For years there were two answers to "how do I look at my cluster without typing kubectl". You deployed kubernetes-dashboard , or you installed Lens . Both answers expired.

The Dashboard repository was archived on 21 January 2026. The notice at the top of its README is short:

This project is now archived and no longer maintained due to lack of active maintainers and contributors.

The same README names its successor: Headlamp, "an easy-to-use and extensible Kubernetes web UI". The last release, 7.14.0, is from October 2025 and still installs fine. It is also a piece of software with a service account in your cluster and nobody shipping security fixes for it.

Lens did not die, it went up-market. The old k8slens.dev now redirects to lenshq.io , where the Personal tier is still free "for students, hobbyists, and engineers at small organizations" - with a footnote that organizations above $10 million in annual revenue or funding need a paid plan after a 30-day evaluation.…