Is there way to "re-use" the current services in the next session of the app? (TUI)

[BroderPeters]

I just started using the tool and am curious whether I can use it in a way that it always restores my currently opened connections in the next start of the app.
Did I miss a feature flag or config for that?

[cjimti]

Hi @BroderPeters, welcome to kubefwd!

There's no session persistence feature, but that's actually by design. kubefwd uses a declarative approach, you tell it what to forward using selectors, rather than listing specific services. This is more powerful because:

• New services matching your criteria get forwarded automatically
• Removed services are cleaned up
• Your command stays valid even as your cluster evolves

Save your command as an alias:

# Simple - forward all services in a namespace
alias kfwd='sudo -E kubefwd svc -n my-namespace --tui'

# Label selector - forward only database services
alias kfwd-db='sudo -E kubefwd svc -n dev -l app=database --tui'

# Multiple labels (AND)
alias kfwd-api='sudo -E kubefwd svc -n prod -l app=api,tier=backend --tui'

# Multiple namespaces
alias kfwd-all='sudo -E kubefwd svc -n dev,staging,prod --tui'

Advanced selectors:

# Field selector - specific service by name
sudo -E kubefwd svc -n dev -f metadata.name=user-service --tui

# Combine label + field selectors
sudo -E kubefwd svc -n dev -l team=platform -f metadata.name!=legacy-svc --tui

# Set-based label selectors
sudo -E kubefwd svc -n dev -l 'environment in (dev, staging)' --tui

The idea is to craft a selector that captures your working set, save it as an alias, and you're good to go.

If you're running sudo -E kubefwd svc --tui without specifying namespaces, that's "idle mode", its a newer feature designed for interactive browsing, API or AI-assisted workflows where you add/remove services on the fly. Selections made in idle mode aren't persisted. For repeatable sessions, the declarative approach with selectors (saved as an alias) is the way to go.

[BroderPeters]

Understood! Thanks for the great explanation!