diff --git a/integration/__tests__/cluster-pages.tests.ts b/integration/__tests__/cluster-pages.tests.ts
index 7e88c77608..e2e9d14e2a 100644
--- a/integration/__tests__/cluster-pages.tests.ts
+++ b/integration/__tests__/cluster-pages.tests.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 */
 import { Application } from "spectron";
 import * as utils from "../helpers/utils";
-import { addMinikubeCluster, minikubeReady, waitForMinikubeDashboard } from "../helpers/minikube";
+import { minikubeReady, waitForMinikubeDashboard } from "../helpers/minikube";
 import { exec } from "child_process";
 import * as util from "util";
 
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ describe("Lens cluster pages", () => {
     let clusterAdded = false;
     const addCluster = async () => {
       await app.client.waitUntilTextExists("div", "Catalog");
-      await addMinikubeCluster(app);
       await waitForMinikubeDashboard(app);
       await app.client.click('a[href="/nodes"]');
       await app.client.waitUntilTextExists("div.TableCell", "Ready");
diff --git a/integration/helpers/minikube.ts b/integration/helpers/minikube.ts
index edbe3127d1..df2110ba92 100644
--- a/integration/helpers/minikube.ts
+++ b/integration/helpers/minikube.ts
@@ -38,28 +38,12 @@ export function minikubeReady(testNamespace: string): boolean {
   return true;
 }
 
-export async function addMinikubeCluster(app: Application) {
-  await app.client.waitForVisible("button.MuiSpeedDial-fab");
-  await app.client.moveToObject("button.MuiSpeedDial-fab");
-  await app.client.waitForVisible(`button[title="Add from kubeconfig"]`);
-  await app.client.click(`button[title="Add from kubeconfig"]`);
-  await app.client.waitUntilTextExists("div", "Select kubeconfig file");
-  await app.client.click("div.Select__control"); // show the context drop-down list
-  await app.client.waitUntilTextExists("div", "minikube");
-
-  if (!await app.client.$("button.primary").isEnabled()) {
-    await app.client.click("div.minikube"); // select minikube context
-  } // else the only context, which must be 'minikube', is automatically selected
-  await app.client.click("div.Select__control"); // hide the context drop-down list (it might be obscuring the Add cluster(s) button)
-  await app.client.click("button.primary"); // add minikube cluster
+export async function waitForMinikubeDashboard(app: Application) {
   await app.client.waitUntilTextExists("div.TableCell", "minikube");
   await app.client.waitForExist(".Input.SearchInput input");
   await app.client.setValue(".Input.SearchInput input", "minikube");
   await app.client.waitUntilTextExists("div.TableCell", "minikube");
   await app.client.click("div.TableRow");
-}
-
-export async function waitForMinikubeDashboard(app: Application) {
   await app.client.waitUntilTextExists("pre.kube-auth-out", "Authentication proxy started");
   await app.client.waitForExist(`iframe[name="minikube"]`);
   await app.client.frame("minikube");
diff --git a/src/common/__tests__/cluster-store.test.ts b/src/common/__tests__/cluster-store.test.ts
index 6fb5f40659..739979c5cf 100644
--- a/src/common/__tests__/cluster-store.test.ts
+++ b/src/common/__tests__/cluster-store.test.ts
@@ -92,7 +92,6 @@ describe("empty config", () => {
       expect(storedCluster.id).toBe("foo");
       expect(storedCluster.preferences.terminalCWD).toBe("/tmp");
       expect(storedCluster.preferences.icon).toBe("data:image/jpeg;base64, iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAA1wAAAKoCAYAAABjkf5");
-      expect(storedCluster.enabled).toBe(true);
     });
 
     it("removes cluster from store", async () => {
@@ -215,13 +214,6 @@ describe("config with existing clusters", () => {
     expect(storedClusters[1].preferences.terminalCWD).toBe("/foo2");
     expect(storedClusters[2].id).toBe("cluster3");
   });
-
-  it("marks owned cluster disabled by default", () => {
-    const storedClusters = ClusterStore.getInstance().clustersList;
-
-    expect(storedClusters[0].enabled).toBe(true);
-    expect(storedClusters[2].enabled).toBe(false);
-  });
 });
 
 describe("config with invalid cluster kubeconfig", () => {
@@ -288,18 +280,35 @@ users:
   it("does not enable clusters with invalid kubeconfig", () => {
     const storedClusters = ClusterStore.getInstance().clustersList;
 
-    expect(storedClusters.length).toBe(2);
-    expect(storedClusters[0].enabled).toBeFalsy;
-    expect(storedClusters[1].id).toBe("cluster2");
-    expect(storedClusters[1].enabled).toBeTruthy;
+    expect(storedClusters.length).toBe(1);
   });
 });
 
 const minimalValidKubeConfig = JSON.stringify({
   apiVersion: "v1",
-  clusters: [],
-  users: [],
-  contexts: [],
+  clusters: [{
+    name: "minikube",
+    cluster: {
+      server: "https://192.168.64.3:8443",
+    },
+  }],
+  "current-context": "minikube",
+  contexts: [{
+    context: {
+      cluster: "minikube",
+      user: "minikube",
+    },
+    name: "minikube",
+  }],
+  users: [{
+    name: "minikube",
+    user: {
+      "client-certificate": "/Users/foo/.minikube/client.crt",
+      "client-key": "/Users/foo/.minikube/client.key",
+    }
+  }],
+  kind: "Config",
+  preferences: {},
 });
 
 describe("pre 2.0 config with an existing cluster", () => {
@@ -330,7 +339,7 @@ describe("pre 2.0 config with an existing cluster", () => {
   it("migrates to modern format with kubeconfig in a file", async () => {
     const config = ClusterStore.getInstance().clustersList[0].kubeConfigPath;
 
