ctlptl vs srelens
ctlptl
github.com
srelens
srelens.comSide by side
| Figure | ctlptl | srelens |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Local Kubernetes Tools | 8.0 (#9) | 8.3 (#3) |
| Development status | The README calls ctlptl a work in progress and welcomes contributions from the Kubernetes community. | The GitHub organization describes the project as early and actively developed, with contributions welcome. |
| Intended users | The project aims to help infrastructure engineers manage a consistent development environment and support common local cluster setup operations. | The project describes srelens as built for engineers and AI agents, and its repository names SREs, platform engineers, and DevOps engineers as users. |
| License | The repository states that ctlptl is licensed under Apache License 2.0. | The source repository and project documentation identify srelens as MIT licensed. |
| What it does | ctlptl is a command-line tool for declaratively setting up local Kubernetes clusters using YAML. | srelens is a Kubernetes workspace for investigating, analyzing and operating clusters through a desktop GUI, terminal UI or MCP server. |
Plans
In their own words
ctlptl
ctlptl is a free command-line tool for declaratively configuring local Kubernetes clusters with YAML. Its main commands show running clusters, create them, apply configuration, and delete clusters along with their state. The project lists Docker Desktop, KIND, Minikube, and K3D, with registry support for KIND, Minikube, and K3D. Configuration can allocate CPUs and set up local registries; Minikube supports per-cluster Kubernetes version selection. ctlptl can also create a cluster on a remote Docker host, a capability the project describes for CI environments. Installation options include Homebrew for macOS and Linux, Scoop for Windows, Go install, Docker, and prebuilt release binaries. A Docker image containing recent kind and ctlptl versions is offered for CI. The project supports macOS, Linux, and Windows and is licensed under Apache License 2.0. Its README calls it a work in progress and says it is not meant for remote clusters or remote development sandboxes. Usage statistics are anonymized, with an opt-out command available.
srelens
srelens is a Kubernetes desktop workspace for browsing, inspecting, and operating clusters. It covers more than 40 resource kinds, including workloads, networking, storage, RBAC, admission, autoscaling, and custom resources. Investigation tools include live watches, log streaming, in-pod terminals, port forwarding, Helm release views, and a schema-aware YAML editor. CPU and memory metrics for nodes and pods come through Kubernetes Metrics Server. Users can scale or restart workloads and cordon, drain, or evict nodes; destructive actions require confirmation. The desktop app connects directly to Kubernetes API servers using local kubeconfig credentials, without an intermediary srelens cloud service. Available operations depend on the selected context’s credentials and RBAC permissions. Added kubeconfig files stay local, and pasted configs are stored in the application directory. Secret values are masked by default and revealed per key. The built-in MCP server connects to clients such as Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Codex. srelens is free, open source under the MIT license, and requires no account or license key.