Add a cluster

Lens Desktop automatically detects clusters from the specified kubeconfig files. You can find available clusters in Navigator.

In some cases, Lens Desktop might not detect or fail to connect to a kubeconfig. Make sure that your cluster tools, such as kubectl, aws cli, eksctl, gcloud, are up-to-date. After updating the tools, re-generate the kubeconfigs that no longer work with Lens Desktop. For example, configure kubectl, so that you can connect to an Amazon EKS cluster:

aws eks update-kubeconfig --region <region name> --name <cluster name>

As another example, Kubernetes clusters older than version 1.24 may require updating the apiVersion field from client.authentication.k8s.io/v1alpha1 to client.authentication.k8s.io/v1beta1. Please review your kubeconfig and adjust the configurations accordingly.

Specify kubeconfig files

To specify kubeconfig files, click Add Kubeconfigs in Kubernetes Clusters > Local Kubeconfigs in Navigator. Select one of the following options:

• Add kubeconfig by pasting

  Paste the cluster configurations into an input field of the modal.

  Info

  Each instance of pasting a cluster creates a file in the application data folder: ../Lens/kubeconfigs.

• Add kubeconfig from the filesystem

  Select the kubeconfig file from the system menu.

To see your current cluster configuration:

1. Open Terminal

2. In the Terminal tab, execute the following command:

   kubectl config view --minify --raw
   

   If successfull, the cluster configuration is displayed in Terminal.

When connecting to a cluster, make sure you have a valid and working kubeconfig for the cluster.

Manage Kubeconfigs

Right-click on Local Kubeconfigs and select Manage Kubeconfigs to open Preferences > Kubernetes. In this menu you can configure kubectl, specify kubeconfig files, and manage Helm chart repositories.

Connect to a cluster

To add a cluster to your team space, see Add a cluster to a team space.

To connect to a local or a team space cluster, right-click on the cluster and select Connect.