> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/kubernetes-retired/dashboard/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Command-Line Arguments

> Reference for all Dashboard module command-line arguments

Kubernetes Dashboard modules accept command-line arguments to customize their behavior. Arguments are passed via Helm values under `<module>.containers.args`.

## API Module Arguments

The API module is the backend that communicates with the Kubernetes API server and serves Dashboard data.

### Configuration in Helm

```yaml theme={null}
api:
  containers:
    args:
      - --openapi-enabled=true
      - --prometheus-enabled=true
      - --system-banner="Production Cluster"
```

### Available Arguments

<ParamField path="disable-csrf-protection" type="boolean" default="false">
  Disable CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery) protection.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --disable-csrf-protection=false
  ```

  <Warning>
    Never enable this in production. CSRF protection is critical for security.
  </Warning>
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="act-as-proxy" type="boolean" default="false">
  Force Dashboard to work in full proxy mode, disabling in-cluster client calls.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --act-as-proxy=true
  ```

  Useful when Dashboard runs outside the cluster and must proxy all requests.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="openapi-enabled" type="boolean" default="false">
  Enable OpenAPI v2 endpoint at `/apidocs.json`.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --openapi-enabled=true
  ```

  Used to autogenerate OpenAPI/GraphQL schemas.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="profiler" type="boolean" default="false">
  Enable pprof profiling endpoint.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --profiler=true
  ```

  Exposes profiling data at `localhost:8070/debug/pprof` for performance debugging.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="prometheus-enabled" type="boolean" default="false">
  Enable Prometheus metrics endpoint.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --prometheus-enabled=true
  ```

  Exposes metrics at `localhost:8080/metrics` for Prometheus scraping.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="apiserver-skip-tls-verify" type="boolean" default="false">
  Skip TLS certificate verification when connecting to Kubernetes API server.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --apiserver-skip-tls-verify=true
  ```

  <Warning>
    Only use for development/testing. Never in production.
  </Warning>
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="auto-generate-certificates" type="boolean" default="false">
  Automatically generate self-signed certificates for HTTPS.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --auto-generate-certificates=true
  ```

  Certificates are stored in `--default-cert-dir`.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="cache-enabled" type="boolean" default="true">
  Enable client-side caching.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --cache-enabled=true
  ```

  Improves performance by caching Kubernetes API responses.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="cluster-context-enabled" type="boolean" default="false">
  Enable multi-cluster cache context support.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --cluster-context-enabled=true
        - --token-exchange-endpoint=http://token-service:8000/exchange
  ```

  Requires a token exchange endpoint for multi-cluster scenarios.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="cache-size" type="number" default="1000">
  Maximum number of cache entries.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --cache-size=5000
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="cache-ttl" type="duration" default="10m">
  Time-to-live for each cache entry.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --cache-ttl=15m
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="cache-refresh-debounce" type="duration" default="5s">
  Minimum time between cache refreshes in background.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --cache-refresh-debounce=10s
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="insecure-port" type="number" default="8000">
  Port for HTTP requests.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --insecure-port=8000
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="port" type="number" default="8001">
  Port for HTTPS requests.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --port=8443
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="metric-client-check-period" type="number" default="30">
  Seconds between metric client health checks.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --metric-client-check-period=60
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="insecure-bind-address" type="string" default="127.0.0.1">
  IP address for `--insecure-port`.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --insecure-bind-address=0.0.0.0
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="bind-address" type="string" default="0.0.0.0">
  IP address for `--port`.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --bind-address=0.0.0.0
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="token-exchange-endpoint" type="string" default="">
  Endpoint for token exchange when `--cluster-context-enabled=true`.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --token-exchange-endpoint=http://auth-service:8000/exchange
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="default-cert-dir" type="string" default="/certs">
  Directory for TLS certificates.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --default-cert-dir=/etc/dashboard/certs
  ```

  Path is relative to the container, not the host.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="apiserver-ca-bundle" type="string" default="">
  Path to CA bundle for API server HTTPS connections.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --apiserver-ca-bundle=/etc/ssl/certs/ca-bundle.crt
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="tls-cert-file" type="string" default="">
  Path to TLS certificate file.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --tls-cert-file=/certs/tls.crt
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="tls-key-file" type="string" default="">
  Path to TLS private key file.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --tls-key-file=/certs/tls.key
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="apiserver-host" type="string" default="">
  Kubernetes API server address.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --apiserver-host=https://kubernetes.default.svc:443
  ```

  If not specified, uses in-cluster service discovery.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="metrics-provider" type="string" default="sidecar">
  Metrics provider type.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --metrics-provider=sidecar
  ```

