# podctl: The Native Kubernetes Client for Apple

podctl is the best kubectl alternative and native Kubernetes GUI for Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS. Manage clusters, pods, deployments, and Helm charts with a fast, beautiful interface built with SwiftUI.

## Core Capabilities

- **AI-Powered Troubleshooting**: Ask questions in plain English. The on-device AI assistant diagnoses issues, explains resources, and suggests fixes with full cluster context.
- **Multi-Cluster Command Center**: Connect unlimited clusters. Cross-cluster search, bulk operations, cluster comparison, and environment grouping by region or team.
- **Chaos Engineering**: Run 12+ experiment types including pod kill, network latency, CPU/memory stress, and DNS failure. Dry-run mode, scheduling, and recovery metrics built in.
- **Cost Estimation & Optimization**: Track costs across AWS, GCP, and Azure. Get right-sizing recommendations, spot instance suggestions, and namespace-level cost breakdowns with trend projections.
- **Database Connectivity**: Connect directly to PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, and Elasticsearch running in your cluster. Browse schemas, run queries, and export results.
- **Policy & Compliance**: Gatekeeper and Kyverno integration. Enforce security policies, track violations by severity, audit RBAC permissions, and browse cluster audit logs.
- **Network Debugging Suite**: DNS lookups, connectivity testing, traceroute, port scanning, and network policy simulation. Diagnose networking issues without leaving the app.
- **Full Helm Lifecycle**: Install, upgrade, rollback, and test releases. Browse chart repositories, diff revisions, manage values, and inspect rendered manifests.
- **Developer Toolbox**: HTTP request builder, API proxy with traffic recording, YAML/JSON editor with schema validation, code generation, and Kustomize/Jsonnet support.
- **Real-time Observability**: Live log streaming across pods with regex filtering, resource metrics with historical trends, event timelines, and Prometheus custom queries.
- **Backup & Disaster Recovery**: Velero integration for scheduled backups, volume snapshots, namespace-level restore, cross-cluster migration, and backup hook management.
- **Interactive Terminal & Shell**: Full PTY terminal with multi-session tabs, SSH support, file upload/download, port forwarding manager, and persistent command history.

## Supported Platforms

- macOS 15+ (Sequoia)
- iOS 18+
- iPadOS 18+
- visionOS 2+

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is podctl?
podctl is the native Kubernetes client for Apple platforms, including macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS. Built with SwiftUI, it replaces kubectl with a fast, powerful GUI for managing Kubernetes clusters, pods, deployments, Helm charts, and networking.

### Is podctl a kubectl alternative for Mac?
Yes, podctl is designed as a native kubectl alternative for macOS. It provides full cluster management through an intuitive SwiftUI interface with features like on-device AI troubleshooting, chaos engineering, cost optimization, and real-time observability.

### What platforms does podctl support?
podctl runs natively on macOS 15 Sequoia or later, iOS 18 or later, iPadOS 18 or later, and visionOS 2 or later. It is built entirely in SwiftUI for optimal performance and battery efficiency on Apple silicon.

### Can I manage Kubernetes clusters from an iPhone or iPad?
Yes, podctl provides full Kubernetes cluster management on iOS and iPadOS. You can monitor clusters, view real-time pod logs, manage deployments, execute commands, and troubleshoot issues directly from your mobile device.

### Does podctl support Helm chart management?
Yes, podctl includes complete Helm lifecycle management. You can install, upgrade, rollback, and test Helm releases. It also supports browsing chart repositories, inspecting visual revision diffs, managing values, and reviewing rendered manifests.

### Is podctl free to use?
podctl will be available on the Apple App Store with a free tier. Detailed pricing for pro and enterprise features will be announced upon release. Stay tuned at podctl.app for launch announcements.

### Does podctl have AI features for Kubernetes?
Yes, podctl includes an on-device AI assistant that analyzes cluster issues, diagnoses pod crash loops, explains Kubernetes errors in plain language, recommends resource optimizations, and generates kubectl commands with full local privacy.

### Can podctl connect to multiple Kubernetes clusters?
Yes, podctl supports unlimited cluster connections with a unified multi-cluster dashboard, cross-cluster resource search, one-click context switching, and cluster comparison tools across cloud providers and local clusters.