Kubernetes Profiles

Manage multiple kubeconfig contexts in Tempest — one Kubernetes cluster per tab, with kubectl, helm, and k9s ready to go on macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Tempest manages your kubeconfig files as first-class connection profiles. Each profile gets its own tab with the KUBECONFIG environment variable pre-set, so kubectl, helm, k9s, kustomize, and any other CLI tool just work — no manual context switching.

This solves the everyday "which cluster am I talking to?" problem: dev cluster in tab 1, staging in tab 2, prod in tab 3 — never type kubectl config use-context again.

Add a kubeconfig

1. Open the New Kubeconfig dialog.

   
2. Paste a kubeconfig YAML or load from a file. Tempest parses the contexts inside.

3. Click Connect. Tempest opens your local terminal with KUBECONFIG already pointing at this profile.

Use kubectl, helm, k9s

Inside the tab, run any tool exactly as you would in a normal shell:

kubectl get pods -A
helm list -A
k9s

Tip: keep one kubeconfig profile open per cluster — different tabs can target different clusters at the same time without env-var conflicts.

Install the Kubernetes CLI

Tempest doesn't bundle kubectl — install it once with your platform's package manager.

Platform	Install command
macOS	brew install kubectl (requires Homebrew)
Windows	scoop install kubectl (requires Scoop)
Ubuntu / Debian	See official install guide

For helm and k9s use the same package managers (brew install helm k9s, scoop install helm k9s).

See also

• SSH Client for Teleport, Cloudflare Access, AWS SSM, GCP IAP & Tailscale — many production Kubernetes clusters live behind these zero-trust gateways

• Tempest AI Assistant — ask the AI to draft kubectl commands and pipe results back into the terminal