Getting started

K9k is a macOS Tahoe 26+ Kubernetes manager built with SwiftUI and a bundled Go client-go helper. It talks directly to the active kubeconfig context. There is no Electron shell, webview, or embedded TUI, and kubectl is not required for normal cluster operations.

Install

There is no packaged release yet: no signed or notarized build, no Homebrew cask, and no GitHub release. Today K9k is built from source. A Developer ID signed release is tracked in the repository's backlog.

Requirements

• macOS Tahoe 26+
• Xcode 26+
• mise

Build and run

git clone https://github.com/alliecatowo/k9k
cd k9k
mise trust
mise install
mise run bootstrap
mise run build
mise run test
mise run run

The Debug app is built at DerivedData/Build/Products/Debug/K9k.app. mise run build compiles and bundles k9k-core into the app.

Try it on a disposable cluster

mise run cluster:create
mise run cluster:seed
mise run run

These tasks use the disposable kind-k9k-test context. Switch back to your production context before opening K9k against a real environment.