The management cluster is where you create, update, and scale your clusters. Your apps don't run here: they run on the workload clusters you create from it. See [Create a cluster](/docs/hetzner/apalla/clusters/create/create-a-cluster).

This page walks you through setting up a `kubeconfig` for the management cluster: you copy the template below, which fills in your namespace when you're logged in. Otherwise, use the namespace from your account setup email. If you don't have an account yet, see [How do I get access and start?](/docs/hetzner/apalla/support/faq#how-do-i-get-access-and-start) first.

## Configure your kubeconfig

<YouTube id="ufBmYgepo20" background="/images/thumbnails/accessing-the-management-cluster.avif" />

<Steps>

<Step>Create a file to store the <code>kubeconfig</code> in</Step>

<Step>Copy this configuration into the file</Step>

```
Sorry, you need to be logged in to see this resource.
```

<Step>Set your namespace</Step>

Use the `namespace` from your account setup email in the kubeconfig.

<Step>Restrict the file permissions</Step>

Run `chmod 600 FILENAME`.

<Step>Export `KUBECONFIG`</Step>

Run `export KUBECONFIG=<path/to/file>`.

</Steps>

If you want to make this your default kubeconfig, you can move it to the `~/.kube/config` file.

## Access Syself Autopilot

To access the management cluster, you need [kubelogin](/docs/hetzner/apalla/platform/setup/prerequisites) installed. Run `kubectl get clusters`. This opens your browser to authenticate. Once you are logged in, `kubectl` works as usual.

> [!NOTE]
> If this is your first time using Syself Autopilot, the output of `kubectl get clusters` will be <code>No resources found in org-your-company namespace.</code>. This is not an error, it just means no clusters have been created yet under your organization.

## Optional: Log out

You might have to authenticate yourself again, if the token (and refresh token) expires. In case you want to invalidate the current session and remove access to the management cluster, you can use `rm -rf ~/.kube/cache/oidc-login`.

## Next step

With access to the management cluster in place, prepare the Hetzner account your clusters will run in: [Connect your Hetzner account](/docs/hetzner/apalla/platform/setup/connect-your-hetzner-account).

## Related

- [Concepts overview](/docs/hetzner/apalla/concepts/overview)
- [Prerequisites](/docs/hetzner/apalla/platform/setup/prerequisites)