The Kubernetes Dashboard is archived. The repository now lives in the GitHub organization kubernetes-retired, the maintainers state that it is "no longer maintained", and the official Kubernetes documentation recommends Headlamp for new installations. An existing Dashboard keeps running, but it no longer receives bug fixes or security updates. So you do not set it up in new clusters any more, and in existing clusters you plan the switch.
I run Kubernetes clusters in production, and I still covered the Dashboard and Lens in detail in chapter 2 of my Kubernetes practical guide published by Rheinwerk (2024). Things have changed since then, and in this article I explain what the archive means for you and which tools take its place. You can find all my articles on Kubernetes collected on the Kubernetes page.
What happened to the Kubernetes Dashboard
For years, the Dashboard was the Kubernetes project's web UI: a page in the browser where you see deployments, pods, and services, read logs, open a shell in a container, and edit YAML. Today the repository opens with a note from the maintainers: "This project is now archived and no longer maintained due to lack of active maintainers and contributors." Simply put, there were not enough people left to develop it.
The repository is marked as archived on GitHub and lives at kubernetes-retired/dashboard. The last release is the Helm chart kubernetes-dashboard-7.14.0 from October 30, 2025, and the last change in the repository dates from January 21, 2026. The Kubernetes documentation is now just as clear: "Kubernetes Dashboard is deprecated and unmaintained", and for new installations you should consider Headlamp.
If search results still show you guides recommending the Dashboard as "the official web UI", they predate this step.
What this means for an existing cluster
An installed Dashboard does not suddenly stop working. The problem is a different one: it is a web UI with access to your cluster that, depending on its permissions, lets people change objects and open shells in containers. If a security vulnerability is found in it, nobody will fix it. I do not want a component like that in any cluster that is reachable from the network.
Two commands tell you whether a Dashboard is still running in your cluster:
helm list -A | grep -i dashboard
kubectl get deployments -A | grep -i dashboard
If it was installed with Helm following the former instructions, the release is usually called kubernetes-dashboard in a namespace of the same name. Before you remove it, find out who uses it and for what, and provide the alternative. Then clean up with helm uninstall kubernetes-dashboard -n kubernetes-dashboard and check whether ServiceAccounts or ClusterRoleBindings created only for the Dashboard are left behind. That is often exactly where far-reaching permissions sit that nobody needs any more. How roles and permissions fit together is explained in Kubernetes RBAC: Roles and Permissions.
Headlamp: the recommended successor
Headlamp is the UI that both the archived Dashboard and the Kubernetes documentation point to. The project now lives under Kubernetes SIG UI in the kubernetes-sigs organization; the current version is v0.46.0 from October 15, 2026. Two things set it apart from the old Dashboard: Headlamp runs either in the cluster or as a desktop app on your machine, and it can be extended with plugins.
For running it in the cluster there is a Helm chart:
helm repo add headlamp https://kubernetes-sigs.github.io/headlamp/
helm install headlamp headlamp/headlamp --namespace kube-system
kubectl port-forward -n kube-system service/headlamp 8080:80
After that, Headlamp is available at localhost:8080. According to the documentation, you need a ServiceAccount or an OIDC integration to sign in. This is where it is decided whether the UI is secure: give the access only the permissions its users really need, and for simply looking around a role with read permissions is enough. Creating one shared login with full admin rights for everyone turns the UI into an entry point for attackers.
As a desktop app, Headlamp reads the clusters from your kubeconfig, much like kubectl. Then nothing extra runs in the cluster, and you work with your own permissions. For individuals and small teams I usually find that the better choice.
More alternatives: k9s, Freelens, and Lens
Not every alternative has to run in a browser. The tools that come up most often:
k9s pays off when you want to jump quickly through pods, logs, and events without leaving the terminal. It does not replace kubectl in scripts, but it makes looking around much faster. If you see Grafana in search results for "Kubernetes dashboard": that is something different, namely dashboards for metrics, not a management UI. How I collect and display metrics is covered in Kubernetes Monitoring with Prometheus.
Do you need a UI at all?
For work in production I stick with kubectl, because there I want to type and understand every command deliberately, and because changes should go through Git and GitOps anyway, not through clicks. A UI helps me when I see an unfamiliar cluster for the first time. And it helps when someone without deep Kubernetes knowledge just needs to check whether their application is running.
My advice: first decide who will use the UI and which permissions that person needs. The tool then follows almost by itself. Read access in the browser for a team: Headlamp in the cluster. Full permissions for yourself: Headlamp as a desktop app, Freelens, or k9s. I have collected the most important commands for everyday work without a UI in kubectl Commands: The Essentials.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Kubernetes Dashboard still being developed?
No. The repository is archived and lives at kubernetes-retired/dashboard. According to the maintainers, it is no longer maintained due to a lack of active maintainers; the last release is from October 30, 2025.
Can I keep using an installed Dashboard?
It keeps running technically, but it no longer gets security updates. In a cluster that is reachable from the network or accessed by many people, you should replace it with a maintained alternative and clean up the associated permissions.
What is the official successor to the Kubernetes Dashboard?
There is no formal successor, but both the archived repository and the Kubernetes documentation recommend Headlamp. Headlamp is a Kubernetes SIG UI project and runs in the cluster or as a desktop app.
Is Lens still free?
Lens is a product by Mirantis with its own pricing page, and the terms depend on how you use it. Check them before using it in a company. Freelens is a desktop app under the MIT license that does not require a commercial license.
Where to go next
First use the two commands above to check whether a Dashboard is still running in your clusters. If so, provide Headlamp or one of the other alternatives, clean up the old permissions, and remove the Dashboard. How to separate access cleanly is in Kubernetes RBAC: Roles and Permissions, and the everyday commands are in kubectl Commands: The Essentials.
I explain the basics of kubectl and UIs in detail in chapter 2 of my Kubernetes Practical Guide (Rheinwerk Computing); the book does not yet cover the switch from the Dashboard to Headlamp, because the project was only archived after the book came out. The project's current recommendation is in the Kubernetes documentation on the Dashboard, and you can find Headlamp in the Kubernetes SIG UI repository.
