Migrating from Lens K8S IDE
Migrate from Lens K8S IDE to Kubyl
Kubyl is a free, native Kubernetes IDE and desktop client. It reads the kubeconfigs you already use, so switching from Lens (Lens K8S IDE, called Lens Desktop in parts of its docs) takes a few minutes. Below is an honest, feature-by-feature comparison, including what Lens charges for.
- Reads your existing kubeconfigs
- Free desktop app for everyone, companies included
- No account, no telemetry (optional update check)
Lens facts last checked on 14 October 2026.
The short version
Lens Personal is free for students, hobbyists and engineers at small organizations; Lens requires a paid plan for organizations above $10 million in annual revenue or funding. Security Center, GitOps, Ask AI, cost monitoring and the cloud integrations need Lens Plus ($25 a month with annual billing), and team features need Pro or Enterprise. Kubyl covers most of those in a free app, and it is open source under MIT or Apache-2.0. It has no extension system, no team or enterprise administration and no commercial support, and this table is a selection of features, not a complete list: Lens also offers Hotbar, extensions, AI cost optimization, commercial support and team features.
Feature comparison
Kubyl and Lens, feature by feature
Not every row is a perfect match. A tick means Kubyl has a feature that does the same job, not an identical one. Half circles mark partial or different solutions. The table is a selection of features, not a complete list.
- Available
- Partly or different
- Not available
- Not applicable
- Not free
| Feature | Kubyl | Lens (plan) |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-cluster management | Available One sidebar entry per cluster and user, with live connection status. | Available· Personal |
| Browse Kubernetes resources | Available Live, watch-backed tables with a details panel for every kind, custom resources included. | Available· Personal |
| Helm chart deployment and management | Available Needs the helm CLI. Install, upgrade, roll back and uninstall with a values diff first. | Available· Personal |
| Terminal and real-time logs | Available Container shell, a local shell tab with the cluster's context, and log streaming with search. | Available· Personal Lens calls it Smart Terminal. |
| Port forwarding and resource editor | Available YAML editor with schema validation, diff and server-side apply. | Available· Personal |
| Local kubeconfigs | Available Loads ~/.kube/config and $KUBECONFIG automatically, with a kubeconfig editor. | Available· Personal |
| Advanced editor | Available Lens's docs describe a side-by-side diff of your edits and a revert to the loaded version. Kubyl has both (side-by-side diff, revert to live) and adds schema validation, dry run, three-way merge and revision history. | Not free: needs Plus |
| Security Center (CVE reporting) | Available Reads Trivy Operator reports: images, resources and roles, with severity filters and CSV export. Needs Trivy Operator in the cluster; Kubyl can install it through Helm. | Not free: needs Plus |
| GitOps with Flux | Available Sources, Kustomizations and HelmReleases, with reconcile and suspend. | Not free: needs Plus |
| GitOps with Argo CD | Available Applications, resource tree, diff, sync, history and rollback. | Not free: needs Plus |
| Ask AI | Available Bring your own agent (Claude, Codex, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and others over ACP). Agents are read-only, and nothing is sent until you press Enter. | Not free: needs Plus |
| Cost monitoring | Available Reads OpenCost: cost per namespace, idle cost and efficiency, CSV export. Needs OpenCost and Prometheus in the cluster. | Not free: needs Plus |
| AWS EKS, Azure AKS and Google GKE integration | Available Scans your accounts, subscriptions and projects through your installed aws, az and gcloud CLIs and adds the clusters you pick. Exec-plugin sign-in works too. | Not free: needs Plus |
| Built-in MCP server | Partly or different Kubyl hands its read-only cluster tools to the agent it starts, over MCP. It isn't a general MCP server for other tools. | Not free: needs Plus |
| Community support | Available GitHub issues and discussions. | Available· Personal Lens Forums. |
| Mobile app | Not free: needs a Kubyl Server license Kubyl Mobile for iOS and Android pairs with a Kubyl Server you run next to your clusters. The desktop app doesn't need it. | Not available Not listed on Lens's pricing page. |
Lens column: Lens pricing ( lenshq.io/pricing), read on 14 October 2026.
