# Handoff: Krates — Kubernetes Visual Cluster Navigator ## Overview Krates is a keyboard-first, search-driven Kubernetes cluster navigator. It gives operators and developers a fast, spatial way to explore any cluster: search for any object, open exactly the views you need (logs, shell, describe, YAML), and keep them organized as named **krates** on an infinite zoomable canvas. Multiple users share the same cluster workspace (the **yard**), and an admin view shows all users' live queries and open krates. The product lives at **krates.io**. --- ## About the Design Files `Krates.dc.html` is a **high-fidelity interactive prototype** — it runs in a browser and is fully interactive. It is **not production code**. Its purpose is to demonstrate the intended look, behavior, keyboard model, and data shapes precisely enough that a developer can implement the real app without guessing. **Your task:** Recreate this UI in a real production stack (recommended: React + TypeScript + a WebSocket/CRDT backend for real-time sync). Use the prototype as the authoritative reference for interactions, visual design, and UX decisions. --- ## Fidelity **High-fidelity.** Colors, typography, spacing, animations, and interaction behavior are all final. Implement pixel-accurately. The prototype uses real mock cluster data; the real app will use a Kubernetes API server (kubectl proxy, or a Go/Rust backend aggregating the k8s API). --- ## Core Mental Model | Term | Meaning | |---|---| | **Yard** | The shared cluster workspace — one per connected cluster | | **Krate** | A named group of windows for one object (or a collection); sits on the canvas | | **Window** | A single view (Logs / Shell / Describe / YAML) for one object, inside a krate | | **Collection window** | A category or namespace overview (all Pods, all Services, ns/payments…) with a filterable list | | **Spotlight** | The global search overlay — opens by clicking anywhere or typing any key | --- ## Screens / Views ### 1. Canvas (main surface) **Purpose:** Infinite zoomable/pannable workspace where krates live. The default starting point is empty — no pre-placed content. **Layout:** - Full viewport, `position: fixed; inset: 0` - Background: `#0b0e13` - CAD grid overlay: two layers — fine (`34px`, rgba(125,145,175,.04)) and coarse (`170px`, rgba(125,145,175,.075)), both in X and Y. Rendered via CSS `background-image` repeating linear gradients. - World layer: a large div (`12000×8000px`) transformed via `translate(camX, camY) scale(zoom)`. All krates and windows are absolutely positioned children of this layer. - Top bar: `position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; height ~56px; z-index: 10` - Bottom hint bar: `position: absolute; right: 18px; bottom: 18px` - Zoom pill: `position: absolute; left: 18px; bottom: 18px` - Minimap: `position: absolute; right: 18px; bottom: 64px; width: 180px; height: 120px` **Navigation:** - **Scroll wheel** = pan (default) - **Ctrl/⌘ + scroll** = zoom (intercepted via `wheel` event, `e.ctrlKey || e.metaKey`) - **Space + drag** = pan. Critical: space panning must work even when a shell window has keyboard focus. Implement by capturing `keydown` for space globally with `capture: true`, setting a "panning" flag, preventing default on the body, and forwarding `mousemove` to the canvas pan handler. Release on `keyup` for space. - **Click on empty canvas** = open spotlight - **Type any key** = open spotlight with that character pre-seeded **Zoom levels / LOD (Level of Detail):** - `zoom > 0.5`: normal view — krates expanded, all windows visible, draggable - `zoom < 0.4`: collapsed view — krates become small overview cards (230px wide), no windows rendered. **Hysteresis:** collapse at 0.4, re-expand at 0.5 to prevent flickering during a single scroll gesture. - The camera uses