Headlamp vs Skooner
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted developer tools & git options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Headlamp
Extensible web UI for Kubernetes clusters
VS
Skooner
Simple and lightweight Kubernetes dashboard
| Feature | Headlamp | Skooner |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 19 · At risk |
| Category | Developer Tools & Git | Developer Tools & Git |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, helm, binary | docker, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,329 | ★ 1,445 |
| First released | 2021 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Lens, Kubernetes Dashboard | Kubernetes Dashboard |
What are Headlamp and Skooner?
Headlamp
Headlamp is an open-source Kubernetes web UI and desktop app maintained as a CNCF project. It supports plugins and can be self-hosted in-cluster to provide a customizable dashboard for cluster management.
- Web and desktop modes
- Plugin system
- Multi-cluster support
- In-cluster deployment
Skooner
Skooner, formerly k8dash, is an open-source web dashboard for Kubernetes focused on simplicity and real-time updates. It runs in-cluster and displays node, pod, and workload health at a glance.
- Real-time cluster view
- Lightweight footprint
- OIDC login support
- Resource graphs
Headlamp vs Skooner: key differences
Headlamp is written in TypeScript, while Skooner is built with JavaScript. Skooner is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Headlamp. Skooner is the more established project (first released 2018), while Headlamp arrived in 2021. Headlamp has the considerably larger community, at 7,329 GitHub stars versus 1,445.
Why pick each one
Choose Headlamp if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 7.3k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Choose Skooner if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.4k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Headlamp or Skooner better?
Neither is universally better. Headlamp has the larger community, while Skooner is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Headlamp and Skooner free and open-source?
Yes. Headlamp is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Skooner under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Headlamp and Skooner with Docker?
Headlamp: yes. Skooner: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Headlamp or Skooner?
Skooner has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Headlamp. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.