Install Kubernetes Dashboard on Any K8s Cluster

Verify the Ingress was created and has an address assigned:

kubectl get ingress -n kubernetes-dashboard

Navigating the Dashboard UI

Once logged in, the dashboard organizes information by namespace. Use the namespace dropdown at the top to switch between namespaces or select "All namespaces" for a cluster-wide view.

Key sections in the UI include:

• Workloads - View and manage Deployments, StatefulSets, DaemonSets, ReplicaSets, Jobs, and CronJobs. You can scale deployments, restart pods, and view rollout history directly from here.
• Pods - List all pods with their status, restarts, and resource consumption. Click a pod to see its logs, events, exec into a shell, or view the YAML manifest.
• Services - See all Services and Ingresses. Useful for verifying that your applications are exposed correctly.
• Config and Storage - Browse ConfigMaps, Secrets, PersistentVolumeClaims, and StorageClasses.
• Cluster - View nodes, namespaces, ClusterRoles, and other cluster-level resources.

The dashboard also supports creating resources directly by pasting YAML or JSON manifests. Click the + button in the top-right corner to open the resource creation dialog.

Security Considerations

The Kubernetes Dashboard is a powerful tool, and with that power comes risk if misconfigured:

• Never expose the dashboard to the public internet without strong authentication. A compromised dashboard token gives an attacker full access to your cluster.
• Use RBAC to limit dashboard permissions. Create namespace-scoped ServiceAccounts instead of cluster-admin accounts for regular users.
• Use short-lived tokens. The kubectl create token command generates tokens that expire (default 1 hour). Avoid creating long-lived Secrets unless absolutely necessary.
• Put it behind a VPN or authentication proxy. Tools like OAuth2 Proxy, Authelia, or Pomerium add an extra authentication layer before users even reach the dashboard.
• Audit access. Enable Kubernetes audit logging so you can track who accessed the dashboard and what actions they took.

Alternative - Lens Desktop Application

If you find the web-based dashboard limiting, consider Lens - a standalone desktop application for Kubernetes management. Lens connects directly to your clusters using your kubeconfig file and provides a richer interface with built-in terminal access, Helm chart management, log streaming, and resource editing.

Lens is available for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Install it from the official site or through your package manager. It supports managing multiple clusters simultaneously and includes a built-in Prometheus integration for resource metrics.

The key advantage of Lens over the web dashboard is that it runs locally on your workstation. There is nothing to deploy inside the cluster, no ServiceAccount to manage, and no web endpoint to secure. The trade-off is that each user needs to install the application and have a valid kubeconfig.

Uninstalling the Dashboard

If you need to remove the dashboard, use Helm:

helm uninstall kubernetes-dashboard -n kubernetes-dashboard
kubectl delete namespace kubernetes-dashboard

Verify everything is cleaned up:

kubectl get all -n kubernetes-dashboard

Conclusion

The Kubernetes Dashboard v3 provides a clean, functional web interface for cluster management. The Helm-based installation makes deployment straightforward, and the token-based authentication keeps things secure when configured properly. For quick inspections and basic management tasks, the web dashboard is hard to beat. For power users who manage multiple clusters daily, pairing the dashboard with a desktop tool like Lens gives you the best of both worlds - a browser-based option for quick checks and a full-featured application for deeper work.