How did it work better in the previous versions? I’m trying to understand how the new UI breaks this flow.
Thanks for the feedback! If I understand this correctly you would prefer the behavior where terminal dock tabs are cluster-wide, meaning they stay at the bottom (dock) across different tabs for the same cluster?
Workaround: you can open node shell from Pods tab by opening the pod details, clicking the node and then clicking “Node shell”.
Correct, as with the previous version of Lens I would expect all terminal dock tabs to be cluster-wide.
Also, now that you’ve got the different tabs available, it would be super cool to see split-screen view, similar to VSCode, for having multiple tabs open side-by-side.
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The new version seems to be quite slow. Transitioning between different resource types is not as smooth as it used to be.
I very much like that it has Metrics server integration now, however other than that the update has been a noticeable downgrade.
Thanks for the feedback! As mentioned this is definitely something we want to improve.
Not necessarily the new UI that breaks it, but just in general the new update has caused this lock to appear and not be fixable without restart.
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One more question because I’m still not sure how we can fix the issue properly. Is the old version showing an error when OIDC token expires and you click “Reconnect” to make it go away?
Hi,
I also rolled back to the old version, after seeing this completely broken UI/UX.
- no favorites anymore.
- Tabs from different clusters are mixed now
- bad readability, smaller text and ><
- I’m also missing icons for the main entries in the list (e.g. Nodes, Workloads, Network,…)
→ This is so much worse than the last version. 
Won’t update, until this is fixed, maybe switch to another tool.
@a.bauer Thanks for the feedback. It is important for us to see these common patterns in users to keep improving the product.
- no favorites anymore.
We are currently working to include an improved mechanism to add favorites, so you can jump easier to certain resources.
- Tabs from different clusters are mixed now
That’s right, this is intentional as it is a step forward to allow user to see resources from different clusters easier (potentially simultaneously in the future). You can drag the tabs and organize them in a way that makes sense for your usage, you can colorize the clusters according to your preference or add icons in Cluster Settings, to identify those tabs easier. We are working to create easier ways to jump between them.
- bad readability, smaller text and ><
You can increase the spacing for tables in the Preferences > Tables section > Row Line Height or the font-sizes for editors in Preference > Editor > Font-size to tweak the visual appearance. Alternatively (maybe best for your case), you can “Zoom-in” into the content of the whole app to make it bigger, as you would on a browser by pressing Cmd + (on Mac) or Ctrl + (on Windows). That should help with the readability as it will scale up all the content accordingly.
- I’m also missing icons for the main entries in the list (e.g. Nodes, Workloads, Network,…)
This was an intended decision to have a cleaner look in the navigator and allow easier navigation; however, we’ll definitely consider your feedback for future adjustments.
Overall, thanks for providing the feedback, we’ll take all of it under consideration as we keep making adjustments to this new version.
Hi,
We are currently working to include an improved mechanism to add favorites, so you can jump easier to certain resources.
Maybe I re-visit Lens, after you fixed this.
Mixed tabs:
This increases the likelines of applying changes to the wrong cluster. You should at least consider an optional automatic grouping of the tabs based on the clusters.
This was an intended decision to have a cleaner look in the navigator and allow easier navigation;
Sorry, but you achieved the opposite. Icons help to quickly understand which option you are looking at, without reading it every time. Icons help to navigate quickly, leaving the out makes it harder!
As I said, I might re-visit you tool, after you fixed what you broke with this update! You had a great tool and where on the right track, but following the mainstream design guides out there does not automatically help to make a well-functioning, quick and safe-to-use tool.
As a DevOps I want tools that support an approach which helps me to avoid potentially high impact errors. Lens just dropped out after the upgrade.
We’re exploring some ideas to enhance the cluster context visibility in the new UI, and we’d love to get your feedback.
As you can see in the attached image:
- In the Navigator, we’ve added a colored line next to the active cluster. This color is automatically assigned based on the cluster but can be customized through the cluster settings if you prefer a specific color.
- The same color is applied to the active tab, highlighting both the icon and the top border of the tab, making it easier to track which tab belongs to the active cluster.
We believe these changes could help address some of the concerns we’ve heard about quickly identifying the active cluster in the UI. Would this approach help improve your experience? We’d love to hear your thoughts and any additional suggestions!
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Thanks for addressing one issue here.
Now, pls bring back Icons for the main points in the like Workloads, Config, Network, etc… This makes navigation much easier and quicker.