CSS `transform` with a `transition` only during programmatic "fly" animations (`.52s cubic-bezier(.22,.8,.28,1)`). During user scroll/drag, transition is `none` for immediacy. ### 2. Top Bar **Layout:** `display: flex; align-items: center; padding: 13px 18px` **Background:** none (transparent over canvas) Left side (left→right): - **Logo pill**: `krates / yard` — `background: rgba(14,18,25,.82); border: 1px solid rgba(140,165,200,.18); border-radius: 9px; padding: 7px 12px; backdrop-filter: blur(6px)`. The diamond glyph is `clip-path: polygon(50% 0,100% 50%,50% 100%,0 50%)` in accent color. - **Cluster pill**: cluster name + green health dot (`#4ad07a`, `box-shadow: 0 0 8px #4ad07a`) - **Krate count pill**: only shown when krates exist Right side: - **Synced pill**: pulsing accent dot + "synced" text - **Admin button**: `◉ admin` — accent-outlined when active, muted when inactive - **Roster avatars**: overlapping circles (`margin-left: -7px`), each 30×30px, colored per user, showing 2-letter initials (★ for self) ### 3. Spotlight Search **Purpose:** Global search overlay. Fuzzy-ranked results, Tab type-filter, view shortcuts on selected result. **Trigger:** Click anywhere on empty canvas, or type any printable character (pre-seeds the query). **Layout:** - Full-screen backdrop: `rgba(7,9,13,.55)`, `backdrop-filter: blur(2px)` - Search panel: `position: absolute; left: 50%; top: 15%; transform: translateX(-50%); width: min(660px, 93vw)` - Panel: `background: rgba(16,20,28,.97); border: 1px solid rgba(140,165,200,.26); border-radius: 14px; overflow: hidden` - Input row height: ~52px, with `font-size: 18px`, IBM Plex Sans **Sections (top→bottom):** 1. **Input row**: `⌕` glyph (accent color) + optional type-filter pill + input field + optional Tab ghost hint 2. **Type chips row**: scrollable chip row for all/deploy/svc/pods/secrets/config/sts/crd/namespace/ns. Scrollable horizontally on small screens. 3. **Results list** (`max-height: 48vh, overflow: auto`): each row = shape glyph + name + subtext (type · ns/namespace) + CRD badge if applicable + type badge 4. **View chips** (expanded on the selected row only): `⌥L logs · ⌥S shell · ⌥D describe · ⌥Y yaml`. Only available views shown — e.g. YAML and Describe are always shown; Logs and Shell only for pods/deployments/daemonsets/statefulsets. 5. **Footer**: `↑↓ pick · ⌥L/S/D/Y open views · ⏎ open default · ⇥ filter type · esc done` **Fuzzy search algorithm:** - Score = character-match score × 10 + type boost - Type boost: crd=60, deployment=50, statefulset=48, service=46, daemonset=44, ingress=42, secret=24, configmap=22, pvc=18, pod=16 - Character matching: sequential character match with bonuses for consecutive matches (+3) and word-boundary starts (+5) - Results capped at 8 **Tab quick-filter:** - Typing a type alias (`pod`, `svc`, `deploy`, `secret`, `cm`, `sts`…) shows a ghost hint: `⇥ Pods` - Tab locks the filter as a pill; Backspace removes it - Tab also **cycles** through all type filters (recency-ordered, most-recently-opened first) **View shortcut keys:** - All use **⌥ (Alt/Option)**. Do NOT use Ctrl — it must stay free for terminal use. - Keys: `Alt+L` = logs, `Alt+S` = shell, `Alt+D` = describe, `Alt+Y` = yaml - Use `event.code` (layout-safe, e.g. `KeyL`) not `event.key` (which varies by OS/keyboard layout) - Multiple views can be opened before closing spotlight — they stack as windows in one krate - On Enter: opens the default view (logs for pods, describe for workloads, yaml for config/secrets/pvcs) and closes **Auto-close:** after 500ms of keyboard idle (no more keypresses), spotlight closes automatically and the camera flies to the newly created krate. **Search also returns:** - Existing krates (jump to working set, camera flies there) - Namespace results (`ns/payments`) → opens a collection