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Accessing Kubernetes Using the Web UI (Kubernetes Dashboard)



Above Image is the actual dashboard you will be able to access post following this blog.

Kubernetes provides a powerful command-line interface, but sometimes, a graphical dashboard can make it easier to monitor and manage cluster resources. The Kubernetes Dashboard is a web-based UI that allows you to interact with your cluster visually. In this guide, you'll learn how to install, configure, and access the Kubernetes Dashboard.

Step 1: Deploy the Kubernetes Dashboard

To install the Kubernetes Dashboard, apply the recommended deployment YAML:

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes/dashboard/v2.7.0/aio/deploy/recommended.yaml

This command creates the necessary namespaces, services, deployments, and RBAC roles.

Verify that the dashboard is running:

kubectl get pods -n kubernetes-dashboard

Expected output:

kubernetes-dashboard-xxxxxxxxxx-xxxxx   Running   1/1   10s

Step 2: Create an Admin User

To access the dashboard, you need proper authentication. Create an admin user with full access rights.

  1. Create a service account file (admin-user.yaml):

    apiVersion: v1
kind: ServiceAccount
metadata:
  name: admin-user
  namespace: kubernetes-dashboard

  2. Create a ClusterRoleBinding file (admin-role.yaml):

    apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: ClusterRoleBinding
metadata:
  name: admin-user
roleRef:
  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
  kind: ClusterRole
  name: cluster-admin
subjects:
  - kind: ServiceAccount
    name: admin-user
    namespace: kubernetes-dashboard

Apply the files:

kubectl apply -f admin-user.yaml
kubectl apply -f admin-role.yaml

Step 3: Retrieve the Login Token

Once the service account is created, generate an authentication token:

kubectl -n kubernetes-dashboard create token admin-user

Copy the output token; you’ll need it to log in.

Step 4: Access the Kubernetes Dashboard

To access the dashboard, forward the service to a local port:

kubectl port-forward -n kubernetes-dashboard service/kubernetes-dashboard 10443:443

This will forward the Kubernetes Dashboard service to your local machine on port 10443.

Now, open your browser and navigate to:

🔗 https://localhost:10443

Since the dashboard uses a self-signed certificate, your browser might show a security warning. Click Advanced → Proceed to localhost to continue.

Step 5: Login to the Dashboard

On the login page, select the Token authentication method and paste the token you copied earlier. Click Sign In.

Once logged in, you can now visualize your cluster's workloads, view logs, and manage resources using the Kubernetes Dashboard.

Note: Post working with dashboard if you wanna delete it follow below commads.


kubectl delete -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes/dashboard/v2.7.0/aio/deploy/recommended.yaml

Additionally, remove the admin user resources:

kubectl delete serviceaccount admin-user -n kubernetes-dashboard
kubectl delete clusterrolebinding admin-user

Check if any Dashboard-related resources remain:

kubectl get all -n kubernetes-dashboard

If the namespace still exists, delete it manually:

kubectl delete namespace kubernetes-dashboard

This will completely remove all Dashboard-related components from your cluster.