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SolKube, the native Kubernetes client for Mac and Linux: Steady helm.

A Kubernetes client drawn with your Mac's own views. Live dashboards, a palette for every action, YAML that dry runs first. It rests at 25 MB.

Also available for Linux.

Shown on LinuxThe SolKube Overview: CPU, memory, pod and node tiles above a load chart, workload rings, pod phases and namespace usage. On Linux.
A dashboard that moves. Every cluster opens on live CPU, memory, pods and nodes. Charts glide to new values every few seconds and numbers roll like an odometer, so a change catches your eye without a redraw.

What's inside

Built for
long shifts.

01

One palette for every action

Open a cluster or a resource list, restart or scale a workload, or jump to a pod's logs or shell without leaving the keyboard. Anything that changes the cluster asks first.

$ ⌘K

Shown on LinuxThe Command-K palette open over the dashboard, listing Show Home, Switch cluster, Open Settings and resource lists. On Linux.

02

Tables built for triage

Resource lists follow the cluster through watch streams. Filter by status, pick rows for bulk actions, and read live CPU and memory from metrics-server right in the table.

$ get pods -w

Shown on LinuxA Pods table filtered by status, with two pods selected and a bulk Delete bar. On Linux.

03

Details, events and YAML together

Open any object to see its fields, its latest events with warnings in amber, and its YAML. Shell, logs and port forwards are one click from a pod.

$ describe

Shown on LinuxA pod's details panel with labels, Edit, Logs, Shell and Forward port actions, a BackOff event and the pod's YAML. On Linux.

04

Edit with a dry run first

Edit YAML in a tab, dry run it against the API server and read the diff before you save. Create from templates with server-side apply, custom resources included.

$ apply --dry-run=server

Shown on LinuxA Deployment's YAML diff after a dry run, changing replicas from 3 to 2, with Discard, Dry run and Save buttons. On Linux.
  • kubeconfig, EKS, AKS and GKE discovery
  • Live watch streams, polling fallback
  • Helm releases: values, history, rollback
  • Pod shell on alacritty_terminal
  • Port forwarding with a live list
  • Node cordon, uncordon and drain
  • Every CRD, with its printer columns
  • Health dots for every cluster

Measured before every release

Benchmarks.

  • Memory at rest

    2.0×

    less memory than the GPUI build

    SolKube24.8 MB (best)
    GPUI build50.5 MB
  • Memory after a minute of use

    3.8×

    less memory than the GPUI build

    SolKube29.9 MB (best)
    GPUI build113.9 MB
  • CPU while idle

    6.0×

    less CPU than the GPUI build

    SolKube0.13% (best)
    GPUI build0.78%
  • CPU during light use

    1.8×

    less CPU than the GPUI build

    SolKube3.42% (best)
    GPUI build6.07%
  • Launch to first window

    Photo finish

    ≈

    level with the GPUI build

    SolKube271 ms
    GPUI build270 ms (best)
  • The small print

    MacBook Air: Apple M3, 16 GB, macOS 27.0 (26A428). Measured November 7, 2026.

    Each figure is the median of every run, so one fast run can't flatter a build. Lens, Freelens and Headlamp come next, on the same Macs.

    How we measureEvery run

FAQ

Good
questions.

Short answers, all of them true today.

  1. 01What is SolKube?

    SolKube is a desktop Kubernetes client, in the same family as Lens, Freelens and k9s. It is written in Rust and draws with each platform's own views (AppKit on macOS), so it opens in about a quarter of a second and uses around 25 MB of memory at rest.

  2. 02Does SolKube send my cluster data anywhere?

    No. SolKube talks to your API servers straight from your Mac with your own kubeconfig and cloud CLIs. There is no SolKube account and no telemetry. The only other request it makes is the update check to downloads.solkube.com.

  3. 03Which clusters does it work with?

    Any cluster your kubeconfig reaches, including exec-plugin auth. SolKube can also find your Amazon EKS, Azure AKS and Google GKE clusters through the aws, az and gcloud CLIs you already use.

  4. 04How much does SolKube cost?

    Pricing isn't final yet. We'll publish it here before the first public release.

  5. 05Is there a Linux or Windows version?

    SolKube builds and runs on Linux with GTK 4 today, and our end-to-end tests drive it there. Published builds start with macOS on Apple silicon.

  6. 06Can I try it in the browser?

    Not yet. A browser build is planned, and when it lands the demo page will run the real app against a sample cluster.

Native on macOS

Download SolKube: Calm
clusters.

Point it at your kubeconfig, or let it find your EKS, AKS and GKE clusters. Nothing to install in the cluster.

Download for MacComing soonWhat's nextRelease notes

macOS · Apple silicon · Updates through Sparkle · No account

Also available for Linux.