window - Category results (`All Pods`, `All Services`…) → opens a collection window ### 4. Krate (window group) **Purpose:** A named group of detail windows for a single query/object. Lives on the canvas. **Visual container:** - Dashed border frame (rounded rect) around all its windows: `border: 1px dashed rgba(color, .3); border-radius: 18px; background: rgba(color, .04)` - Frame auto-fits to the bounding box of its windows + 30px padding - Header label bar above the frame: shows object name, status badge, window count, **drag handle** to move the entire krate, **×** to dismiss **Layout of windows inside a krate:** - Windows are tiled in a 2-column grid (col 0 = dx:0, col 1 = dx:412; row height = 416px) - When one window is resized, the others resize proportionally within the grid column/row - Windows never overlap (snap-to-grid on release) **Krate interactions:** - **Drag header** = move entire krate - **Double-click header** = collapse/expand (toggle) - **Minimize button** (`—`) in header = collapse to overview card - **Collapsed state**: 230px-wide card showing name, view-letter badges (Y/D/L/S), status dot, window count, ns. **Double-click to re-expand and fly camera to it.** - **Non-overlapping placement:** on mouse release after drag, check all other krate bounding boxes and nudge to avoid overlap. Gentle snap, not strict grid. **Camera fly-to on open:** after summon, camera animates to center the krate at `zoom: 0.92`. ### 5. Detail Window **Purpose:** Shows one view (YAML / Describe / Logs / Shell) for one Kubernetes object. **Size:** Default 380×362px. Resizable by dragging the bottom-right corner handle (resize one window in a krate → sibling windows resize proportionally in the same column/row). **Header (36px):** - Shape glyph (8px, color-coded by object type) + view label (uppercase, accent-colored) + object name + status badge + **×** close - `cursor: grab` — drag to reposition within the canvas - **Double-click header** = zoom window to fill available space (below top bar, above bottom bar, side margins 22px). Press `z` or double-click again to restore. **Tab bar:** YAML · Describe · Logs · Shell. Shell tab is disabled (muted, opacity 0.45) for non-exec object types. **Content area:** `
` with `overflow: auto; height: 286px; font-family: 'IBM Plex Mono'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.65`. Scrollbar styled (8px, rgba(140,165,200,.18)). **Keyboard focus:** - **Mouse-over a window → start typing** = focuses that window's content (specifically the shell input if it's a shell view) - Mouse-over detection: track `mouseenter`/`mouseleave` per window, set a `hoveredWindowId` ref - In the global `keydown` capture handler: if `hoveredWindowId` refers to a shell, route the keypress there; if it's any other window, do nothing (let it fall through to canvas shortcuts) **Maximize (`z` key or double-click header):** - Resize the window to `width = viewport.width - 44px`, `height = viewport.height - topBarHeight(68px) - bottomBarHeight(66px)` - Set camera so `camX = 22 - krate.wx - window.dx`, `camY = 68 - krate.wy - window.dy`, `zoom = 1` - `z` again or double-click to restore previous size **Secret YAML auto-decode:** - When rendering YAML for a Secret object, base64-decode all data values and show plaintext with a `⊙ secret values auto-decoded` banner ### 6. Shell Window **Purpose:** Interactive pseudo-terminal session inside the app. **Implementation:** - Use **xterm.js** (or equivalent) for the real terminal - Backend: WebSocket → kubectl exec into the pod - Keyboard routing: the window captures keypresses when the mouse is over it (see above). Space must NOT open the spotlight when the cursor is over a shell — instead pass the space character to the terminal. - Scroll wheel over shell: scroll the terminal content, do