FreeLens Pod Debug Extension

A simple FreeLens/Lens extension that adds a Debug Pod (kubectl) action for Pod resources.

When you click the action from a Pod menu, it opens a terminal tab in FreeLens and runs:

kubectl debug -it pod/<pod-name> -n <namespace> --image nicolaka/netshoot:latest --target <first-container>

--target is included only when the Pod has at least one container.

You can configure command behavior from FreeLens Preferences:

• Debug image
• Shell profile (for example /bin/bash or /bin/sh)
• Extra kubectl debug flags

Prerequisites

• FreeLens or Lens with extension support
• Node.js 18+
• npm

Install dependencies

npm install

Build

npm run build

Develop (watch mode)

npm run dev

Install into FreeLens

mkdir -p ~/.k8slens/extensions
ln -s "$(pwd)" ~/.k8slens/extensions/freelens-pod-debug-extension

Restart or reload FreeLens after building.

Usage

1. Open any cluster.
2. Go to Workloads -> Pods.
3. Open the Pod actions menu (three dots).
4. Click Debug Pod (kubectl).

A terminal opens and runs the generated debug command.

Configure Preferences

1. Open Preferences in FreeLens.
2. Find Pod Debug Settings.
3. Set Debug Image, Shell Profile, and optional Extra kubectl debug flags.

Settings are persisted using an extension store and are reused for future debug commands.