-    expect(fs.readFileSync(config, "utf8")).toContain(`"contexts":[]`);
+    expect(fs.readFileSync(config, "utf8")).toContain(`"contexts":[`);
   });
 });
 
@@ -402,8 +411,6 @@ describe("pre 2.6.0 config with a cluster that has arrays in auth config", () =>
     const config = fs.readFileSync(file, "utf8");
     const kc = yaml.safeLoad(config);
 
-    console.log(kc);
-
     expect(kc.users[0].user["auth-provider"].config["access-token"]).toBe("should be string");
     expect(kc.users[0].user["auth-provider"].config["expiry"]).toBe("should be string");
   });
diff --git a/src/common/catalog-entities/kubernetes-cluster.ts b/src/common/catalog-entities/kubernetes-cluster.ts
index dc5159e509..5f2737eba2 100644
--- a/src/common/catalog-entities/kubernetes-cluster.ts
+++ b/src/common/catalog-entities/kubernetes-cluster.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,10 @@ export class KubernetesCluster extends CatalogEntity<CatalogEntityMetadata, Kube
         onlyVisibleForSource: "local",
         onClick: async () => context.navigate(`/entity/${this.metadata.uid}/settings`)
       },
-      {
+    ];
+
+    if (this.metadata.labels["file"]?.startsWith(ClusterStore.storedKubeConfigFolder)) {
+      context.menuItems.push({
         icon: "delete",
         title: "Delete",
         onlyVisibleForSource: "local",
@@ -47,8 +50,8 @@ export class KubernetesCluster extends CatalogEntity<CatalogEntityMetadata, Kube
         confirm: {
           message: `Remove Kubernetes Cluster "${this.metadata.name} from ${productName}?`
         }
-      },
-    ];
+      });
+    }
 
     if (this.status.phase == "connected") {
       context.menuItems.unshift({
diff --git a/src/common/cluster-store.ts b/src/common/cluster-store.ts
index c5ebb45c85..5ae5378e6f 100644
--- a/src/common/cluster-store.ts
+++ b/src/common/cluster-store.ts
@@ -64,11 +64,6 @@ export interface ClusterModel {
   /** Metadata */
   metadata?: ClusterMetadata;
 
-  /**
-   * If extension sets ownerRef it has to explicitly mark a cluster as enabled during onActive (or when cluster is saved)
-   */
-  ownerRef?: string;
-
   /** List of accessible namespaces */
   accessibleNamespaces?: string[];
 
@@ -172,9 +167,6 @@ export class ClusterStore extends BaseStore<ClusterStoreModel> {
   protected pushStateToViewsAutomatically() {
     if (ipcMain) {
       this.disposer.push(
-        reaction(() => this.enabledClustersList, () => {
-          this.pushState();
-        }),
         reaction(() => this.connectedClustersList, () => {
           this.pushState();
         }),
@@ -210,10 +202,6 @@ export class ClusterStore extends BaseStore<ClusterStoreModel> {
     return Array.from(this.clusters.values());
   }
 
-  @computed get enabledClustersList(): Cluster[] {
-    return this.clustersList.filter((c) => c.enabled);
-  }
-
   @computed get active(): Cluster | null {
     return this.getById(this.activeCluster);
   }
@@ -232,13 +220,9 @@ export class ClusterStore extends BaseStore<ClusterStoreModel> {
 
   @action
   setActive(clusterId: ClusterId) {
-    const cluster = this.clusters.get(clusterId);
-
-    if (!cluster?.enabled) {
-      clusterId = null;
-    }
-
-    this.activeCluster = clusterId;
+    this.activeCluster = this.clusters.has(clusterId)
+      ? clusterId
+      : null;
   }
 
   deactivate(id: ClusterId) {
@@ -274,10 +258,6 @@ export class ClusterStore extends BaseStore<ClusterStoreModel> {
       ? clusterOrModel
       : new Cluster(clusterOrModel);
 
-    if (!cluster.isManaged) {
-      cluster.enabled = true;
-    }
-
     this.clusters.set(cluster.id, cluster);
 
     return cluster;
@@ -314,18 +294,18 @@ export class ClusterStore extends BaseStore<ClusterStoreModel> {
 
     // update new clusters
     for (const clusterModel of clusters) {
-      let cluster = currentClusters.get(clusterModel.id);
+      try {
+        let cluster = currentClusters.get(clusterModel.id);
 
-      if (cluster) {
-        cluster.updateModel(clusterModel);
-      } else {
-        cluster = new Cluster(clusterModel);
-
-        if (!cluster.isManaged && cluster.apiUrl) {
-          cluster.enabled = true;
+        if (cluster) {
+          cluster.updateModel(clusterModel);
+        } else {
+          cluster = new Cluster(clusterModel);
         }
+        newClusters.set(clusterModel.id, cluster);
+      } catch {
+        // ignore
       }
-      newClusters.set(clusterModel.id, cluster);
     }
 
     // update removed clusters
@@ -335,7 +315,7 @@ export class ClusterStore extends BaseStore<ClusterStoreModel> {
       }
     });
 
-    this.activeCluster = newClusters.get(activeCluster)?.enabled ? activeCluster : null;
+    this.setActive(activeCluster);
     this.clusters.replace(newClusters);
     this.removedClusters.replace(removedClusters);
   }
diff --git a/src/extensions/core-api/index.ts b/src/extensions/core-api/index.ts
index 9b075f049f..f0989fc5bd 100644
--- a/src/extensions/core-api/index.ts
+++ b/src/extensions/core-api/index.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 // Lens-extensions api developer's kit
-export * from "../lens-main-extension";
-export * from "../lens-renderer-extension";
+export { LensMainExtension } from "../lens-main-extension";
+export { LensRendererExtension } from "../lens-renderer-extension";
 
