> ## 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.

# Introduction

> Overview of Kubernetes Dashboard, its purpose, and key features

<Warning>
  **Project Archived**: This project is now archived and no longer maintained due to lack of active maintainers and contributors.

  Please consider using [Headlamp](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp) instead, which was recently moved under sig-ui. Headlamp is an easy-to-use and extensible Kubernetes web UI.
</Warning>

## What is Kubernetes Dashboard?

Kubernetes Dashboard is a general purpose, web-based UI for Kubernetes clusters. It allows users to manage applications running in the cluster and troubleshoot them, as well as manage the cluster itself.

<img src="https://mintlify.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/kubernetes-retired-dashboard-98/images/overview.png" alt="Dashboard UI Overview" />

## Key Features

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Application Management" icon="layer-group">
    Deploy, update, and manage containerized applications running in your cluster through an intuitive web interface.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Cluster Monitoring" icon="chart-line">
    Monitor cluster resources, view logs, and track the health of your Kubernetes workloads in real-time.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Resource Troubleshooting" icon="wrench">
    Debug applications and troubleshoot issues with detailed views of pods, deployments, services, and other Kubernetes resources.
  </Card>

  <Card title="RBAC Integration" icon="shield">
    Secure access control through integration with Kubernetes RBAC, ensuring users only see and manage resources they have permissions for.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Architecture Overview

As of version 7.0.0, Kubernetes Dashboard uses a modern multi-container architecture:

* **Web UI Container**: Serves the frontend interface
* **API Container**: Handles backend API requests to the Kubernetes cluster
* **Auth Container**: Manages authentication and authorization
* **Metrics Scraper**: Collects and stores metrics from the Metrics Server
* **Kong Gateway**: Acts as an API gateway connecting all containers (DBless configuration)

<Note>
  Starting with version 7.0.0, manifest-based installation has been dropped in favor of Helm-only installation. This change was necessary due to the multi-container setup and hard dependency on the Kong gateway API proxy.
</Note>

## Versioning Changes

The project has changed its versioning scheme starting with version 7.0.0:

* The `appVersion` field has been dropped from the Helm chart
* Each module (API, Web, Auth, Metrics Scraper) is now versioned separately
* The Helm chart version can be considered the application version

## Default Privileges

Kubernetes Dashboard operates with minimal privileges by default:

**Web Container**:

* `get` and `update` permissions to the Config Map used as settings storage
* Default ConfigMap name: `kubernetes-dashboard-settings`
* Default namespace: `kubernetes-dashboard`

**API Container**:

* `get` permission for `services/proxy` to allow metrics scraper to gather metrics
* Default service name: `kubernetes-dashboard-metrics-scraper`

**Metrics Scraper Container**:

* `get`, `list`, and `watch` permissions for `metrics.k8s.io` API to gather metrics from metrics-server

<Warning>
  It is critical to correctly set up access control for your Kubernetes Dashboard installation. Always use RBAC with minimal privileges needed for Dashboard to run. Never grant cluster-admin privileges in production environments.
</Warning>

## Use Cases

Kubernetes Dashboard is ideal for:

* **Development Teams**: Quickly view application status and logs without command-line tools
* **Operations Teams**: Monitor cluster health and troubleshoot issues through a visual interface
* **Learning Kubernetes**: Understand Kubernetes concepts through visual representation of resources
* **Resource Management**: Create, update, and delete Kubernetes resources through forms

## Community and Support

<Note>
  While the project is archived, the community resources remain available for historical reference and forking purposes.
</Note>

Historical community channels:

* [#sig-ui on Kubernetes Slack](https://kubernetes.slack.com)
* [kubernetes-sig-ui mailing list](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/kubernetes-sig-ui)
* [Issue tracker](https://github.com/kubernetes/dashboard/issues)
* [SIG UI information](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/tree/master/sig-ui)

## License

Kubernetes Dashboard is licensed under the [Apache License 2.0](https://github.com/kubernetes/dashboard/blob/master/LICENSE).

***

**Next Steps**: Learn how to [install Kubernetes Dashboard](/installation) using Helm or explore [accessing the Dashboard](/accessing-dashboard) after installation.