Klystr — Visual Kubernetes Operations Workspace for VS Code
Klystr brings deep Kubernetes resource topology, dependency discovery, RBAC inspection, manifest analysis, container-image security, and cluster security checks directly inside Visual Studio Code.
Instead of running dozens of terminal commands or wrestling with disjointed kubectl outputs, Klystr renders an interactive, real-time graph of how your workloads, services, ingresses, and configs connect.
Key Features
1. Automatic Workspace Manifest Scanner (Zero-Upload)
- Automatically detects and parses all Kubernetes YAML manifests (
**/*.yaml, **/*.yml) in your open VS Code project.
- Visualizes service selectors, ingress backends, volume mounts, ConfigMap references, and secret bindings.
- Live Auto-Reload on Save: Whenever you edit and save a manifest file in VS Code (
Ctrl+S), Klystr re-calculates the dependency graph in real time.
- Integrated into the VS Code Activity Bar (
Klystr icon).
- Lists all available Kubernetes clusters and contexts from your local
~/.kube/config.
- Single-click context switching directly from the tree view or Command Palette.
- Persistent status bar indicator (
⎈ Klystr: [context]) showing your active cluster.
3. Deep Topology & Dependency Graph
- Interactive visual graph powered by ELK layout algorithms and React Flow.
- Groups resources by Node and namespace with zoom, pan, and filter controls.
- Detects relationship evidence across Ingresses, Services, Pods, ConfigMaps, Secrets, and Persistent Volumes.
4. RBAC & Identity Analysis
- Live inspection of ServiceAccounts, Roles, ClusterRoles, and RoleBindings.
- Identifies privilege escalations, wildcard permissions, and diagnostic access denials using
SelfSubjectAccessReview.
5. Cluster Security & Image Scans
- Identifies vulnerabilities, unpinned image tags, root execution risks, and missing resource limits.
Quick Start
- Open any repository or Kubernetes project in VS Code.
- Click the Klystr icon in the Activity Bar (left sidebar), or open the Command Palette (
Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) and type:
Klystr: Open Kubernetes Workspace
- To scan manifests in your current project folder:
Klystr: Scan Workspace Manifests
- To switch Kubernetes contexts:
Klystr: Switch Active Context
Commands
| Command |
Description |
klystr.openDashboard |
Opens the full interactive Klystr workspace in an editor tab |
klystr.scanWorkspaceManifests |
Scans open repository YAMLs and generates a local manifest dependency graph |
klystr.switchContext |
Quickly switch active Kubernetes context (~/.kube/config) |
klystr.refreshClusters |
Reloads cluster and context definitions |
klystr.startServer |
Starts the local Klystr backend service |
klystr.stopServer |
Stops the background service |
Extension Settings
You can customize Klystr via VS Code Settings (Ctrl+, > Search for Klystr):
klystr.serverPort: Port for the local Klystr server (default: 3000). Set to 0 to pick a dynamic free port.klystr.autoStartServer: Automatically start the Klystr backend when opening the workspace (default: true).klystr.autoScanManifests: Automatically scan open workspace for Kubernetes YAML manifests and watch for file changes (default: true).
Requirements
- Visual Studio Code
1.90.0 or higher.
- A valid
~/.kube/config file (optional, required only for live cluster queries; local manifest graph works without a cluster).
Releases & Versioning
The VS Code extension follows an independent versioning lifecycle from the root web application:
- Version Definition: Managed in
package.json.
- Git Tagging Format: Uses scoped tags (
vscode-v<version>, e.g., vscode-v0.1.1) to isolate extension releases from web releases.
- Packaging & Publishing: See RELEASING.md for the complete release, hotfix, and Marketplace publishing guide.
License
Apache-2.0. See LICENSE for details.
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