 // APIs
 import * as App from "./app";
diff --git a/src/main/__test__/cluster.test.ts b/src/main/__test__/cluster.test.ts
index 40050e10d1..9227280941 100644
--- a/src/main/__test__/cluster.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/__test__/cluster.test.ts
@@ -31,15 +31,8 @@ jest.mock("request-promise-native");
 import { Console } from "console";
 import mockFs from "mock-fs";
 import { Cluster } from "../cluster";
-import { ContextHandler } from "../context-handler";
-import { getFreePort } from "../port";
-import { V1ResourceAttributes } from "@kubernetes/client-node";
-import { apiResources } from "../../common/rbac";
-import request from "request-promise-native";
 import { Kubectl } from "../kubectl";
 
-const mockedRequest = request as jest.MockedFunction<typeof request>;
-
 console = new Console(process.stdout, process.stderr); // fix mockFS
 
 describe("create clusters", () => {
@@ -99,54 +92,7 @@ describe("create clusters", () => {
     expect(() => c.disconnect()).not.toThrowError();
   });
 
-  it("init should not throw if everything is in order", async () => {
-    await c.init(await getFreePort());
-    expect(logger.info).toBeCalledWith(expect.stringContaining("init success"), {
-      id: "foo",
-      apiUrl: "https://192.168.64.3:8443",
-      context: "minikube",
-    });
-  });
-
   it("activating cluster should try to connect to cluster and do a refresh", async () => {
-    const port = await getFreePort();
-
-    jest.spyOn(ContextHandler.prototype, "ensureServer");
-
-    const mockListNSs = jest.fn();
-    const mockKC = {
-      makeApiClient() {
-        return {
-          listNamespace: mockListNSs,
-        };
-      }
-    };
-
-    jest.spyOn(Cluster.prototype, "isClusterAdmin").mockReturnValue(Promise.resolve(true));
-    jest.spyOn(Cluster.prototype, "canUseWatchApi").mockReturnValue(Promise.resolve(true));
-    jest.spyOn(Cluster.prototype, "canI")
-      .mockImplementation((attr: V1ResourceAttributes): Promise<boolean> => {
-        expect(attr.namespace).toBe("default");
-        expect(attr.verb).toBe("list");
-
-        return Promise.resolve(true);
-      });
-    jest.spyOn(Cluster.prototype, "getProxyKubeconfig").mockReturnValue(mockKC as any);
-    mockListNSs.mockImplementationOnce(() => ({
-      body: {
-        items: [{
-          metadata: {
-            name: "default",
-          }
-        }]
-      }
-    }));
-
-    mockedRequest.mockImplementationOnce(((uri: any) => {
-      expect(uri).toBe(`http://localhost:${port}/api-kube/version`);
-
-      return Promise.resolve({ gitVersion: "1.2.3" });
-    }) as any);
 
     const c = new class extends Cluster {
       // only way to mock protected methods, without these we leak promises
@@ -162,14 +108,20 @@ describe("create clusters", () => {
       kubeConfigPath: "minikube-config.yml"
     });
 
-    await c.init(port);
+    c.contextHandler = {
+      ensureServer: jest.fn(),
+      stopServer: jest.fn()
+    } as any;
+
+    jest.spyOn(c, "reconnect");
+    jest.spyOn(c, "canI");
+    jest.spyOn(c, "refreshConnectionStatus");
+
     await c.activate();
 
-    expect(ContextHandler.prototype.ensureServer).toBeCalled();
-    expect(mockedRequest).toBeCalled();
-    expect(c.accessible).toBe(true);
-    expect(c.allowedNamespaces.length).toBe(1);
-    expect(c.allowedResources.length).toBe(apiResources.length);
+    expect(c.reconnect).toBeCalled();
+    expect(c.refreshConnectionStatus).toBeCalled();
+
     c.disconnect();
     jest.resetAllMocks();
   });
diff --git a/src/main/__test__/kube-auth-proxy.test.ts b/src/main/__test__/kube-auth-proxy.test.ts
index 612db10a01..a9f6d4522e 100644
--- a/src/main/__test__/kube-auth-proxy.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/__test__/kube-auth-proxy.test.ts
@@ -26,10 +26,10 @@ jest.mock("winston", () => ({
 jest.mock("../../common/ipc");
 jest.mock("child_process");
 jest.mock("tcp-port-used");
+//jest.mock("../utils/get-port");
 
 import { Cluster } from "../cluster";
 import { KubeAuthProxy } from "../kube-auth-proxy";
-import { getFreePort } from "../port";
 import { broadcastMessage } from "../../common/ipc";
 import { ChildProcess, spawn } from "child_process";
 import { bundledKubectlPath, Kubectl } from "../kubectl";
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ import { Readable } from "stream";
 import { UserStore } from "../../common/user-store";
 import { Console } from "console";
 import { stdout, stderr } from "process";
+import mockFs from "mock-fs";
 
 console = new Console(stdout, stderr);
 