NOT pan the canvas. Only `Ctrl/⌘+scroll` over a shell should zoom the canvas. **Mock in prototype:** Shows static text with a blinking cursor character. The real implementation connects via `kubectl exec -it-n -- sh` through the backend. ### 7. Logs Window **Purpose:** Live-tailing container logs. **Implementation:** - Streams via `kubectl logs --follow` through the backend WebSocket - Auto-scroll to bottom when new lines arrive, unless the user has scrolled up (detect by comparing `scrollTop + clientHeight` vs `scrollHeight`; if not at bottom, stop auto-scroll) - Color-code: ERROR lines in `#ef6f6f`, WARN in `#e8b54a`, INFO in `#b9c6d8` ### 8. Collection Window **Purpose:** Overview of a category (All Pods, All Services…) or namespace. Status-at-a-glance list. **Size:** Default 540×480px. **Header:** - Title (e.g. "pods · ns/payments"), status summary badges (✓ N / ⚠ N / ✗ N) - **Filter input** (auto-focused on open): `font-family: IBM Plex Mono; font-size: 12px` - Keyboard hint: `↑↓ ⌥L/S/D/Y` (always visible, muted) - **List / Tree** toggle buttons **List mode:** - Each row: shape glyph + name + relation tag (muted, for tree mode) + health metric + type badge + view buttons (⌥L/S/D/Y) + status dot - Selected row: `background: accentDim; border-left: 2px solid accent` - Hover row: `background: rgba(255,255,255,.04)` - Sorted: degraded/failed first, then pending, then ready; alpha within each group **Tree mode (k9s xray):** - Each workload expands to show its pods; each pod/workload expands to show its configMaps, secrets, PVCs - Services/ingresses expand to show their targets - Relation tags shown: `pod`, `configMap`, `secret`, `volume`, `selects`, `routes`, `used by` - Indent per level: `20px * depth`; connector shown as an L-shaped border element **Filter behavior in collection window:** - Typing filters immediately (no mode switching) - `↑/↓` moves selection highlight - `⌥L/S/D/Y` opens that view for the selected row (uses `event.code`, Alt required) - `Enter` opens default view for selected row - `Escape` blurs the input - Mouse-over the collection window + start typing = focuses the filter input and types there (same hover routing as shell windows, but for the filter input) - In tree mode, filtering keeps matching nodes **plus all their ancestors** so the hierarchy stays readable ### 9. Admin Drawer **Purpose:** Right-side panel showing all users connected to the yard. **Trigger:** `◉ admin` button in top bar (toggle). **Layout:** - Right-side slide-in panel: `width: 380px; top: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; position: absolute; z-index: 56` - Backdrop: `rgba(7,9,13,.4)`, click to close - Background: `rgba(13,17,24,.98); border-left: 1px solid rgba(140,165,200,.2)` **Content per user:** - Avatar circle + name + status (active · namespace / idle Nm) - Current search query + "typing…" pulsing indicator if they have spotlight open - Krate count - Each open krate as a clickable row: name + view-letter badges + status dot **Admin can spectate:** clicking a krate row in another user's card (or in "You") closes the admin panel and flies the camera to that krate. **Your own row** shows real-time state — your current spotlight query and actual open krates. ### 10. Minimap **Purpose:** Overview of all krates' positions on the canvas. **Position:** `right: 18px; bottom: 64px` **Size:** `180×120px`, with a viewport indicator rectangle showing the current view frustum. **Interaction:** Click anywhere on the minimap to fly the camera to that world position. --- ## Interactions & Behavior Summary | Interaction | Behavior | |---|---| | Click empty canvas | Open spotlight | | Type any key (not in input) | Open spotlight pre-seeded with that key | | `/` key | Open spotlight empty | | `Esc` | Close spotlight / close spotlight and place krate | | Scroll wheel | Pan canvas | | Ctrl/⌘ + scroll | Zoom canvas | | Space + drag | Pan canvas (even over windows/shells) | | `z` over a window | Maximize window to fill available space | | `z` again | Restore window size | | Double-click window header | Maximize / restore | | Double-click krate header | Collapse / expand krate | | Double-click collapsed krate card | Expand and fly camera to it | | Mouse-over window + type | Focus shell / collection filter | | ⌥L / ⌥S / ⌥D / ⌥Y | Open view for selected result (spotlight or collection) | | Tab in spotlight | Apply type filter / cycle type filters | | Backspace in spotlight (empty query, filter active) | Clear type filter | | ↑↓ in spotlight | Navigate results | | ⌥+key in spotlight | Open view for selected result | | ↑↓ in collection filter | Move row selection | | ⌥+key in collection | Open view for selected row | | Drag window header | Move window | | Drag krate header | Move entire krate | | Krate drag release | Nudge to avoid overlap with other krates | | Resize window handle | Resize; siblings resize proportionally | | Minimap click | Fly camera to position | --- ## State Management ### Canvas state ```typescript interface CanvasState { camX: number; // world-to-screen X offset camY: number; // world-to-screen Y offset zoom: number; // 0.16 – 2.2; default 0.92 flying: boolean; // true during animated camera transitions dragging: boolean; // true during pan drag collapsed: boolean; // LOD: true when zoom < 0.4 spacePanning: boolean; // true while space is held } ``` ### Krate state ```typescript interface Krate { id: string; objId: string | null; // null for collection krates collScope?: { kind: 'namespace' | 'category', value: string }; label: string; status: string; color: string; // hex, from namespace palette wx: number; wy: number; // world position minimized: boolean; windows: Window[]; seq: number; // for generating window IDs } interface Window { wid: string; kind: 'detail' | 'collection'; tab: 'logs' | 'shell' | 'describe' | 'yaml'; dx: number; dy: number; // offset within krate w: number; h: number; } ``` ### Spotlight state ```typescript interface SpotlightState { open: boolean; query: string; filterType: string | null; sel: number; // selected result index navigated: boolean; // true after ↑/↓ press session: { // tracks views opened before closing kid: string; objId: string; views: string[]; } | null; } ``` ### Collection window state (per-window ID) ```typescript interface CollectionState { [wid: string]: { search: string; view: 'list' | 'tree'; sel: number; // selected row index } } ``` --- ## Backend / API Requirements The prototype uses **mock data**. The real app needs: ### Kubernetes data - **kubectl proxy** or a dedicated Go/Rust aggregation service - Watch API for live updates: `GET /api/v1/namespaces/{ns}/pods?watch=true` etc. - Resources needed: Namespaces, Deployments, StatefulSets, DaemonSets, Services, Ingresses, ConfigMaps, Secrets, PVCs, Events, and CRDs - Secret values should be base64-decoded server-side (or client-side) before display ### Real-time shell - WebSocket → `kubectl exec -it` stream - Bidirectional: keypresses → stdin, stdout/stderr → display ### Real-time logs - WebSocket → `kubectl logs --follow` - Stream new lines; handle reconnection ### Multi-user sync (the Yard) - **CRDTs or operational transforms** for shared krate positions, krate existence, window layout - Recommended: **Yjs** (CRDT library) over WebSocket (y-websocket) - Each user's cursor/active query broadcast as ephemeral state (Yjs awareness) - Admin view reads from the awareness map ### Recommended backend stack - **Go** service wrapping the Kubernetes client-go library - WebSocket multiplexer for shell, logs, watch streams - **Redis** or **in-memory** for session/presence if single-node - For multi-node: use Yjs with a persistent provider (y-leveldb or y-mongodb) --- ## Design Tokens ### Colors ``` Background: #0b0e13 World background: #0b0e13 Surface: rgba(14,18,25,.97) Surface elevated: rgba(20,26,36,.7) Border default: rgba(140,165,200,.2) Border subtle: rgba(140,165,200,.14) Accent (cyan): #4dd6e8 Accent (violet): #a98cff Accent (amber): #f5b454 Text primary: #e6edf6 Text secondary: #c7d2e0 Text muted: #9fb0c8 Text faint: #7e8aa2 Text dimmed: #6b7890 Status OK: #4ad07a Status warn: #e8b54a Status error: #ef6f6f Object colors: Deployment: #6fb1ff StatefulSet: #b89cff Service: #5fd0c0 DaemonSet: #ffb27a Ingress: #e58fb0 CRD: #ffd479 Pod: #8aa0bd ConfigMap: #7fb39c Secret: #c79bd6 PVC: #9aa7c7 Namespace palettes: payments: #6fb1ff platform: #5fd0c0 storefront: #e58fb0 ``` ### Shape language (CSS clip-path per object type) ``` Deployment: border-radius: 50% (circle) StatefulSet: polygon(50% 0, 100% 100%, 0 100%) (triangle) Service: polygon(50% 0, 100% 50%, 50% 100%, 0 50%) (diamond) DaemonSet: ring (transparent fill, colored border) Ingress: polygon(50% 0, 100% 100%, 0 100%) (triangle, same as STS) CRD: polygon(25% 0, 75% 0, 100% 50%, 75% 100%, 25% 100%, 0 50%) (hexagon) Pod: circle ConfigMap: square (border-radius: 3px) Secret: hexagon (same clip-path as CRD, smaller) PVC: square ``` ### Typography ``` UI font: IBM Plex Sans, 400/500/600 Mono font: IBM Plex Mono, 400/500 Sizes used: 9px — label/badge uppercase legends 10px — tiny metadata, status labels 11px — chips, hints, secondary metadata 12px — mono body text in windows/collections 13px — nav bar labels, search result sub-text 14px — collection titles, admin panel 17px — spotlight search input prefix glyph 18px — spotlight search input 25px — empty state headline ``` ### Spacing ``` Window default size: 380 × 362px Collection default: 540 × 480px Window grid col gap: 412px (column pitch) Window grid row gap: 416px (row pitch) Krate frame padding: 30px around bounding box Top bar height: ~56px (inset: 68px with padding) Bottom bar height: ~40px (inset: 66px with padding) Minimap: 180 × 120px Sidebar margin: 18px ``` ### Animations ``` Camera fly: transform .52s cubic-bezier(.22,.8,.28,1) Spotlight open: opacity + translateY(-8px→0) .16s cubic-bezier(.2,.8,.3,1) Window appear: opacity + scale(.97→1) .16s ease Fade backdrop: opacity .12s ease Krate logo float: translateY 0→-7px→0, 4s ease-in-out infinite Synced dot blink: opacity 50% at 50%, 1.6s ease-in-out infinite ``` --- ## Keyboard Shortcut Reference All shortcuts that act on objects use **⌥ (Alt/Option)** — never Ctrl (reserved for terminal), never bare letters (reserved for typing in search/filter). | Key | Context | Action | |---|---|---| | Any printable key | Canvas focus | Open spotlight pre-seeded | | `/` | Canvas focus | Open spotlight empty | | `Esc` | Spotlight open | Close / finish + place krate | | `↑/↓` | Spotlight | Navigate results | | `Tab` | Spotlight | Apply type filter / cycle filters | | `⌥L/S/D/Y` | Spotlight (result selected) | Open that view | | `Enter` | Spotlight | Open default view + close | | `↑/↓` | Collection filter focused | Move row selection | | `⌥L/S/D/Y` | Collection filter focused | Open that view for selected row | | `Enter` | Collection filter focused | Open default view for selected row | | `Space` + drag | Canvas | Pan (even over windows/shells) | | `Ctrl/⌘` + scroll | Anywhere | Zoom canvas | | `z` | Mouse over window | Maximize / restore window | --- ## File Reference | File | Purpose | |---|---| | `Krates.dc.html` | Full interactive prototype — the primary design reference. Open in any modern browser. | | `README.md` | This document | --- ## Implementation Notes & Gotchas 1. **Space pan over shells:** The trickiest keyboard interaction. The space key must pan the canvas even when a `