I totally understand why you removed it, as “everyone” does it like this nowadays. However, this does not mean it’s good. 
We understand that icons can enhance navigation, and we carefully considered their role during the redesign. Our primary reason for removing them was to streamline the interface and reduce visual clutter. With the new Navigator, the icons alone wouldn’t necessarily help in differentiating between clusters, as they would look similar.
That being said, we appreciate your point and recognize that preferences for visual aids vary among users. Nothing is set in stone, and we are continually gathering feedback to evaluate how these design choices impact usability. We will certainly take your suggestion into account as we continue testing and refining the interface. Your input is invaluable as we strive to make Lens as user-friendly and efficient as possible 
For upcoming performance improvements, please check this thread: Selecting an item from the side-bar appears to reload the whole of lens - #12 by jakolehm
This seems like a good place to add feedback, so I’ll add my own here as well.
My team manages 150+ kubernetes clusters. I have Lens pointed at a folder where I keep kubeconfigs for all of them. So now in Lens, instead of searching for a cluster by name, I have to scroll through a list to find a needle in a haystack. Likewise if I want to look at a second cluster I have to navigate AWAY from the cluster I’m viewing to the other side of the “haystack” to find a new needle. This is not usable.
I’ve been using apps with tabs for decades now and your use of tabs thoroughly confuses me. Sometimes new tabs open, sometimes they do not. I think you’re trying to be like VS Code where as I click through files it doesn’t permanently open the tab - but if that’s the intention, something is wrong. No matter what I try I end up with tabs I don’t care about. In my opinion, you should never open a new tab unless directed to do so by the user. Perhaps I ctrl-click a resource, and that opens in a new tab. If I click a resource in another cluster (after scrolling thru a huge list of clusters to find it), then open a new tab automatically - since its in a different cluster.
The performance … holy cow. Maybe its because I have 150 clusters in my list, but they are not all connected. They are just sitting there disconnected. So surely that’s not causing performance issues. I’m on an M1 Mac, its a few years old - but no other app works as poorly as Lens with regards to performance. Everything I do is slow. Even resizing the window is painful.
Unfortunately I don’t even want to roll back to an older version at this point. My company is paying for licences for my team, but until everything improves, I’m paying out of pocket for a competitor instead. It’s lightning fast, allows for multiple windows, and does everything else that Lens does. But I’m paying out of pocket instead of letting my company pay - so please fix Lens. 
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My team manages 150+ kubernetes clusters. I have Lens pointed at a folder where I keep kubeconfigs for all of them. So now in Lens, instead of searching for a cluster by name, I have to scroll through a list to find a needle in a haystack. Likewise if I want to look at a second cluster I have to navigate AWAY from the cluster I’m viewing to the other side of the “haystack” to find a new needle. This is not usable.
Thank you for sharing your experience! We understand how managing such a large number of clusters can become overwhelming with the current UI. You’re absolutely right—Lens is still missing some of the more efficient ways to quickly access clusters, such as the search functionality and the hotbar, which you might have used in previous versions for quick switching.
Out of curiosity, did you rely on the hotbar in the past to handle your most frequently accessed clusters? We’re actively working on improving the cluster management experience, and your feedback helps us prioritize these features.
I’ve been using apps with tabs for decades now and your use of tabs thoroughly confuses me. Sometimes new tabs open, sometimes they do not. I think you’re trying to be like VS Code where as I click through files it doesn’t permanently open the tab - but if that’s the intention, something is wrong. No matter what I try I end up with tabs I don’t care about. In my opinion, you should never open a new tab unless directed to do so by the user. Perhaps I ctrl-click a resource, and that opens in a new tab. If I click a resource in another cluster (after scrolling thru a huge list of clusters to find it), then open a new tab automatically - since its in a different cluster.
I’m really sorry that the current tab behavior has been confusing. You’re absolutely right—Lens does take inspiration from apps like VS Code. Currently, clicking in the Navigator opens a tab in “preview mode,” which then switches to a sticky tab if you interact with it. We understand that this can be frustrating, especially since the behavior differs slightly from what users are used to with VS Code, where tabs only become permanent after editing content. We’re already considering changes in this area, and your suggestion about better control over new tabs—especially across clusters—is something we’ll definitely take into account.