@@ -51,11 +52,41 @@ describe("kube auth proxy tests", () => {
     jest.clearAllMocks();
     UserStore.resetInstance();
     UserStore.createInstance();
+
+    const mockMinikubeConfig = {
+      "minikube-config.yml": JSON.stringify({
+        apiVersion: "v1",
+        clusters: [{
+          name: "minikube",
+          cluster: {
+            server: "https://192.168.64.3:8443",
+          },
+        }],
+        "current-context": "minikube",
+        contexts: [{
+          context: {
+            cluster: "minikube",
+            user: "minikube",
+          },
+          name: "minikube",
+        }],
+        users: [{
+          name: "minikube",
+        }],
+        kind: "Config",
+        preferences: {},
+      })
+    };
+
+    mockFs(mockMinikubeConfig);
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    mockFs.restore();
   });
 
   it("calling exit multiple times shouldn't throw", async () => {
-    const port = await getFreePort();
-    const kap = new KubeAuthProxy(new Cluster({ id: "foobar", kubeConfigPath: "fake-path.yml" }), port, {});
+    const kap = new KubeAuthProxy(new Cluster({ id: "foobar", kubeConfigPath: "minikube-config.yml", contextName: "minikube" }), {});
 
     kap.exit();
     kap.exit();
@@ -63,13 +94,11 @@ describe("kube auth proxy tests", () => {
   });
 
   describe("spawn tests", () => {
-    let port: number;
     let mockedCP: MockProxy<ChildProcess>;
     let listeners: Record<string, (...args: any[]) => void>;
     let proxy: KubeAuthProxy;
 
     beforeEach(async () => {
-      port = await getFreePort();
       mockedCP = mock<ChildProcess>();
       listeners = {};
 
@@ -89,6 +118,7 @@ describe("kube auth proxy tests", () => {
       mockedCP.stdout = mock<Readable>();
       mockedCP.stdout.on.mockImplementation((event: string, listener: (message: any, sendHandle: any) => void): Readable => {
         listeners[`stdout/${event}`] = listener;
+        listeners[`stdout/${event}`]("Starting to serve on 127.0.0.1:9191");
 
         return mockedCP.stdout;
       });
@@ -98,10 +128,10 @@ describe("kube auth proxy tests", () => {
         return mockedCP;
       });
       mockWaitUntilUsed.mockReturnValueOnce(Promise.resolve());
-      const cluster = new Cluster({ id: "foobar", kubeConfigPath: "fake-path.yml" });
 
-      jest.spyOn(cluster, "apiUrl", "get").mockReturnValue("https://fake.k8s.internal");
-      proxy = new KubeAuthProxy(cluster, port, {});
+      const cluster = new Cluster({ id: "foobar", kubeConfigPath: "minikube-config.yml", contextName: "minikube" });
+
+      proxy = new KubeAuthProxy(cluster, {});
     });
 
     it("should call spawn and broadcast errors", async () => {
@@ -127,7 +157,6 @@ describe("kube auth proxy tests", () => {
 
     it("should call spawn and broadcast stdout serving info", async () => {
       await proxy.run();
-      listeners["stdout/data"]("Starting to serve on");
 
       expect(mockBroadcastIpc).toBeCalledWith("kube-auth:foobar", { data: "Authentication proxy started\n" });
     });
diff --git a/src/main/__test__/kubeconfig-manager.test.ts b/src/main/__test__/kubeconfig-manager.test.ts
index cf93f71957..d12fbf88b7 100644
--- a/src/main/__test__/kubeconfig-manager.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/__test__/kubeconfig-manager.test.ts
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ import { KubeconfigManager } from "../kubeconfig-manager";
 import mockFs from "mock-fs";
 import { Cluster } from "../cluster";
 import { ContextHandler } from "../context-handler";
-import { getFreePort } from "../port";
 import fse from "fs-extra";
 import { loadYaml } from "@kubernetes/client-node";
 import { Console } from "console";
@@ -36,6 +35,9 @@ import * as path from "path";
 console = new Console(process.stdout, process.stderr); // fix mockFS
 
 describe("kubeconfig manager tests", () => {
+  let cluster: Cluster;
+  let contextHandler: ContextHandler;
+
   beforeEach(() => {
     const mockOpts = {
       "minikube-config.yml": JSON.stringify({
@@ -62,6 +64,14 @@ describe("kubeconfig manager tests", () => {
     };
 
     mockFs(mockOpts);
+
+    cluster = new Cluster({
+      id: "foo",
+      contextName: "minikube",
+      kubeConfigPath: "minikube-config.yml",
+    });
+    contextHandler = jest.fn() as any;
+    jest.spyOn(KubeconfigManager.prototype, "resolveProxyUrl", "get").mockReturnValue("http://127.0.0.1:9191/foo");
   });
 
   afterEach(() => {
@@ -69,14 +79,7 @@ describe("kubeconfig manager tests", () => {
   });
 
   it("should create 'temp' kube config with proxy", async () => {
-    const cluster = new Cluster({
-      id: "foo",
-      contextName: "minikube",
-      kubeConfigPath: "minikube-config.yml",
-    });
-    const contextHandler = new ContextHandler(cluster);
-    const port = await getFreePort();
-    const kubeConfManager = new KubeconfigManager(cluster, contextHandler, port);
+    const kubeConfManager = new KubeconfigManager(cluster, contextHandler);
 
     expect(logger.error).not.toBeCalled();
     expect(await kubeConfManager.getPath()).toBe(`tmp${path.sep}kubeconfig-foo`);
@@ -86,19 +89,12 @@ describe("kubeconfig manager tests", () => {
     const yml = loadYaml<any>(file.toString());
 
     expect(yml["current-context"]).toBe("minikube");
-    expect(yml["clusters"][0]["cluster"]["server"]).toBe(`http://127.0.0.1:${port}/foo`);
+    expect(yml["clusters"][0]["cluster"]["server"].endsWith("/foo")).toBe(true);
     expect(yml["users"][0]["name"]).toBe("proxy");
   });
 
