Let's be honest, you can't completely replace kubectl.
Here at Aptakube we recommend using kubectl and/or GitOps for automation and deployment. But engineers often need to poke around the cluster, view some logs, analyze the state of their workloads, etc. For these scenarios, which are often manually performed, we highly recommend a GUI such as Aptakube, it's much faster and easier to use, especially for those who are not using Kubernetes on a daily basis.
Here's a quick comparison between kubectl and Aptakube.
| Comparing Aptakube vs kubectl | Aptakube | kubectl |
| Tech Stack | Tauri, Rust and Solid | Go |
| User Interface | GUI (Graphical) | CLI (Command Line) |
| Time to Interactive1Time taken to get something on the screen | ⚡️ Instantly | ⚡️ Instantly |
| Multi-clusterAbility to connect to multiple clusters simultaneously | No | |
| Aggregated Log ViewerView logs from multiple pods at once | Yes, but it's difficult to visualize | |
| Resource ViewHuman-friendly view for resources | Partially, with kubectl describe | |
| Quick ActionsRestart, Scale, Delete with a single click | Yes, if you know the command |
Conclusion
- kubectl is best for for automation and deployment
- Aptakube is best for manual tasks such as exploration, debugging, troubleshooting, and monitoring
- Tested on a MacBook Pro 16" 2021 M1 Pro 16GB, running macOS Ventura 13.0.
- Aptakube 0.8.0
If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at hello@aptakube.com.
Last updated: January 17, 2023.
