lfk

Lightning-fast Miller-columns TUI for Kubernetes

TLDR

Launch with the default kubeconfig

$ lfk

Open a specific context and namespace

$ lfk --context [my-cluster] -n [kube-system]

Use a custom kubeconfig file

$ lfk --kubeconfig [/path/to/kubeconfig]

Combine multiple kubeconfigs via environment

$ KUBECONFIG=[/path/to/c1]:[/path/to/c2] lfk

Load every kubeconfig in a directory

$ lfk --kubeconfig-dir [/path/to/configs/]

lfk is a keyboard-driven terminal user interface for navigating and operating Kubernetes clusters, inspired by the yazi file manager. It presents resources in a three-column Miller columns layout (context → resource type → resource → owned resources → containers) so an operator can drill from cluster to log line without leaving the keyboard.Beyond browsing, lfk supports the day-to-day operations expected from a Kubernetes CLI: tailing logs, exec'ing into containers, running kubectl debug, scaling workloads, deleting resources, and port-forwarding services. Multi-cluster and multi-context workflows are first-class; tabs and a quick switcher allow jumping between clusters in a single session. Optional integrations expose Helm releases, ArgoCD applications, KEDA scalers, and External Secrets.A built-in Prometheus alert view surfaces firing alerts alongside the resources they reference. The binary is written in Go and ships as a single static executable.

PARAMETERS

--context name

Start in the given Kubernetes context.

-n namespace, --namespace namespace

Open in the given namespace.

--kubeconfig file

Override KUBECONFIG with the given file (colon-separated paths are supported).

--kubeconfig-dir dir

Treat every file under dir as a kubeconfig and load them all.

--read-only

Start in read-only mode; mutating actions are disabled.

--theme name

Pick one of the bundled colour themes (press T at runtime to switch).

--help

Print built-in help and exit.

CONFIGURATION

~/.config/lfk/config.yaml

User configuration: theme, search abbreviations, default context, keybindings.

~/.config/lfk/keys.yaml

Custom keybinding overrides.

KUBECONFIG / KUBECONFIG_DIR

Environment variables consumed in the same way as kubectl.

KEY BINDINGS

h / Left, l / Right

Move up or down a column in the Miller layout.

j / Down, k / Up

Move the cursor within the active column.

gg / Home, G / End

Jump to the top or bottom of the list.

Enter

Open a full-screen YAML view of the selected resource.

Filter the current list.

Incremental search and jump.

Space

Toggle multi-select for bulk actions.

Open the action menu (logs, exec, debug, scale, delete, port-forward, ...).

Ctrl+R

Toggle read-only mode at runtime.

Cycle through bundled colour themes.

Show the help screen.

CAVEATS

Requires kubectl to be installed and reachable on PATH. helm and trivy are optional but disable their respective integrations when missing. Mutating actions are guarded by a confirmation prompt; the --read-only flag and Ctrl+R toggle add an extra safety net for production clusters.

HISTORY

lfk was created by Janos Miko and first released in 2024 on GitHub. Inspired by the resource-list/preview ergonomics of yazi and the keyboard speed of k9s, it aims to give SREs a faster path between *"where is the problem"* and *"what does the log say"*.

lfk