   it("should remove 'temp' kube config on unlink and remove reference from inside class", async () => {
-    const cluster = new Cluster({
-      id: "foo",
-      contextName: "minikube",
-      kubeConfigPath: "minikube-config.yml",
-    });
-    const contextHandler = new ContextHandler(cluster);
-    const port = await getFreePort();
-    const kubeConfManager = new KubeconfigManager(cluster, contextHandler, port);
+    const kubeConfManager = new KubeconfigManager(cluster, contextHandler);
     const configPath = await kubeConfManager.getPath();
 
     expect(await fse.pathExists(configPath)).toBe(true);
diff --git a/src/main/catalog-pusher.ts b/src/main/catalog-pusher.ts
index 8bc028cbd7..532faf37e3 100644
--- a/src/main/catalog-pusher.ts
+++ b/src/main/catalog-pusher.ts
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@ export class CatalogPusher {
   init() {
     const disposers: Disposer[] = [];
 
-    disposers.push(reaction(() => this.catalog.items, (items) => {
-      broadcastMessage("catalog:items", toJS(items, { recurseEverything: true }));
+    disposers.push(reaction(() => toJS(this.catalog.items, { recurseEverything: true }), (items) => {
+      broadcastMessage("catalog:items", items);
     }, {
       fireImmediately: true,
     }));
diff --git a/src/main/catalog-sources/__test__/kubeconfig-sync.test.ts b/src/main/catalog-sources/__test__/kubeconfig-sync.test.ts
index beda3ca890..63a17a648f 100644
--- a/src/main/catalog-sources/__test__/kubeconfig-sync.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/catalog-sources/__test__/kubeconfig-sync.test.ts
@@ -5,10 +5,12 @@ import { Cluster } from "../../cluster";
 import { computeDiff, configToModels } from "../kubeconfig-sync";
 import mockFs from "mock-fs";
 import fs from "fs";
+import { ClusterStore } from "../../../common/cluster-store";
 
 describe("kubeconfig-sync.source tests", () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     mockFs();
+    ClusterStore.createInstance();
   });
 
   afterEach(() => {
@@ -57,10 +59,9 @@ describe("kubeconfig-sync.source tests", () => {
     it("should leave an empty source empty if there are no entries", () => {
       const contents = "";
       const rootSource = new ObservableMap<string, [Cluster, CatalogEntity]>();
-      const port = 0;
       const filePath = "/bar";
 
-      computeDiff(contents, rootSource, port, filePath);
+      computeDiff(contents, rootSource, filePath);
 
       expect(rootSource.size).toBe(0);
     });
@@ -93,12 +94,11 @@ describe("kubeconfig-sync.source tests", () => {
         currentContext: "foobar"
       });
       const rootSource = new ObservableMap<string, [Cluster, CatalogEntity]>();
-      const port = 0;
       const filePath = "/bar";
 
       fs.writeFileSync(filePath, contents);
 
-      computeDiff(contents, rootSource, port, filePath);
+      computeDiff(contents, rootSource, filePath);
 
       expect(rootSource.size).toBe(1);
 
@@ -137,12 +137,11 @@ describe("kubeconfig-sync.source tests", () => {
         currentContext: "foobar"
       });
       const rootSource = new ObservableMap<string, [Cluster, CatalogEntity]>();
-      const port = 0;
       const filePath = "/bar";
 
       fs.writeFileSync(filePath, contents);
 
-      computeDiff(contents, rootSource, port, filePath);
+      computeDiff(contents, rootSource, filePath);
 
       expect(rootSource.size).toBe(1);
 
@@ -151,7 +150,7 @@ describe("kubeconfig-sync.source tests", () => {
       expect(c.kubeConfigPath).toBe("/bar");
       expect(c.contextName).toBe("context-name");
 
-      computeDiff("{}", rootSource, port, filePath);
+      computeDiff("{}", rootSource, filePath);
 
       expect(rootSource.size).toBe(0);
     });
@@ -192,12 +191,11 @@ describe("kubeconfig-sync.source tests", () => {
         currentContext: "foobar"
       });
       const rootSource = new ObservableMap<string, [Cluster, CatalogEntity]>();
-      const port = 0;
       const filePath = "/bar";
 
       fs.writeFileSync(filePath, contents);
 
-      computeDiff(contents, rootSource, port, filePath);
+      computeDiff(contents, rootSource, filePath);
 
       expect(rootSource.size).toBe(2);
 
@@ -237,7 +235,7 @@ describe("kubeconfig-sync.source tests", () => {
         currentContext: "foobar"
       });
 
-      computeDiff(newContents, rootSource, port, filePath);
+      computeDiff(newContents, rootSource, filePath);
 
       expect(rootSource.size).toBe(1);
 
diff --git a/src/main/catalog-sources/kubeconfig-sync.ts b/src/main/catalog-sources/kubeconfig-sync.ts
index 9cf2bf57d4..f90fb85caf 100644
--- a/src/main/catalog-sources/kubeconfig-sync.ts
+++ b/src/main/catalog-sources/kubeconfig-sync.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ import { CatalogEntity, catalogEntityRegistry } from "../../common/catalog";
 import { watch } from "chokidar";
 import fs from "fs";
 import fse from "fs-extra";
-import * as uuid from "uuid";
 import stream from "stream";
 import { Disposer, ExtendedObservableMap, iter, Singleton } from "../../common/utils";
 import logger from "../logger";
@@ -13,6 +12,7 @@ import { Cluster } from "../cluster";
 import { catalogEntityFromCluster } from "../cluster-manager";
 import { UserStore } from "../../common/user-store";
 import { ClusterStore, UpdateClusterModel } from "../../common/cluster-store";
+import { createHash } from "crypto";
 
 const logPrefix = "[KUBECONFIG-SYNC]:";
 
