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Preferences#

In Preferences, you can configure various settings that define Lens Desktop behavior, appearance, and other aspects of the application functioning.

Application#

In the Application menu, you can configure general Lens Desktop settings.

Option Description Possible values
Theme Select the application theme
  • Sync with computer
  • Dark
  • Light
Extension Install Registry Configure the registry of extensions See Extension registry
Start-Up Set the application automatic start-up on login to the system
  • Enabled
  • Disabled
Update Channel Select the channel Lens Desktop updates
  • Stable
  • Beta
  • Alpha
Locale Timezone Select the application timezone Various timezones
Lens CLI Enable the Lens Desktop terminal. For Windows instances, Lens CLI is available by default.
  • Enabled
  • Disabled

Extension registry#

The Extension Install Registry parameter defines the registry URL from which you can download npm packages with Lens extensions. You can search extension packages by name. The following options are available:

  • Default URL

    The npm public registry at https://registry.npmjs.org.

  • Global .npmrc file's URL

    The registry defined in your global config file: $PREFIX/etc/npmrc.

  • Custom URL

    The registry specified in the Custom Extension Registry URL input field.

Proxy#

In the Proxy menu, you can define a proxy server for non-cluster communications. Type the URL in the HTTP Proxy input field.

You can set Lens Desktop to accept all certificates without validations by toggling Allow untrusted Certificate Authorities. This option is for non-cluster communications only and can be useful for corporate networks that re-write certificates.

Kubernetes#

In the Kubernetes menu, you can configure kubectl, specify kubeconfig files, and manage Helm chart repositories.

Configure Helm#

You can either select a Helm repository from the list of available repositories, or specify a custom Helm repository. Also, you can configure the storage backend.

To add a repository from the list, click Repositories and find the necessary remote storage of Helm charts from the drop-down list, or type its name in the input field.

To add a custom repository:

  1. Click Add Custom Helm Repo.

  2. In the following dialog menu, specify the following:

    • Helm repo name

      The Helm repository name

    • URL

      The repository address

  3. Optional. If a custom repository requires authentication, click More and specify Security Settings:

    • Key file

      An HTTPS client that uses this SSL key file.

    • Ca file

      A digital certificate of an HTTPS-enabled server that uses this CA bundle.

    • Certificate file

      An HTTPS client that uses this SSL certificate file.

  4. Optional. Proceed to specify Chart Repository Credentials:

    • Username

      Chart repository username

    • Password

      Chart repository password

To specify the storage backend, type in the HELM_DRIVER input field on of the available options. By default the variable is set to secret. The following options are available:

  • configmap

    Enables the ConfigMap backend.

  • secret

    Enables the secrets backend.

  • sql

    Enables the SQL backend.

Info

See the official Helm documentation for details:

Configure kubectl#

You can either download a kubectl binary through a download mirror (Google or Azure), or you can specify the path to the existing kubectl binary on your computer.

To download the kubectl binary:

  1. Toggle Kubectl Binary Download
  2. Select the download mirror in Download Mirror.
  3. Specify the directory for downloading binaries in Directory For Binaries.

If you already have kubectl installed on your computer, specify its location in Path To Kubectl Binary.

Synchronize kubeconfig files#

Specify kubeconfig files and folders in the Kubeconfig Syncs section. It is necessary for Lens Desktop to connect to your cluster. Otherwise, Lens Desktop might not manage and display the cluster.

Editor and Terminal#

You can configure the Lens Desktop Editor and Terminal in the same-named menus.

Editor#

To turn on the minimap that displays a resource template, toggle Show minimap. Set the position of the minimap in the Position drop-down list.

Other options include:

Option Description
Line Numbers Specifies whether to number the editor lines
Tab Size Specifies the indentation size
Font Size Specifies the size of the font
Font Family Specifies the font family

Terminal#

You can set the following parameters in the Terminal menu:

Option Description
Terminal Shell Path Sets the path to the terminal shell
Terminal Copy & Paste Turns on copying and pasting by the right-click
Terminal Theme Specifies the terminal theme
Font Size Specifies the size of the font
Font Family Specifies the font family

Telemetry#

Lens collects telemetry data. The collected usage data helps the Lens team to better understand the operational usage patterns the Lens users are experiencing as well as to debug issues and enhance the product. While we appreciate the insights this data provides, we also understand that some users may not want to share this usage data with us. Please see our privacy statement for details.

You can turn on and off the following telemetry data aspects:

  • In-app surveys
  • Telemetry and usage tracking
  • Automatic error reports

Development Tools#

Lens paid subscription feature

Info

This menu is related to a Lens paid subscription feature. See Container Development Tools for details about the feature.

In the Development Tools menu, you can manage and configure various options.

To activate the Docker functionality in Lens Desktop, toggle Container Development Tools. The Container Development Tools feature has the following limitations:

  • Lens Desktop does not support the Container Development Tools feature on Windows
  • If you have already installed the Docker CLI, you cannot enable the Container Development Tools feature

Lens Desktop Kube#

Lens paid subscription feature

Info

This menu is related to a Lens paid subscription feature. See Lens Desktop Kube for details about the feature.

To enable the Lens Desktop Kube cluster toggle Enable Lens Desktop Kubernetes.

In Lens Desktop Kubernetes Profiles, you can create and manage profiles.

Lens Teamwork#

In the Lens Teamwork menu, you can enable Lens Teamwork by toggling Enable Lens Teamwork in Lens Desktop.

In SPACES, you can observe team spaces that you participate in. You can also create a team space by clicking Create new Space.

In INVITATIONS, you can observe and accept pending invitations to team spaces. You can configure the region for cluster connection by selecting an option in Default Cluster Connect Region.

Lens Security Center#

Lens paid subscription feature

Info

This menu is related to a Lens paid subscription feature. See Overview of Lens Security Center for details about the feature.

In the Lens Security Center menu, you can configure various parameters of vulnerability scanning of clusters.

Click Go to cluster settings to open the Cluster settings menu of the cluster where you can enable Trivy Operator. Note that the Go to cluster settings button opens the settings menu of the last opened or connected cluster.

You can remove the results of all previous scanning results by clicking Reset in Reset Image Scan Results.

In Vulnerabilities Database, you can set automatic updates of the vulnerabilities database or import a local database. You can also download the in-app database by clicking Export Current DB.