Where Does Kubeshark Store Config and Captures?
Kubeshark reads your kubeconfig in place and keeps its own settings in Helm values, with captures living briefly in-cluster.
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Kubeshark has no single config file on your laptop. The CLI leans on the kubeconfig kubectl already uses, and persistent settings live in the Helm values you install with. Day to day you run kubeshark tap and read traffic in the dashboard.
Captures themselves never land on disk by default. Workers in the kubeshark namespace hold a rolling window and the front end serves it at localhost:8899. Treat the namespace contents as scratch and the values file as the source of truth.
Where Kubeshark stores this, by platform
~/.kube/config
Kubeconfig Kubeshark reads in place. Set kube.configPath and context in Helm values for nonstandard setups. Captures stay in-cluster and expire.
~/.kube/config
Same model via Homebrew installs: brew install kubeshark, then kubeshark tap. Values file holds anything you want to keep. Dashboard serves on localhost:8899.
C:\Users\<you>\.kube\config
Same layout under your profile. Point Helm at it when the file lives elsewhere. Port-forward the front service if the tap command does not open the dashboard itself.
Frequently asked questions
Where are captured packets stored?
They are ephemeral by design. Tap output streams through workers in the kubeshark namespace and the dashboard at localhost:8899. Size it with Helm storage settings if you need longer retention.
How do I persist Kubeshark settings across reinstalls?
Keep a values file per environment and install with -f. CLI flags suit quick taps. The file is the only approach that survives upgrades and reinstalls cleanly.
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