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ export class KubeconfigSyncManager extends Singleton {
   protected static readonly syncName = "lens:kube-sync";
 
   @action
-  startSync(port: number): void {
+  startSync(): void {
     if (this.syncing) {
       return;
     }
@@ -41,16 +41,16 @@ export class KubeconfigSyncManager extends Singleton {
     )));
 
     // This must be done so that c&p-ed clusters are visible
-    this.startNewSync(ClusterStore.storedKubeConfigFolder, port);
+    this.startNewSync(ClusterStore.storedKubeConfigFolder);
 
     for (const filePath of UserStore.getInstance().syncKubeconfigEntries.keys()) {
-      this.startNewSync(filePath, port);
+      this.startNewSync(filePath);
     }
 
     this.syncListDisposer = UserStore.getInstance().syncKubeconfigEntries.observe(change => {
       switch (change.type) {
         case "add":
-          this.startNewSync(change.name, port);
+          this.startNewSync(change.name);
           break;
         case "delete":
           this.stopOldSync(change.name);
@@ -72,14 +72,14 @@ export class KubeconfigSyncManager extends Singleton {
   }
 
   @action
-  protected async startNewSync(filePath: string, port: number): Promise<void> {
+  protected async startNewSync(filePath: string): Promise<void> {
     if (this.sources.has(filePath)) {
       // don't start a new sync if we already have one
       return void logger.debug(`${logPrefix} already syncing file/folder`, { filePath });
     }
 
     try {
-      this.sources.set(filePath, await watchFileChanges(filePath, port));
+      this.sources.set(filePath, await watchFileChanges(filePath));
 
       logger.info(`${logPrefix} starting sync of file/folder`, { filePath });
       logger.debug(`${logPrefix} ${this.sources.size} files/folders watched`, { files: Array.from(this.sources.keys()) });
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ type RootSourceValue = [Cluster, CatalogEntity];
 type RootSource = ObservableMap<string, RootSourceValue>;
 
 // exported for testing
-export function computeDiff(contents: string, source: RootSource, port: number, filePath: string): void {
+export function computeDiff(contents: string, source: RootSource, filePath: string): void {
   runInAction(() => {
     try {
       const rawModels = configToModels(loadConfigFromString(contents), filePath);
@@ -156,14 +156,13 @@ export function computeDiff(contents: string, source: RootSource, port: number,
       for (const [contextName, model] of models) {
         // add new clusters to the source
         try {
-          const cluster = new Cluster({ ...model, id: uuid.v4() });
+          const clusterId = createHash("md5").update(`${filePath}:${contextName}`).digest("hex");
+          const cluster = ClusterStore.getInstance().getById(clusterId) || new Cluster({ ...model, id: clusterId});
 
           if (!cluster.apiUrl) {
             throw new Error("Cluster constructor failed, see above error");
           }
 
-          cluster.init(port);
-
           const entity = catalogEntityFromCluster(cluster);
 
           entity.metadata.labels.file = filePath;
@@ -181,7 +180,7 @@ export function computeDiff(contents: string, source: RootSource, port: number,
   });
 }
 
-function diffChangedConfig(filePath: string, source: RootSource, port: number): Disposer {
+function diffChangedConfig(filePath: string, source: RootSource): Disposer {
   logger.debug(`${logPrefix} file changed`, { filePath });
 
   // TODO: replace with an AbortController with fs.readFile when we upgrade to Node 16 (after it comes out)
@@ -214,14 +213,14 @@ function diffChangedConfig(filePath: string, source: RootSource, port: number):
     })
     .on("end", () => {
       if (!closed) {
-        computeDiff(Buffer.concat(bufs).toString("utf-8"), source, port, filePath);
+        computeDiff(Buffer.concat(bufs).toString("utf-8"), source, filePath);
       }
     });
 
   return cleanup;
 }
 
-async function watchFileChanges(filePath: string, port: number): Promise<[IComputedValue<CatalogEntity[]>, Disposer]> {
+async function watchFileChanges(filePath: string): Promise<[IComputedValue<CatalogEntity[]>, Disposer]> {
   const stat = await fse.stat(filePath); // traverses symlinks, is a race condition
   const watcher = watch(filePath, {
     followSymlinks: true,
@@ -235,10 +234,10 @@ async function watchFileChanges(filePath: string, port: number): Promise<[ICompu
   watcher
     .on("change", (childFilePath) => {
       stoppers.get(childFilePath)();
-      stoppers.set(childFilePath, diffChangedConfig(childFilePath, rootSource.getOrDefault(childFilePath), port));
+      stoppers.set(childFilePath, diffChangedConfig(childFilePath, rootSource.getOrDefault(childFilePath)));
     })
     .on("add", (childFilePath) => {
-      stoppers.set(childFilePath, diffChangedConfig(childFilePath, rootSource.getOrDefault(childFilePath), port));
+      stoppers.set(childFilePath, diffChangedConfig(childFilePath, rootSource.getOrDefault(childFilePath)));
     })
     .on("unlink", (childFilePath) => {
       stoppers.get(childFilePath)();
diff --git a/src/main/cluster-detectors/base-cluster-detector.ts b/src/main/cluster-detectors/base-cluster-detector.ts
index 885f96c33e..6ae05324dd 100644
--- a/src/main/cluster-detectors/base-cluster-detector.ts
+++ b/src/main/cluster-detectors/base-cluster-detector.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
-import request, { RequestPromiseOptions } from "request-promise-native";
+import { RequestPromiseOptions } from "request-promise-native";
 import { Cluster } from "../cluster";
+import { k8sRequest } from "../k8s-request";
 
 export type ClusterDetectionResult = {
   value: string | number | boolean
@@ -7,11 +8,9 @@ export type ClusterDetectionResult = {
 };
 
 export class BaseClusterDetector {
-  cluster: Cluster;
   key: string;
 
