Freelens is a completely free, open-source Kubernetes IDE that delivers all the power of Lens without nagging for a subscription. In this video, I’ll show you how Freelens brings a slick GUI, built-in kubectl & helm, live metrics, persistent terminals, and a rich plugin ecosystem (FluxCD, Argo, CRD inspectors, and more) to your clusters. If you are managing Kubernetes in Proxmox VMs, EKS, or edge Kubernetes, Freelens makes context-switching, port-forwarding, and multi-cluster workspaces easy to manage.
Check out the full blog post on VirtualizationHowto for all the details and screenshots:
👉 https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/freelens-open-source-kubernetes-ide-2025
Connect with me:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vspinmaster
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonlee
GitHub: https://github.com/brandon-lee-vht
Join our home-lab community on Skool:
https://www.skool.com/homelabexplorers/about?ref=25f64c297b724689ae81c7dd30ba2c21
Recommended “Kubernetes-friendly” node:
For a powerful mini PC that makes a great K8s edge node, check this out: https://geni.us/geekoma52025-3
Introduction to Free Lens – 0:00
Word about the video sponsor NAKIVO – 0:39
Overview of FreeLens and OpenLens deprecation – 1:23
Key features of FreeLens – 2:12
Security of the project updates, etc – 2:35
Showing how to install live metrics with Prometheus – 3:15
Built-in editor, pinning port-forwards – 4:05
Has a plugin architecture – 4:33
FluxCD and ArgoCD and other community addons – 4:50
Installation options across OS’s – 5:15
Walkthrough of installation in Windows – 5:50
First run experience and points to note – 7:24
Fuzzy search, right-click to edit, delete, etc – 8:12
Security seems to be a focus of the tool – 9:07
FreeLens 1.3 vs Lens 6x – 9:53
Great for homelabs and other environments – 11:24
Roadmap and community involvement – 12:26
Wrapping up FreeLens – 12:59
