Skip to content
KubeGlass

KubeGlass vs Rancher

Rancher Manager, from SUSE, is a platform for running many Kubernetes clusters: it creates RKE2 and K3s clusters, registers existing ones, signs people in through its own users and identity providers, and has a web UI for every cluster it manages. KubeGlass is a web console that runs as one binary on your computer or in a cluster and works with the clusters and credentials you already have.

They do different jobs. Rancher creates clusters, manages who may use them and deploys to them with Fleet. KubeGlass creates nothing: it reads a kubeconfig, leaves access to Kubernetes RBAC, and is built around finding out what is wrong in a cluster and what changed.

At a glance

Section titled “At a glance”
KubeGlass Rancher
License AGPL-3.0 Apache-2.0; Rancher Prime is the paid edition from SUSE, built from the same code. Latest release v2.15.2, 23 September 2026
Install A binary or container on your computer, or a Helm chart in a cluster with one replica A Helm chart into a Kubernetes cluster, ideally one used only for Rancher; cert-manager for its default certificates; three nodes for production, each with 4 vCPUs and 16 GB of memory for up to 150 clusters. A Docker install is for testing only
Creates clusters No Yes: RKE2 and K3s on nodes or through Cluster API, and hosted EKS, AKS and GKE
Several clusters Every kubeconfig context in one list, when it runs from a kubeconfig; installed in a cluster, that cluster only Every cluster it created or registered, from one server
Users and sign-in Your identity provider through an auth proxy or OIDC token; every request runs as that person under Kubernetes RBAC Its own users, or providers such as Active Directory, GitHub, Entra ID, Keycloak, Okta and generic OIDC
Access Kubernetes Roles and bindings; an access matrix and who can do something Global, cluster and project roles, and Projects that group namespaces; no “who can” view documented
Live updates Watches Watches, according to its UI’s developer docs
Logs One container, all of a pod’s containers, or merged across a workload’s pods One container per window; several windows can be open
Shell Pod exec, node shells (opt-in), a shell on your computer (opt-in) A kubectl shell in the browser, and pod exec
Port forward Pods and Services, when KubeGlass runs on your computer Not documented
YAML Edit with a server-side dry run and a diff; create from YAML Edit YAML; Import YAML
Helm Releases, history, values, upgrade, rollback to a revision, uninstall, chart catalog Apps: a chart catalog, install, upgrade and delete; rolling back to a Helm revision isn’t documented
GitOps Shows Argo CD and Flux applications, with sync, refresh and rollback; Argo Rollouts Fleet, built in as Continuous Delivery
Monitoring Reads metrics-server or Prometheus; PromQL, Alertmanager alerts and silences, rightsizing A monitoring app with Grafana dashboards for a Prometheus you install
Security Best-practice checks, certificates, Trivy Operator reports, images, Gatekeeper and Kyverno violations A compliance app for CIS, STIG and BSI scans; NeuVector, whose UI extension is for Prime customers
Custom resources Yes Yes
Relationships A tree on each object’s page A related resources table on each object’s page
Change history Changes to workloads, Services, Ingresses, config and autoscalers, with revert after a dry run Not documented
Extending it An extensions file for links, commands to copy, list columns and palette names UI extensions installed as Helm charts
Backups Its state is in two bbolt files in the data directory; the operations guide covers backing them up A backup operator for Rancher itself, and etcd snapshots for the clusters it created
UI languages 8 English and Simplified Chinese

Choose Rancher if

Section titled “Choose Rancher if”
  • You need to create clusters, on your own machines or in a cloud, from one place.
  • You want one server to sign people in and decide which clusters and projects each may use, across many clusters.
  • You deploy to many clusters with GitOps and want Fleet built in.
  • You need CIS or STIG compliance scans, or commercial support and long-term releases through Rancher Prime.

Choose KubeGlass if

Section titled “Choose KubeGlass if”
  • Your clusters already exist, made by a cloud provider, Terraform or Rancher, and you want a console without running a management cluster.
  • You want each request to run as the person, with the Kubernetes RBAC you already have, instead of a second set of roles.
  • You want to see what changed before something broke, who changed it, and to revert it.
  • You review access: who may do something, and what any user, group or ServiceAccount may do.
  • You use Argo CD or Flux rather than Fleet, or want Helm rollback to a revision.
  • You want k9s-style keys and a command palette.

Using both

Section titled “Using both”

KubeGlass works with clusters Rancher manages:

  • Download a cluster’s kubeconfig from Rancher and paste it under Clusters › Add cluster, or add it to your kubeconfig. Requests with it are authenticated through the Rancher server, so the permissions Rancher gives you still apply.
  • KubeGlass recognises Rancher-managed, RKE2 and K3s clusters (see Distributions).
  • If Fleet manages your workloads, KubeGlass still shows them, their changes and their problems; Fleet’s own objects are custom resources and get the same list as any other kind.

Sources

Section titled “Sources”

Checked on 5 October 2026.