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Headlamp vs AKS desktop: catalog facts
Headlamp	AKS desktop
Free Free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license.	Free The app is free and open source; the AKS clusters it manages are billed by Azure.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Web, Self-hosted	Windows, macOS, Linux
Works as a desktop app or deployed in-cluster Multi-cluster support using an existing kubeconfig	Guided deployment flows built on supported AKS features Based on the open-source Headlamp dashboard
Desktop apps are unsigned and trigger OS warnings Limited-permission tokens may not show all resources	Only useful with Azure Kubernetes Service Requires an Azure account and AKS cluster
Downloadable app, Self-hosted	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: Apache-2.0	License: Apache-2.0
No account needed	Account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Needs internet
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.