Helmsman
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// Native macOS

Kubernetes at your
fingertips.

A native macOS app for managing your Kubernetes clusters. Browse every resource type, stream live logs, edit YAML, scale workloads — all against your existing kubeconfig. If kubectl works on your machine, Helmsman works.

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Helmsman — native macOS Kubernetes manager showing pods view
macOS 14+Native SwiftUI
kubeconfigZero setup
0 agentsDirect API
Go + SwiftNo Electron
CRD-awareDynamic resolver

Your cluster.
Your config.

Helmsman reads the same kubeconfig your terminal already uses. No sign-up, no cluster agent to deploy, no data leaving your machine. Open the app and start working.

Reads your existing kubeconfig

Honors KUBECONFIG env var and multi-context merge rules. Every context you have in kubectl is available in Helmsman.

No cluster agents required

All core operations talk directly to the Kubernetes API server. Nothing runs inside your cluster.

No cloud account

Install, open, and manage clusters without signing up for anything.

Native performance

Go backend + SwiftUI frontend. No Electron, no browser runtime. The app stays out of your way.

kubectl config get-contexts

CURRENT NAME CLUSTER

# click a context — Helmsman switches instantly.

$ open helmsman

Everything you need.
Nothing you don't.

01 / BROWSE

Every resource. Every CRD.

The backend uses Kubernetes server-side Table format and a dynamic RESTMapper — any built-in resource or custom CRD shows up automatically, including kubectl-identical columns. No per-resource code needed.

pods • deployments.apps • virtualservices.networking.istio.io

02 / LOGS

Live log streaming.

Pod logs stream over Server-Sent Events directly to the UI. Filter by container, toggle follow mode, and keep a 5,000-line scrollback buffer. Works exactly like kubectl logs -f.

GET /api/v1/contexts/{ctx}/namespaces/{ns}/pods/{name}/log

03 / YAML

Edit and apply YAML.

Fetch any resource as YAML, edit it in the built-in editor, and apply with server-side apply in one keystroke. The backend strips managed fields so you can round-trip fetched objects directly.

POST /api/v1/contexts/{ctx}/resources (server-side apply)

04 / ACTIONS

Full workload control.

Scale, restart, rollout history with one-click undo to any revision, pause/resume rollouts, suspend/resume CronJobs and Jobs, cancel running jobs, and drain nodes — all from the context menu.

scale • restart • rollout undo • suspend • cancel • drain

05 / INSPECT

Kind-aware overviews.

Every resource gets a rich overview panel tailored to its kind — pods show containers, restarts, and node placement; services show ports and selectors; deployments show replica health. Plus a full JSON tree and raw YAML tab.

Overview → Object → YAML

06 / SHELL

Interactive pod terminal.

Right-click any running pod and open a full interactive shell — bash with sh fallback. Switch between containers without leaving the window. Powered by kubectl exec, no cluster agent required.

kubectl exec -it → bash || sh

Get Helmsman.

01 / Direct

Download the .dmg

Download the disk image, open it, and drag Helmsman to Applications.

Download .dmgmacOS 14+ Sonoma · Free · MIT · kubectl required for shell

02 / Homebrew

Install with Homebrew

Tap the cask, then install. Updates with brew upgrade.

requires homebrew · brew.sh · kubectl required for shell

Start managing your cluster.

Download the app or install via Homebrew. No sign-up, no cloud account, no cluster agent — just your kubeconfig.

DownloadGitHub Repository