I manage several Kubernetes clusters on AWS EKS and want to give internal users a web interface for viewing and managing the resources they're allowed to access. I'm currently testing Headlamp deployed in-cluster with OIDC authentication through Keycloak, using Google Workspace as the identity source, but it feels somewhat slow and I'm not completely satisfied with it. Before making the interface available to users, I'd like to hear what alternatives others have tried and what you would recommend. A solution with solid Kubernetes RBAC integration, Keycloak/OIDC support, and possibly multi-cluster support would be especially useful.
6 Answers
Argo CD is a solid option if the main workflow is GitOps. It gives users a good view of applications, sync status, health, and deployment history, but it isn’t really a general-purpose Kubernetes management interface. Whether it fits depends on what users need to do.
Lens is another commonly considered option, although its licensing has changed over time and the desktop-focused workflow may not match your requirement for an in-cluster web interface. Kite and ZeusK8s are also alternatives, but I’d evaluate their authentication, RBAC behavior, maintenance, and pricing carefully before standardizing on them.
For a straightforward read-only or lightly restricted interface, the standard Kubernetes Dashboard may have been enough in the past, but it is deprecated and no longer actively maintained. I wouldn’t choose it for a new internal platform.
Rancher is probably the closest match if you want a broader web-based management experience. It supports multiple clusters, OIDC integrations, and Kubernetes permissions. The interface is generally capable, although some areas—particularly apps and charts—can feel slow depending on the scale and workload.
I initially thought Rancher was mainly for managing control planes, but it also provides a user-facing interface for working with registered clusters.
If your audience is primarily data scientists, Onyxia is another specialized option. It handles Keycloak/OIDC integration and persistent S3-backed storage, so it may be a better fit than a generic Kubernetes UI for data-oriented workflows.
Radar is worth looking at, especially if you want an in-cluster UI with OIDC and Kubernetes RBAC support. It focuses on showing relationships between resources, topology, changes, and GitOps context, rather than making users inspect every object separately. That could be useful for developers who don’t work with Kubernetes every day.
It can be deployed in the cluster and configured with RBAC, which is useful for this kind of setup.
Exactly. It works very well as a GitOps dashboard, but users may need another tool for general resource inspection or troubleshooting.