The performance … holy cow. Maybe its because I have 150 clusters in my list, but they are not all connected. They are just sitting there disconnected. So surely that’s not causing performance issues. I’m on an M1 Mac, its a few years old - but no other app works as poorly as Lens with regards to performance. Everything I do is slow. Even resizing the window is painful.
We completely understand your frustration here, and you’re right—there’s no excuse for poor performance. Improving performance is a top priority for us right now, and I’m happy to share that major improvements are already in progress. You should see much smoother performance soon.
In the meantime, please double-check that you’re using the Apple Silicon version of Lens Desktop on your M1 Mac. We’ve seen cases where users accidentally install the Intel version, which can definitely impact performance. Switching to the right version should help, but if you still experience issues, we’d love to hear more so we can investigate further!
Unfortunately I don’t even want to roll back to an older version at this point. My company is paying for licences for my team, but until everything improves, I’m paying out of pocket for a competitor instead. It’s lightning fast, allows for multiple windows, and does everything else that Lens does. But I’m paying out of pocket instead of letting my company pay - so please fix Lens.
Thank you so much for your honest feedback—we really appreciate it. 
We’re genuinely sorry to hear that you’re considering alternatives, and we completely understand the frustration. Please know that we’re fully committed to addressing these issues, and we’re constantly working to make Lens faster, smoother, and more user-friendly. Hang in there—we’ll keep improving!
Hi thanks for your response!
In the meantime, please double-check that you’re using the Apple Silicon version of Lens Desktop on your M1 Mac. We’ve seen cases where users accidentally install the Intel version, which can definitely impact performance.
So this is interesting. I think I had the right version installed, but I couldn’t be sure from the Lens > About Lens menu. However, I noticed that my version still showed -beta in it. So I decided to uninstall what I have and reinstall. After a reinstall the version installed was much newer than what I had before. But I did validate that my Update Channel was set to Stable and checking for updates showed no updates available.
Here’s the before and after versions - before:
- Lens: 2024.9.200926-beta
- Electron: 31.0.2
- Chrome: 126.0.6478.61
- Node: 20.14.0
And after:
- Lens: 2024.10.171859-latest
- Electron: 31.6.0
- Chrome: 126.0.6478.234
- Node: 20.17.0
Once this is installed and I re-sync my kubeconfig folders, I can see an immediate improvement in performance. I’ll continue to use it this week and if performance goes down, I’ll update here.
Out of curiosity, did you rely on the hotbar in the past to handle your most frequently accessed clusters?
I did, but only for a few core clusters (Rancher Admin clusters and Google Anthos admin clusters for example). Personally, I was never a fan of that sidebar icon system due to the numbers of clusters we deal with. I think with just a few clusters it might be great. Additionally, any time I was working with a specific cluster for a longer period of time (troubleshooting, testing new features, etc) I would pin that cluster so I could easily jump between it and an admin cluster.
Some form of “favorites” would certainly be welcome at both the cluster level and deeper as well. For example, being able to favorite the areas I go to most. Like workloads, services, ingress, etc. But even more so, we work with a lot of CRD’s (like clusters.cluster.x-k8s.io for example).
Again, thanks for the response - I’ll have my team check their versions and see if any ended up like I did.
We have been thinking this quite a bit in the past weeks 
How do you feel about the following idea where we only show tabs that are related to the “drilled-down” scope of the Navigator:
Hi There,
Updating is not always good if the functions are removed without a trace.
My comments about the missing functionalities:
I’m dealing with many clusters - hundreds - missing there:
- easy cluster adding with hovering on the + sign - in the new version I had trouble adding a new cluster
- the “Hotbar” menu is gone, so no way to have a few selected and easy-to-access clusters
- searching the clusters is not existing at all - I have hundreds, so need to have a way to quickly select and connect
- Adding a cluster became a nightmare - On a legacy, it was a + sign and once you hover over it, you can easily paste the config - And you are in seconds connected, now I need 10 minutes to add and search for clusters, sometimes not sure if it is added or not, trying to remember a full cluster name so I can find it by looking on a huge list without an option to search.
- as others mentioned the connectivity is a bit slower
I rolled back, but I’m looking forward to all functionalities being returned for good.
Thanks.
- searching the clusters is not existing at all - I have hundreds, so need to have a way to quickly select and connect
Hi, if you download the latest version we now have a cluster search feature. Just open the command palette and select “Kubernetes Cluster: Reveal in Navigator”. We will later add direct shortcut for this.