# stern

> Apache-2.0 multi-pod Kubernetes log tail

**Category:** DevOps  
**Pricing:** open-source  
**URL:** https://github.com/stern/stern  
**GitHub:** https://github.com/stern/stern  
**Added:** 2026-09-13

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## The Hook

stern is `kubectl logs -f` for a replica set when you want color-coded tails across pods and containers without a TUI.

## What's Good

Apache-2.0. stern/stern — friendly fork of discontinued wercker/stern. Regex/label/resource queries (`deployment/nginx`), multi-container tails, color per pod, auto-follow as pods come and go. Go binary. Source github.com/stern/stern.

## The Catch

Vs k9s (full Kubernetes *TUI*): stern is the *multi-pod log tail CLI*, not a cluster navigator, not Helm, not a dashboard. Needs kubeconfig and RBAC to read logs. Not Loki/Vector (log pipelines).

## Verdict

Apache-2.0 K8s log tail. Free forever; follow the fleet, not one pod at a time.