Port Forward & DNS
Forward local ports to Services or Pods and optionally register automatic DNS entries for them.
Forward local ports to Services or Pods, then let Dockerman register a local DNS name for each active forward.
Forward a Service or Pod port
Use a Service when you want the forward to survive pod restarts.
Pick a target
Choose a Pod or Service. Services are the safer default for long-lived forwards.
Pick the target and local ports
Dockerman suggests the target's first port and an unused local port.
Start the forward
Start the connection and watch it appear in Active Forwards.
Manage active forwards
The active forwards list shows the target, local port, status, and Stop action.
Service and Deployment forwards automatically reconnect after transient network errors using exponential backoff, and switch to a new ready pod when the current one goes away. Pod forwards do not reconnect because there is no selector to find a replacement.
Automatic DNS
Added in v4.8.0. Automatic DNS registers a hostname for each active port-forward and points it at 127.0.0.1.
Enable automatic DNS in Settings
Open Settings > Kubernetes DNS settings > Enable automatic DNS.
Create a port forward
Dockerman adds the DNS entry as soon as the forward starts.
Open the URL in your browser
Open http://<alias>:<local-port>/ after the DNS entry is in place.
Automatic DNS edits /etc/hosts on macOS and Linux, which requires elevated privileges. On Windows, it uses a local DNS server on 127.0.0.1:53.
Troubleshooting
- Port already in use: pick the next free local port that Dockerman suggests.
- DNS entry not resolving: confirm automatic DNS is enabled and clear any stale browser cache.
- Forward keeps dropping: check that the backing Service still has healthy Endpoints.