  Options:

  * `sidecar` - Use metrics-scraper sidecar
  * `none` - Disable metrics
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="sidecar-host" type="string" default="">
  Address of the metrics scraper sidecar.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --sidecar-host=http://metrics-scraper:8000
  ```

  If not specified, uses service proxy.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="kubeconfig" type="string" default="">
  Path to kubeconfig file.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --kubeconfig=/etc/kubernetes/admin.conf
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="namespace" type="string" default="kubernetes-dashboard">
  Namespace for Dashboard-specific resources.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --namespace=kube-system
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="metrics-scraper-service-name" type="string" default="kubernetes-dashboard-metrics-scraper">
  Name of the metrics scraper service.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --metrics-scraper-service-name=custom-metrics-scraper
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="csrf-key" type="string" default="">
  Base64 encoded 256-byte CSRF key.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --csrf-key=<base64-encoded-key>
  ```

  Can also be loaded from `CSRF_KEY` environment variable (preferred).
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="v" type="number" default="1">
  Log verbosity level.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  api:
    containers:
      args:
        - --v=2
  ```

  Higher values = more verbose logging.
</ParamField>

## Auth Module Arguments

The Auth module handles user authentication and token management.

### Configuration in Helm

```yaml theme={null}
auth:
  containers:
    args:
      - --v=2
```

### Available Arguments

<ParamField path="apiserver-skip-tls-verify" type="boolean" default="false">
  Skip TLS verification for API server connections.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  auth:
    containers:
      args:
        - --apiserver-skip-tls-verify=false
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="apiserver-ca-bundle" type="string" default="">
  Path to CA bundle for API server HTTPS.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  auth:
    containers:
      args:
        - --apiserver-ca-bundle=/etc/ssl/certs/ca-bundle.crt
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="port" type="number" default="8000">
  Port for HTTPS requests.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  auth:
    containers:
      args:
        - --port=8000
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="address" type="string" default="0.0.0.0">
  IP address to bind to.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  auth:
    containers:
      args:
        - --address=0.0.0.0
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="kubeconfig" type="string" default="">
  Path to kubeconfig file.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  auth:
    containers:
      args:
        - --kubeconfig=/etc/kubernetes/config
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="apiserver-host" type="string" default="">
  Kubernetes API server address.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  auth:
    containers:
      args:
        - --apiserver-host=https://kubernetes.default.svc
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="csrf-key" type="string" default="">
  Base64 encoded CSRF key.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  auth:
    containers:
      args:
        - --csrf-key=<base64-key>
  ```

  Preferably loaded from `CSRF_KEY` environment variable.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="v" type="number" default="1">
  Log verbosity level.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  auth:
    containers:
      args:
        - --v=2
  ```
</ParamField>

## Web Module Arguments

The Web module serves the Dashboard frontend UI.

### Configuration in Helm

```yaml theme={null}
web:
  containers:
    args:
      - --system-banner="Production Environment"
      - --system-banner-severity=WARNING
```

### Available Arguments

<ParamField path="auto-generate-certificates" type="boolean" default="false">
  Automatically generate self-signed certificates.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  web:
    containers:
      args:
        - --auto-generate-certificates=true
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="insecure-port" type="number" default="8000">
  HTTP port.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  web:
    containers:
      args:
        - --insecure-port=8000
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="port" type="number" default="8001">
  HTTPS port.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  web:
    containers:
      args:
        - --port=8443
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="insecure-bind-address" type="string" default="127.0.0.1">
  IP address for HTTP.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  web:
    containers:
      args:
        - --insecure-bind-address=127.0.0.1
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="bind-address" type="string" default="0.0.0.0">
  IP address for HTTPS.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  web:
    containers:
      args:
        - --bind-address=0.0.0.0
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="namespace" type="string" default="kube-system">
  Namespace for Dashboard resources.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  web:
    containers:
      args:
        - --namespace=kubernetes-dashboard
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="default-cert-dir" type="string" default="/certs">
  Directory for TLS certificates.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  web:
    containers:
      args:
        - --default-cert-dir=/etc/certs
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="tls-cert-file" type="string" default="">
  TLS certificate file path.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  web:
    containers:
      args:
        - --tls-cert-file=/certs/tls.crt
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="tls-key-file" type="string" default="">
  TLS private key file path.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  web:
    containers:
      args:
        - --tls-key-file=/certs/tls.key
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="settings-config-map-name" type="string" default="kubernetes-dashboard-settings">
  ConfigMap name for Dashboard settings.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  web:
    containers:
      args:
        - --settings-config-map-name=custom-settings
  ```

