Press Shift F on a Pod, Service, Deployment, StatefulSet or DaemonSet. A Route or Ingress forwards to its backend Service. Alt Shift F forwards the first port in one click.
The dialog
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Remote port | Pick a service or container port (HTTP ones are marked), or enter Other remote port. Only TCP ports are offered. |
| Local port | 0 picks a free port. |
| Bind address | Default 127.0.0.1. Must be an IP address or localhost. |
| Open in browser when ready | Opens the forwarded URL once the tunnel is up. |
| Save this forward | Keeps it for later under Port Forward: Saved Forwards…. |
| Start when the cluster connects | Restarts a saved forward automatically. |
Staying connected
- If the target pod disappears, the forward shows “reconnecting” and keeps the local port open.
- A Service forward re-resolves the pod on every connection and probes every 4 seconds, so it survives pod restarts.
- Forwards stop when their cluster disconnects or is removed.
- Every forward is listed under Active Sessions with a stop button.
- A forward is *listening*, *reconnecting* (the target does not resolve; the local port stays open and a probe re-resolves it every 4 seconds) or *failed* (for example a bind error, with a toast). Terminating pods are never picked.
- Active Sessions rows have status icons, buttons to open HTTP ports in the browser, copy the address and save or forget the forward, and show details on their own line. The status bar counts logs, shells, forwards and watches, and web view forwards too.
- Saved and auto-started forwards respect read-only mode.
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| CtrlAltO | Open the last port-forward in the browser |
Saved forwards live in state.json. Port-forwarding is blocked on read-only clusters. To open a web UI on a service, see Web views.