-  constructor(cluster: Cluster) {
-    this.cluster = cluster;
+  constructor(public cluster: Cluster) {
   }
 
   detect(): Promise<ClusterDetectionResult> {
@@ -19,16 +18,6 @@ export class BaseClusterDetector {
   }
 
   protected async k8sRequest<T = any>(path: string, options: RequestPromiseOptions = {}): Promise<T> {
-    const apiUrl = this.cluster.kubeProxyUrl + path;
-
-    return request(apiUrl, {
-      json: true,
-      timeout: 30000,
-      ...options,
-      headers: {
-        Host: `${this.cluster.id}.${new URL(this.cluster.kubeProxyUrl).host}`, // required in ClusterManager.getClusterForRequest()
-        ...(options.headers || {}),
-      },
-    });
+    return k8sRequest(this.cluster, path, options);
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/cluster-manager.ts b/src/main/cluster-manager.ts
index 369c4f61b9..3c4bcd0015 100644
--- a/src/main/cluster-manager.ts
+++ b/src/main/cluster-manager.ts
@@ -1,37 +1,21 @@
 import "../common/cluster-ipc";
 import type http from "http";
 import { ipcMain } from "electron";
-import { action, autorun, observable, reaction, toJS } from "mobx";
+import { action, autorun, reaction, toJS } from "mobx";
 import { ClusterStore, getClusterIdFromHost } from "../common/cluster-store";
 import { Cluster } from "./cluster";
 import logger from "./logger";
 import { apiKubePrefix } from "../common/vars";
 import { Singleton } from "../common/utils";
-import { CatalogEntity, catalogEntityRegistry } from "../common/catalog";
+import { catalogEntityRegistry } from "../common/catalog";
 import { KubernetesCluster } from "../common/catalog-entities/kubernetes-cluster";
 
-const clusterOwnerRef = "ClusterManager";
-
 export class ClusterManager extends Singleton {
-  catalogSource = observable.array<CatalogEntity>([]);
-
-  constructor(public readonly port: number) {
+  constructor() {
     super();
 
-    catalogEntityRegistry.addObservableSource("lens:kubernetes-clusters", this.catalogSource);
-    // auto-init clusters
-    reaction(() => ClusterStore.getInstance().enabledClustersList, (clusters) => {
-      clusters.forEach((cluster) => {
-        if (!cluster.initialized && !cluster.initializing) {
-          logger.info(`[CLUSTER-MANAGER]: init cluster`, cluster.getMeta());
-          cluster.init(port);
-        }
-      });
-
-    }, { fireImmediately: true });
-
-    reaction(() => toJS(ClusterStore.getInstance().enabledClustersList, { recurseEverything: true }), () => {
-      this.updateCatalogSource(ClusterStore.getInstance().enabledClustersList);
+    reaction(() => toJS(ClusterStore.getInstance().clustersList, { recurseEverything: true }), () => {
+      this.updateCatalog(ClusterStore.getInstance().clustersList);
     }, { fireImmediately: true });
 
     reaction(() => catalogEntityRegistry.getItemsForApiKind<KubernetesCluster>("entity.k8slens.dev/v1alpha1", "KubernetesCluster"), (entities) => {
@@ -58,31 +42,20 @@ export class ClusterManager extends Singleton {
     ipcMain.on("network:online", () => { this.onNetworkOnline(); });
   }
 
-  @action protected updateCatalogSource(clusters: Cluster[]) {
-    this.catalogSource.replace(this.catalogSource.filter(entity => (
-      clusters.find((cluster) => entity.metadata.uid === cluster.id)
-    )));
-
+  @action protected updateCatalog(clusters: Cluster[]) {
     for (const cluster of clusters) {
-      if (cluster.ownerRef) {
-        continue;
-      }
+      const index = catalogEntityRegistry.items.findIndex((entity) => entity.metadata.uid === cluster.id);
 
-      const entityIndex = this.catalogSource.findIndex((entity) => entity.metadata.uid === cluster.id);
-      const newEntity = catalogEntityFromCluster(cluster);
+      if (index !== -1) {
+        const entity = catalogEntityRegistry.items[index];
 
-      if (entityIndex === -1) {
-        this.catalogSource.push(newEntity);
-      } else {
-        const oldEntity = this.catalogSource[entityIndex];
+        entity.status.phase = cluster.disconnected ? "disconnected" : "connected";
+        entity.status.active = !cluster.disconnected;
 
-        newEntity.status.phase = cluster.disconnected ? "disconnected" : "connected";
-        newEntity.status.active = !cluster.disconnected;
-        newEntity.metadata.labels = {
-          ...newEntity.metadata.labels,
-          ...oldEntity.metadata.labels
-        };
-        this.catalogSource.splice(entityIndex, 1, newEntity);
+        if (cluster.preferences?.clusterName) {
+          entity.metadata.name = cluster.preferences.clusterName;
+        }
+        catalogEntityRegistry.items.splice(index, 1, entity);
       }
     }
   }
@@ -98,8 +71,6 @@ export class ClusterManager extends Singleton {
       if (!cluster) {
         ClusterStore.getInstance().addCluster({
           id: entity.metadata.uid,
-          enabled: true,
-          ownerRef: clusterOwnerRef,
           preferences: {
             clusterName: entity.metadata.name
           },
@@ -107,9 +78,6 @@ export class ClusterManager extends Singleton {
           contextName: entity.spec.kubeconfigContext
         });
       } else {
-        cluster.enabled = true;
-        cluster.ownerRef ||= clusterOwnerRef;
-        cluster.preferences.clusterName = entity.metadata.name;
         cluster.kubeConfigPath = entity.spec.kubeconfigPath;
         cluster.contextName = entity.spec.kubeconfigContext;
 