  See [Settings Configuration](/configuration/settings) for details.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="system-banner" type="string" default="">
  Banner message displayed to all users.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  web:
    containers:
      args:
        - --system-banner="Production Environment - Make changes carefully"
  ```

  Accepts simple HTML tags:

  ```yaml theme={null}
  web:
    containers:
      args:
        - --system-banner="<strong>Warning:</strong> Production Cluster"
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="system-banner-severity" type="string" default="INFO">
  Banner severity level (affects color/styling).

  ```yaml theme={null}
  web:
    containers:
      args:
        - --system-banner="Production Environment"
        - --system-banner-severity=WARNING
  ```

  Options:

  * `INFO` - Blue banner
  * `WARNING` - Yellow/orange banner
  * `ERROR` - Red banner
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="locale-config" type="string" default="./locale_conf.json">
  Path to locale configuration file.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  web:
    containers:
      args:
        - --locale-config=/etc/dashboard/locale.json
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="kubeconfig" type="string" default="">
  Path to kubeconfig file.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  web:
    containers:
      args:
        - --kubeconfig=/etc/kubernetes/config
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="v" type="number" default="1">
  Log verbosity level.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  web:
    containers:
      args:
        - --v=3
  ```
</ParamField>

## Metrics Scraper Arguments

The Metrics Scraper polls and stores metrics from the Kubernetes Metrics Server.

### Configuration in Helm

```yaml theme={null}
metricsScraper:
  containers:
    args:
      - --metric-resolution=30s
      - --metric-duration=30m
```

### Available Arguments

<ParamField path="metric-resolution" type="duration" default="1m">
  Polling interval for metrics.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  metricsScraper:
    containers:
      args:
        - --metric-resolution=30s
  ```

  Lower values = more frequent updates, higher resource usage.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="metric-duration" type="duration" default="15m">
  Time to retain metrics before purging.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  metricsScraper:
    containers:
      args:
        - --metric-duration=30m
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="kubeconfig" type="string" default="">
  Path to kubeconfig file.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  metricsScraper:
    containers:
      args:
        - --kubeconfig=/etc/kubernetes/config
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="db-file" type="string" default="/tmp/metrics.db">
  SQLite database file path.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  metricsScraper:
    containers:
      args:
        - --db-file=/data/metrics.db
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="namespaces" type="string" default="">
  Comma-separated list of namespaces to monitor.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  metricsScraper:
    containers:
      args:
        - --namespaces=default,kube-system,production
  ```

  When provided, node metrics are skipped.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="v" type="number" default="1">
  Log verbosity level.

  ```yaml theme={null}
  metricsScraper:
    containers:
      args:
        - --v=2
  ```
</ParamField>

## Example Configurations

### Production API with Monitoring

```yaml theme={null}
api:
  containers:
    args:
      - --prometheus-enabled=true
      - --cache-size=5000
      - --cache-ttl=15m
      - --metric-client-check-period=60
      - --v=1
```

### Development with Debugging

```yaml theme={null}
api:
  containers:
    args:
      - --openapi-enabled=true
      - --profiler=true
      - --prometheus-enabled=true
      - --v=3

web:
  containers:
    args:
      - --system-banner="Development Cluster"
      - --system-banner-severity=INFO
      - --v=3
```

### High-Performance Configuration

```yaml theme={null}
api:
  containers:
    args:
      - --cache-enabled=true
      - --cache-size=10000
      - --cache-ttl=30m
      - --cache-refresh-debounce=10s
      - --metric-client-check-period=120

metricsScraper:
  containers:
    args:
      - --metric-resolution=2m
      - --metric-duration=60m
```

### Multi-Cluster Setup

```yaml theme={null}
api:
  containers:
    args:
      - --cluster-context-enabled=true
      - --token-exchange-endpoint=http://token-service:8000/exchange
      - --cache-enabled=true
```

## Related Configuration

* [Helm Values Reference](/configuration/helm-values) - Container args configuration
* [Settings Configuration](/configuration/settings) - UI behavior settings
* [Security Configuration](/configuration/security) - CSRF and TLS configuration