Kubernetes Dashboard is retired. Here's what to run instead.
Archived January 2026, no more security patches. Your real options - including the official one, which isn't ours.
- January 21, 2026: the kubernetes/dashboard repository was archived and moved to kubernetes-retired/dashboard, citing a lack of active maintainers.
- No more updates of any kind - security patches included. Existing deployments continue to run, unmaintained.
- The official successor is Headlamp, now under Kubernetes SIG UI - worth knowing before you read the rest of this page from a competing vendor.
Four realistic paths off the retired Dashboard.
Which one is right depends on who used Dashboard at your org and what for.
Radar
Full disclosure: this is our toolApache 2.0 · OSS + optional CloudThe upgrade path rather than the swap: resource browsing like Dashboard had, plus topology, a persistent event timeline (the API server forgets after ~1h - Radar doesn't), log streaming, exec, Helm, GitOps status, and a cluster best-practices audit, all in core. Runs from your laptop with zero cluster-side install, or in-cluster via Helm chart like Dashboard did.
What's in Radar OSSHeadlamp
The governance pickApache 2.0 · Kubernetes SIG UISIG UI's recommended replacement (~6.6k stars). Its real edge is governance: vendor-neutral, SIG-backed, outlasts any single vendor - a legitimate reason to choose it if 'semi-official' is a hard requirement. As a tool it's a resource browser with a basic built-in map, extended by a plugin catalog (Flux, OpenCost, Prometheus, Helm, cert-manager, KEDA). The gaps are the telling part: GitOps is Flux-only officially (ArgoCD is community-only), and there's nothing for service-traffic or a persistent event timeline. It covers what Dashboard covered without closing what Dashboard couldn't do.
k9s
The terminal routeApache 2.0 · freeIf Dashboard was only ever used by people comfortable in a terminal, k9s (~34k stars) covers resource browsing, logs, and exec at higher speed than any web UI. It can't be handed to someone who expects a webpage - which is usually why Dashboard was installed in the first place.
Freelens / Lens
The desktop IDE routeMIT fork · free / commercialA different model entirely: per-laptop desktop apps reading each engineer's kubeconfig rather than one shared in-cluster UI. Strong for individual power users; doesn't replace the 'one URL the whole team opens' role Dashboard played.
Everything Dashboard did, mapped.
The migration is an afternoon, not a project. No CRDs, no operators, no agents.
| You used Dashboard for | In Radar |
|---|---|
| Browsing workloads, pods, events | Resources view - same job, with search across kinds and a detail drawer |
| kubectl proxy + token login | Local mode: kubectl radar uses your kubeconfig RBAC directly. In-cluster: ServiceAccount + OIDC SSO instead of copying tokens |
| Viewing container logs | Live log streaming, multi-container, with filtering |
| Exec into a pod | In-browser exec terminal (RBAC-gated, like everything else) |
| Watching events during an incident | Event timeline that persists beyond the API server's ~1h window - replayable after the incident |
| In-cluster Helm install | helm install radar skyhook/radar - or skip cluster-side install entirely and run it locally |
Common questions.
Is the Kubernetes Dashboard deprecated?
Retired outright. The repository was archived on January 21, 2026 and moved to the kubernetes-retired org. It receives no security updates, bug fixes, or new features. Existing installs keep working, but running an unmaintained, privileged web UI against your cluster is a growing liability.
What is the official replacement for Kubernetes Dashboard?
Headlamp - Kubernetes SIG UI named it the official successor. Its edge is governance, not features: vendor-neutral and SIG-backed, so it outlasts any one company. As a tool it's a resource browser plus plugins, which is roughly what Dashboard already was. If a semi-official project is a hard requirement, pick Headlamp. If you want a tool that's better at the job - topology, history, GitOps, and incident workflow in core - that's where Radar comes in.
Can I keep running the old Dashboard for now?
It won't stop working, but every CVE in its dependency chain from here on goes unpatched in a component that, by design, has broad read (often write) access to your cluster. Treat migration as a this-quarter item, not a someday item.
Why consider Radar over Headlamp?
Scope, and it's not close. Headlamp is a clean resource dashboard with a basic built-in map; most else - Flux GitOps, cost, metrics - arrives as separate plugins you install and version, and some things aren't in the official catalog at all (an ArgoCD plugin, service-traffic, a persistent timeline). Radar ships topology, persistent event history, GitOps for ArgoCD and Flux, traffic, Helm, and a best-practices scanner in core, as one Go binary. Headlamp's one real advantage over Radar is governance - the SIG-UI backing. If that's not your deciding factor, Radar is the more capable tool. Both are Apache 2.0, so try both in an afternoon.
Do I need to install anything in the cluster to try Radar?
No. brew install skyhook-io/tap/radar && kubectl radar runs locally against your current kubeconfig and opens a browser. The in-cluster Helm chart exists for when you want a permanently shared instance - the thing Dashboard used to be.
Replace it in the time it took to read this page.
brew install skyhook-io/tap/radar, then kubectl radar. Apache 2.0, nothing deployed to your cluster.
Apache 2.0 OSS · Unlimited clusters self-hosted · Hosted free tier for up to 3 clusters