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Split screen#

Lens premium subscription feature. See details on Lens Pricing.

Split screen divides the main view of Lens K8S IDE into groups of tabs placed side by side. Each group has its own tab strip and shows one tab at a time, so you can keep Pods on one side and Deployments on the other. Split screen is part of Lens Studio, which comes with the Plus, Pro, and Enterprise subscription plans and with an active trial.

Split the view#

Use any of these ways to open a second group on the right:

  • Click the split icon at the end of the tab strip.
  • Press Cmd+\ on macOS, or Ctrl+\ on Windows and Linux.
  • Run View: Split from the Command Palette.
  • Drag a tab to the left or right edge of a group.

When the group has more than one tab, its selected tab moves to the new group. When the group has only one tab, Lens opens an empty group instead. An empty group shows Drag a tab here, or open one from the navigator until you put a tab in it.

Move tabs between groups#

Drag a tab and drop it over another group:

  • Drop it over the middle third of a group to add it to that group.
  • Drop it over the left or right third of a group to make a new group on that side.

You can also right-click a tab and select one of the following:

  • Move to the left moves the tab to the group on its left.
  • Move to the right moves the tab to the group on its right.
  • Move to a new group on the right appears when there is no group on the right. It makes one and moves the tab to it.

The only tab of a group cannot make a new group: it moves into the group you drop it over.

Open a resource beside what you are looking at#

Middle-click a resource in the navigator, such as Pods, to open it in the group beside the one you are working in. Lens picks the group on the right, or the leftmost group when you are in the rightmost one. With a single group, Lens makes a new group on the right.

Keep dock tabs next to a list#

Drag a tab out of the dock, such as a terminal or a log view, and drop it in a group. The tab keeps running in its new place, next to the list it is about.

The dock and the status bar follow the group you are working in.

Resize and close groups#

  • Drag the divider between two groups to change their widths.
  • Press Cmd+Shift+\ on macOS, or Ctrl+Shift+\ on Windows and Linux, to move the focus to the next group.
  • Close the last tab of a group to close the group. Its width goes to the neighboring group. The last remaining group never closes.
  • Click the close icon at the end of an empty group's tab strip, or press Cmd+W on macOS or Ctrl+W on Windows and Linux, to close the empty group.

Arrange tabs with Ask AI#

Ask AI can open a list of resources beside what you are looking at, and move your tabs between groups for you. Describe the layout you want in your own words.

Without a premium subscription#

Without Lens Studio, the split icon at the end of the tab strip carries a PREMIUM badge. Clicking it opens the Premium Features page.

When Lens Studio ends, for example when a trial expires, Lens gathers all your tabs back into one view and says so in a notification.