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.

INSTALL

nix profile install nixpkgs#lfk

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