The Kubernetes connector is part of the Enterprise Edition, and is currently in beta.
/api/v1/..., /apis/<group>/...). There is no query language: queries are JSON specs that map onto a catalog of virtual tables, the same shape as the Zabbix and Aria Operations connectors.
What the catalog looks like
Three layers of tables live on one connection, because an investigation crosses them — the pod that isCrashLoopBackOff in inventory is the one whose last log lines and OOM events explain why.
Security posture
The service-account token is cluster-wide read-only, which means the connector — not RBAC — is the guard against secrets. Read this before you connect a production cluster:- There is no
secretstable. - The raw-path escape hatch refuses
secrets,exec,attach,portforwardandproxypaths. configmapsexposes key names only, never values.- Container environment literals are redacted from raw output.
- The
kubectl.kubernetes.io/last-applied-configurationannotation is dropped everywhere, because it embeds the full spec — environment included.
Before you start
The connect form renders this as a numbered setup guide with copy buttons, so you can follow it in the product rather than from here.1
Grant read access on the cluster
Apply the manifest shown in the connect form with cluster-admin rights. It creates the
bagofwords namespace, a bagofwords-reader service account, a cluster-wide read-only ClusterRole (get, list, watch on apiGroups: ["*"] / resources: ["*"], plus get on non-resource URLs), its binding, and a long-lived service-account token Secret.One wildcard rule covers every built-in kind, every CRD group and every aggregated API (metrics-server), so the manifest does not need editing when the cluster gains an operator.2
Print the access file
Save the If the server URL in the file is private to your network, edit it to the address this Bag of words instance can actually reach.
print_access_file.sh script from the connect form and run it. It waits for the token to be populated, then prints one self-contained document holding the API server URL, the cluster CA and the token.Verify it before pasting:3
Paste it in and test
Paste the whole output into the Cluster access file field and click Test connection.
Fields
Most of these are advanced settings and stay hidden in the connect form unless you open them.
Authentication
Cluster access file —access_file (system scope, the only mode)
There is exactly one mechanism: the bearer token of a long-lived service-account token Secret. The parser accepts only what the script produces — one cluster with
server and certificate-authority-data, one user with token — and rejects exec credential plugins, client certificates and auth providers by name. Personal kubeconfigs will not work, and there is no per-user scope.
Troubleshooting
no token in secret bagofwords/bagofwords-reader-token yet
no token in secret bagofwords/bagofwords-reader-token yet
The script ran before the control plane populated the token Secret, or the manifest was not applied. Apply the manifest first, then re-run the script — it already retries for 30 seconds.
Test connection times out, but kubectl works on your laptop
Test connection times out, but kubectl works on your laptop
The
server URL in the access file is the address your kubectl uses, which may be private. Edit it to an address the Bag of words backend can reach, then paste the file again.The access file is rejected
The access file is rejected
It was a personal kubeconfig rather than the script’s output. Exec credential plugins, client certificates and auth providers are refused by design — re-run
print_access_file.sh.No pod_metrics or node_metrics tables
No pod_metrics or node_metrics tables
The cluster does not serve
metrics.k8s.io. Install metrics-server and re-index the connection.A custom resource is missing from the catalog
A custom resource is missing from the catalog
Only populated CRDs are discovered, and discovery stops at
max_crd_tables (40 by default). Raise the cap, or query the resource by name — uncatalogued CRDs stay queryable.Related
- Observability and monitoring — Prometheus, Elasticsearch and CloudWatch alongside the cluster’s own state.
- Authentication and access — how connection credentials are stored and scoped.
