This guide explains how to authenticate with AWS EKS, configure kubectl, and connect using Lens (Kubernetes IDE) or, optionally, the Kubernetes Dashboard.

• AWS CLI v2+ installed and configured with SSO or access keys.

• kubectl installed.

• eksctl (optional, for cluster management) → eksctl.io.

• Lens installed → Download here.

• IAM permissions to describe and access EKS clusters.

• IAM permissions to list and access EKS clusters.

1. First, ensure an SSO session is configured in your local CLI:

   1. Option #1:

      1. Run the following command to initiate configuration:

      2. Copy the Access Keys shown in your AWS Access Portal:

• The following fields can be skipped:
  SSO registration scopes [sso:account:access]
CLI default output format [None]

• After configuration is complete, you should use --profile <your_profile_name> at the end of every aws CLI commands from this point on.

b. Option #2:

• Within the access keys in the access portal shown above, you will find the following block of commands, copy and paste it in your terminal:

1. Now, open a terminal and ensure your AWS CLI session is active:

2. Retrieve the list of EKS clusters available to your account:

3. Select the desired cluster from the output.

To interact with your EKS cluster, you need to update the kubectl configuration.

1. Run the following command to generate the kubeconfig:

2. Verify connectivity by running:

   This should return a list of nodes in the cluster.

• Linux/Mac: ~/.kube/config

• Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.kube\config

Lens automatically scans this file.

To check what contexts you have:

• Open Lens.

• Go to Clusters → Add Cluster.

• Lens shows all contexts from your kubeconfig.

• Select your EKS cluster context (looks like arn:aws:eks:region:account:cluster/<name>).

• Click Add Cluster → Open it.