.

Debug Assistant

Launch an ephemeral debug pod with the tools you need.

Custom Resources

Discover CRDs and browse or edit their instances as YAML.

Events

Browse cluster events with filters by type, reason, object, and namespace.

Cluster overview dashboard

Open the Kubernetes overview to see a live summary of the cluster.

CPU and memory cards — usage across the cluster surfaced as headline cards. Requires metrics-server in the target cluster.
Workload counts — running and pending Pods, Deployments, Services, and other resources counted across all namespaces, not just the active one.
Node status — node count and ready state at a glance.
Recent events — the most recent cluster events, with a link to the full Events browser.

Use the dashboard as a starting point before drilling into specific resources.

Multi-cluster switching

Dockerman tracks the active Kubernetes cluster independently of the active Docker host. Switching clusters keeps your current K8s page where possible, restores deep pages (CRD instances, YAML editor) after an app restart, and refreshes the namespace selector to match the new cluster. Reconnecting to a cluster after a restart restores the last visited resource so you do not lose context.

Two ways to start

Open Cluster and use the Start a local cluster with k3d flow when you want a disposable local cluster for development or testing.

Open Cluster and use the Import an existing cluster flow when you already have a kubeconfig for kind, minikube, EKS, GKE, AKS, or on-prem.

Namespaces

Use the namespace switcher in the top bar to scope every Kubernetes list. Switch namespaces without disconnecting from the cluster, then keep browsing workloads, networking, config, and RBAC in the new namespace.

The Kubernetes sidebar is grouped into Workloads, Networking, Config & Storage, RBAC, and Cluster sections. Two controls let you tailor it to your workflow:

Per-group default expand state — pick which groups open automatically when you connect to a cluster, decoupled from runtime collapse state.
Per-item visibility — hide individual resource entries you never use; runtime expand/collapse picks up where you left it next session.

Edit both from Settings → Sidebar.

Permission errors

Lists return typed K8sListResult<T> so a 403 Forbidden is surfaced at the list itself instead of failing the whole page. You see exactly which resource your context is missing access to and can keep using the rest of the cluster while you fix RBAC.

What's not yet supported

These workflows are not in scope yet:

Cluster creation outside k3d, such as kubeadm or managed-service provisioning.
Horizontal pod autoscalers.
Gateway API beyond Ingress.
Visual CRD editors — use YAML editing instead.
Visual NetworkPolicy editor — author with YAML.