Kubectl Control

A VS Code extension for managing multiple Kubernetes clusters with isolated kubeconfig terminals — directly inside VS Code.

Features

Connection Management

• Save cluster connections with name, kubeconfig YAML, group, and shell preference
• Load kubeconfig directly from the filesystem (📂 Load button)
• Automatic validation and context detection while typing
• Select a specific context when a kubeconfig contains multiple contexts
• Namespace is automatically extracted from the active context

Cluster Terminal

• Each connection opens an isolated VS Code terminal with KUBECONFIG set to a temporary file
• Open terminals are tracked — clicking a running cluster focuses the existing terminal instead of opening a new one
• Shell configurable per connection: Default, bash, zsh, PowerShell, cmd

Quick Switch (Ctrl+Shift+K / Cmd+Shift+K)

• Opens a quick-pick list of all saved connections
• Shows whether a terminal is already open
• Opens a new terminal or focuses the existing one

Groups

• Assign connections to a group (e.g. "Production", "Staging")
• Groups appear as collapsible folders in the CLUSTERS panel

Security

• All kubeconfig data is stored in VS Code's encrypted SecretStorage (local, never synced to cloud)
• Optional password lock: prompt for a password when the extension opens
• Exports are always AES-256-GCM encrypted with a user-chosen password (PBKDF2, 200,000 iterations)
• Temporary kubeconfig files are written with mode 0600 and deleted when the terminal closes

Import / Export

• Export: save all connections as an encrypted JSON file
• Import: import encrypted or plain JSON files
• On import, existing connections (same ID) are updated; new ones are added

First Start

A setup wizard appears on first launch:

1. Optionally import existing connections from an export file
2. Optionally enable password protection

The CLUSTERS panel is hidden during setup and appears once setup is complete.

Settings Menu (⚙)

Keyboard Shortcuts

Debugging & Logging

Logs are written to the VS Code Output panel under "Kubectl Control".

Open via:

• Settings menu → Show debug logs
• Command palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) → Kubectl Control: Show Debug Logs

Logs include timestamps, level (INFO, WARN, ERROR) and full stack traces for errors.

Data Storage

Technical Details

• Encryption: AES-256-GCM via Node.js node:crypto
• Key derivation: PBKDF2-SHA256, 200,000 iterations, random salt per export
• Password verification: crypto.timingSafeEqual to prevent timing attacks
• Storage: VS Code SecretStorage (OS keychain / encrypted local storage)
• Bundle: Webpack — no external runtime dependencies except uuid

Requirements

• VS Code 1.80.0 or later
• kubectl must be available in PATH (used by the opened terminals)

License

MIT — see LICENSE