What Kubyl adds
These Kubyl features don't appear on Lens's pricing page:
- Network flows from Cilium/Hubble, NetObserv and Calico as a table and topology graph
- Alertmanager alerts, silences and alerting rules
- Operators (OLM v0 and v1) and OperatorHub, OpenShift-console style
- Cluster updates with pre-flight checks for OpenShift, EKS, GKE, AKS and k3s
- A pod file browser with drag and drop uploads and downloads
- Web views that open a Service in the app over a temporary port-forward
- A command palette and a k9s-compatible keymap preset
- Kubyl Mobile for iOS and Android, paired with your own server
See everything on the Kubyl Desktop page or in the documentation.
How to move from Lens to Kubyl
Install Kubyl
On macOS run
brew install --cask birkneralex/tap/kubyl, on Windowswinget install BirknerAlex.Kubyl. Linux packages and direct downloads are on the downloads page.Open it: your clusters are already there
Kubyl loads
~/.kube/configand the files in$KUBECONFIGon start. If you only ever used kubectl and Lens, there is nothing to import. Contexts that differ only in their namespace are merged into one sidebar entry.Add clusters that only exist in Lens
If a cluster was added to Lens by pasting a kubeconfig and you no longer have the file, paste it into Kubyl's kubeconfig editor, or run
kubectl config view --rawif kubectl can still reach it. EKS, AKS and GKE clusters can be found again with Kubeconfig: Discover Cloud Clusters (EKS, AKS, GKE)… in the command palette.Mark production clusters
Set a cluster to production or read-only in the Clusters & Kubeconfigs tab. Production asks you to type the cluster's name before changes; read-only blocks them.
Turn on what you paid Lens for
Security Center needs Trivy Operator, Cost needs OpenCost, Ask AI needs an agent such as Claude or Codex on your
PATH. The empty state of each view shows the install command.
What doesn't carry over: Lens extensions and their data; Your Hotbar layout, Lens catalogs and anything stored in your Lens account; Lens's own settings and themes. Kubyl doesn't read them..
Frequently asked questions
Is Kubyl a free alternative to Lens?
Yes. The Kubyl desktop app is open source (MIT or Apache-2.0) and free for everyone, companies included. It covers the free Lens Personal features and several that Lens sells in its paid plans, such as Security Center, Flux and Argo CD views, Ask AI, cost monitoring and cloud cluster discovery. It lacks extensions and team administration.
Is Kubyl an alternative to Lens K8S IDE?
Yes. Kubyl is a Kubernetes IDE in the same sense: a desktop app for browsing and managing clusters, with logs, a terminal, a YAML editor, Helm, Argo CD and Flux. It is free, open source and native on macOS, Windows and Linux. It is an independent project and has no extension system or team administration.
Can I use Kubyl and Lens side by side?
Yes. Both read kubeconfig files and neither changes the other's settings. Kubyl only writes to a kubeconfig when you edit it in the kubeconfig editor, and it writes a timestamped backup first.
Will my clusters show up in Kubyl?
Clusters in ~/.kube/config or $KUBECONFIG show up on first start. Clusters that only exist inside Lens need their kubeconfig pasted into Kubyl once.
Is Kubyl affiliated with Lens?
No. Kubyl is an independent project with its own code. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Mirantis, the company behind Lens.
Which Lens features are free?
Lens Personal is free for students, hobbyists and engineers at small organizations. Lens requires a paid plan for organizations above $10 million in annual revenue or funding, apart from up to 30 days of evaluation. Rows marked ! in the table need a paid Lens plan. Current plans and prices are on lenshq.io/pricing.
Does Kubyl work on macOS, Windows and Linux?
Yes, on all three, as a native app written in Rust. It isn't an Electron app and has no web view for its own interface.
Try Kubyl with your own clusters.
Free, no account, no telemetry. It reads your kubeconfigs, so you can be looking at a pod list in a minute.
Lens K8S IDE is offered by Mirantis, Inc. (according to lenshq.io). Kubyl is an independent project and is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Mirantis. All product names are used only to identify the products they belong to. Lens plans, prices and features were read from lenshq.io/pricing on 14 October 2026 and can have changed since. Tell us if something here is out of date: hello@birkner.io.