Interface & Navigation
This section is a tour of the Kunobi window and the ways to move around it. Most of what follows applies everywhere in the app, so it's worth a read before diving into clusters and resources.
The Kunobi window
A Kunobi window is made up of a few regions:
- Title bar - the custom bar across the top, with the window controls, the tab strip, and quick toggles for the panels and theme.
- Left sidebar - the primary navigation for moving between areas of the app.
- Main content area - the active page, such as the resource table or the Clusters list.
- Right details panel - context for the selected item, such as a resource's overview, YAML, events, and metrics.
- Bottom panel - the terminal area (shells, log viewers) and the AI assistant.
- Status bar - the strip along the bottom showing the active cluster, the app version, and update status.
Most panels can be shown or hidden, so you can give the current task as much room as it needs.
Tabs
Kunobi uses browser-style tabs in the title bar. Each tab is independent and can show a different page with its own cluster, filters, and workspace.
| Action | macOS | Windows / Linux |
|---|---|---|
| New tab | ⌘T | Ctrl+T |
| Close tab | ⌘W | Ctrl+W |
| Switch to tab 1–9 | ⌘⌥1 – ⌘⌥9 | Ctrl+Alt+1 – Ctrl+Alt+9 |
Drag a tab to reorder it. Right-click a tab for more actions, including rename, pin, close others, and close to the right. Pinned tabs can't be closed by accident.
Panels and sidebars
Toggle the left sidebar, the right details panel, and the bottom panel independently to focus on what matters. Drag the divider between regions to resize them, maximize a panel to fill the window, or enter fullscreen for a distraction-free view. The panel toggles are actions, so you can also reach them from the command palette or bind them to your own shortcuts (see Keybindings).
Multiple windows
You can open more than one Kunobi window. Each window is fully independent, with its own tabs and state, which is handy for putting two clusters (or two views of the same cluster) side by side on your screen. Open a new window from the system tray menu or the app menu.
System tray and menu bar
Kunobi lives in your system tray (the menu bar on macOS). The tray menu gives you quick access to:
- New Window
- Show / Hide the app
- Check for Updates
- Settings
- About
- Quit
Closing the last window hides Kunobi to the tray rather than quitting, so it keeps running in the background. Choose Quit from the tray or the app menu to exit completely.
Command palette
The command palette runs any Kunobi action by name, without hunting through menus. Open it with ⌘P / Ctrl+P, start typing, and pick the action you want. Only actions that apply in your current context are shown.
Home screen
The home screen is the welcome view you land on. It embeds Kunobi's latest web content and lists your most recent clusters so you can reconnect with a single click.
Guided tours
The first time you open a feature, Kunobi may show a short guided tour that points out the key parts of the interface. Tours run once and then get out of your way. You can replay them at any time from Settings → General.
Notifications
Kunobi surfaces important events as small notifications in the corner of the window, including:
- an update is available,
- an invitation to enable telemetry (which is off by default),
- an MCP server error,
- a prompt to install kubectl when a feature needs it,
- a license verification notice,
- and occasional upgrade prompts for Pro features.
About
The About screen shows the app version and build information, and links to the End User License Agreement and Privacy Policy. Open it from the system tray menu or the app menu.