Principle:Kubeflow Pipelines KFP UI Access
Sources: Kubeflow Deployment. Domains: Infrastructure, User_Interface. Last Updated: 2026-02-13.
Overview
The process of exposing the Kubeflow Pipelines web dashboard to users for pipeline management and monitoring.
Description
The KFP UI is a React-based web application running as a Kubernetes service. For standalone deployments without an ingress controller, port-forwarding provides local access. The UI enables pipeline management, run monitoring, experiment tracking, and artifact visualization. The service runs on container port 3000, exposed as service port 80.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Application Framework | React |
| Container Port | 3000 |
| Service Port | 80 |
| Service Name | ml-pipeline-ui |
| Namespace | kubeflow |
Usage
Use after deployment verification to access the KFP dashboard for managing and monitoring pipelines.
Theoretical Basis
Service exposure in Kubernetes. Port-forwarding creates a local tunnel to a cluster service, enabling access without an ingress controller or load balancer.
In Kubernetes, services provide stable network endpoints for pods. However, accessing these services from outside the cluster requires one of several mechanisms:
- Ingress controller -- routes external HTTP traffic to internal services based on rules
- LoadBalancer service -- provisions a cloud load balancer (cloud environments only)
- NodePort service -- exposes a port on every cluster node
- Port-forwarding -- creates a direct tunnel from a local port to a cluster service
For standalone or development deployments, port-forwarding is the simplest approach because it requires no additional infrastructure or configuration.