Port Forwarding

kftray support both TCP and UDP port forwarding with automatic reconnection capabilities.

Supported Protocols

• TCP Port Forwarding
• UDP Port Forwarding
• Proxy Forwarding through Kubernetes

TCP Port Forwarding

Standard TCP port forwarding configuration:

{
  "service": "web-service",
  "namespace": "default",
  "local_port": 8080,
  "remote_port": 80,
  "context": "my-cluster",
  "workload_type": "service",
  "protocol": "tcp",
  "alias": "web"
}

Configuration Fields

• service: Target service or pod name
• namespace: Kubernetes namespace
• local_port: Port on your local machine
• remote_port: Port on the target service
• context: Kubernetes context
• workload_type: Either "service" or "pod"
• protocol: Set to "tcp"
• alias: Friendly name for the forward

UDP Port Forwarding

UDP port forwarding configuration:

{
  "service": "dns-service",
  "namespace": "default",
  "local_port": 53,
  "remote_port": 53,
  "context": "my-cluster",
  "workload_type": "service",
  "protocol": "udp",
  "alias": "dns"
}

Automatic Reconnection

kftray automatically handle:

• Pod restarts
• Network interruptions
• Context switches
• Cluster reconnections

Common Use Cases

Web Applications

{
  "service": "frontend",
  "local_port": 3000,
  "remote_port": 80
}

Databases

{
  "service": "database",
  "local_port": 5432,
  "remote_port": 5432
}

Microservices

{
  "service": "api-gateway",
  "local_port": 8080,
  "remote_port": 8080
}

Best Practices

• Use meaningful aliases for easy identification
• Group related services with similar alias prefixes
• Keep local ports consistent across team configurations
• Document port forwards in your project README

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions:

1. Port Already in Use
   • Check for existing processes using the port
   • Use a different local port
2. Connection Refused
   • Verify service is running
   • Check namespace and context
   • Confirm network connectivity
3. Permission Denied
   • Verify RBAC permissions
   • Check Kubernetes context
   • Ensure proper kubeconfig setup