Headlamp — Extensible Open-Source Kubernetes Web UI

What it is

Headlamp is an extensible open-source Kubernetes dashboard that runs as a desktop app or self-hosted web UI. It is a CNCF Sandbox project that provides a clean interface for managing Kubernetes clusters with a plugin API for custom extensions.

The tool targets DevOps engineers, platform teams, and developers who want a lightweight, customizable alternative to the default Kubernetes Dashboard. It supports multi-cluster management and OIDC authentication out of the box.

How it saves time or tokens

Headlamp replaces kubectl commands with a visual interface for common operations: viewing pods, deployments, services, and logs. The plugin API lets teams add custom views for their specific workflows without forking the project. Multi-cluster support eliminates switching kubectl contexts manually.

How to use

1. Install the desktop app from the Headlamp releases page, or deploy to your cluster with Helm: helm install headlamp headlamp/headlamp.
2. Connect to your cluster using your existing kubeconfig.
3. Browse resources, view logs, and manage workloads through the web UI.

Example

# Install via Helm
helm repo add headlamp https://headlamp-k8s.github.io/headlamp/
helm install headlamp headlamp/headlamp -n headlamp --create-namespace

# Access the dashboard
kubectl port-forward -n headlamp svc/headlamp 4466:80
# Open http://localhost:4466

# Or install the desktop app
brew install --cask headlamp  # macOS

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Common pitfalls

• Headlamp requires RBAC permissions matching your kubeconfig. If you see empty resource lists, check your ClusterRole bindings.
• The plugin API uses React components. Building custom plugins requires frontend development knowledge.
• For production self-hosted deployments, always configure OIDC or token-based authentication. The default setup may expose cluster access without proper auth.