AWS CLI and K9s for Faster EKS Cluster Management
The terminal blinked. The cluster was falling over. The pager wouldn’t stop.
AWS CLI gave me raw access. K9s gave me sight. Together, they turned chaos into control.
AWS CLI and K9s are two of the fastest ways to interact with Kubernetes running on Amazon EKS. One commands. The other visualizes. Used well, they cut downtime, speed up diagnosis, and give you precision over every namespace, pod, and node.
Why Use AWS CLI for EKS
The AWS Command Line Interface lets you manage EKS clusters without touching the console. You can authenticate, update kubeconfigs, and switch between clusters in seconds. This keeps you close to the metal.
Common commands like:
aws eks --region us-east-1 update-kubeconfig --name my-cluster
set your kubeconfig context so kubectl and K9s know exactly where to point. No more guessing.
Why Add K9s
K9s turns raw manifests and kubectl output into a live, terminal-based dashboard. You see pods starting, crashing, or scaling in real time. Logs are one keystroke away. Deleting or restarting workloads can be faster than running multiple kubectl commands. If the AWS CLI is a scalpel, K9s is an X-ray.
AWS CLI + K9s Workflow
- Authenticate with AWS CLI to the target EKS cluster.
- Keep contexts clean by updating kubeconfigs only when needed.
- Jump into K9s to view cluster health and drill down into workloads fast.
- Switch clusters with AWS CLI and instantly refresh the view in K9s.
This pairing removes guesswork from cluster ops. You go from alert to root cause in less time, with less screen switching.
Pro Tips
- Store multiple kubeconfigs and switch contexts programmatically with AWS CLI.
- Use K9s resource filtering to focus only on the namespaces that matter.
- Combine AWS IAM roles with CLI profiles for secure context changes.
The Payoff
When AWS CLI manages authentication and clusters, and K9s handles live interaction, your EKS workflow becomes faster, safer, and more reliable. Downtime windows shrink. Deployments move smoother. You can spot trouble before it catches fire.
If you want to see the same power, without setting it all up yourself, Hoop.dev gives you a live AWS CLI and K9s experience in minutes. No installs. No waiting. Just open, connect, and see it work.