@@ -123,7 +91,7 @@ export class ClusterManager extends Singleton {
 
   protected onNetworkOffline() {
     logger.info("[CLUSTER-MANAGER]: network is offline");
-    ClusterStore.getInstance().enabledClustersList.forEach((cluster) => {
+    ClusterStore.getInstance().clustersList.forEach((cluster) => {
       if (!cluster.disconnected) {
         cluster.online = false;
         cluster.accessible = false;
@@ -134,7 +102,7 @@ export class ClusterManager extends Singleton {
 
   protected onNetworkOnline() {
     logger.info("[CLUSTER-MANAGER]: network is online");
-    ClusterStore.getInstance().enabledClustersList.forEach((cluster) => {
+    ClusterStore.getInstance().clustersList.forEach((cluster) => {
       if (!cluster.disconnected) {
         cluster.refreshConnectionStatus().catch((e) => e);
       }
diff --git a/src/main/cluster.ts b/src/main/cluster.ts
index d55a243f99..1b02e79a02 100644
--- a/src/main/cluster.ts
+++ b/src/main/cluster.ts
@@ -1,15 +1,12 @@
 import { ipcMain } from "electron";
 import type { ClusterId, ClusterMetadata, ClusterModel, ClusterPreferences, ClusterPrometheusPreferences, UpdateClusterModel } from "../common/cluster-store";
-import type { IMetricsReqParams } from "../renderer/api/endpoints/metrics.api";
 import { action, comparer, computed, observable, reaction, toJS, when } from "mobx";
-import { apiKubePrefix } from "../common/vars";
-import { broadcastMessage, InvalidKubeconfigChannel, ClusterListNamespaceForbiddenChannel } from "../common/ipc";
+import { broadcastMessage, ClusterListNamespaceForbiddenChannel } from "../common/ipc";
 import { ContextHandler } from "./context-handler";
 import { AuthorizationV1Api, CoreV1Api, HttpError, KubeConfig, V1ResourceAttributes } from "@kubernetes/client-node";
 import { Kubectl } from "./kubectl";
 import { KubeconfigManager } from "./kubeconfig-manager";
 import { loadConfig, validateKubeConfig } from "../common/kube-helpers";
-import request, { RequestPromiseOptions } from "request-promise-native";
 import { apiResources, KubeApiResource } from "../common/rbac";
 import logger from "./logger";
 import { VersionDetector } from "./cluster-detectors/version-detector";
@@ -36,8 +33,6 @@ export type ClusterRefreshOptions = {
 };
 
 export interface ClusterState {
-  initialized: boolean;
-  enabled: boolean;
   apiUrl: string;
   online: boolean;
   disconnected: boolean;
@@ -70,33 +65,13 @@ export class Cluster implements ClusterModel, ClusterState {
    * @internal
    */
   public contextHandler: ContextHandler;
-  /**
-   * Owner reference
-   *
-   * If extension sets this it needs to also mark cluster as enabled on activate (or when added to a store)
-   */
-  public ownerRef: string;
   protected kubeconfigManager: KubeconfigManager;
   protected eventDisposers: Function[] = [];
   protected activated = false;
   private resourceAccessStatuses: Map<KubeApiResource, boolean> = new Map();
 
-  whenInitialized = when(() => this.initialized);
   whenReady = when(() => this.ready);
 
-  /**
-   * Is cluster object initializing on-going
-   *
-   * @observable
-   */
-  @observable initializing = false;
-
-  /**
-   * Is cluster object initialized
-   *
-   * @observable
-   */
-  @observable initialized = false;
   /**
    * Kubeconfig context name
    *
@@ -119,19 +94,6 @@ export class Cluster implements ClusterModel, ClusterState {
    * @observable
    */
   @observable apiUrl: string; // cluster server url
-  /**
-   * Internal authentication proxy URL
-   *
-   * @observable
-   * @internal
-   */
-  @observable kubeProxyUrl: string; // lens-proxy to kube-api url
-  /**
-   * Is cluster instance enabled (disabled clusters are currently hidden)
-   *
-   * @observable
-   */
-  @observable enabled = false; // only enabled clusters are visible to users
   /**
    * Is cluster online
    *
@@ -260,27 +222,26 @@ export class Cluster implements ClusterModel, ClusterState {
     this.id = model.id;
     this.updateModel(model);
 
-    try {
-      const kubeconfig = this.getKubeconfig();
-      const error = validateKubeConfig(kubeconfig, this.contextName, { validateCluster: true, validateUser: false, validateExec: false});
+    const kubeconfig = this.getKubeconfig();
+    const error = validateKubeConfig(kubeconfig, this.contextName, { validateCluster: true, validateUser: false, validateExec: false});
 
-      if (error) {
-        throw error;
-      }
-
-      this.apiUrl = kubeconfig.getCluster(kubeconfig.getContextObject(this.contextName).cluster).server;
-    } catch(err) {
-      logger.error(err);
-      logger.error(`[CLUSTER] Failed to load kubeconfig for the cluster '${this.name || this.contextName}' (context: ${this.contextName}, kubeconfig: ${this.kubeConfigPath}).`);
-      broadcastMessage(InvalidKubeconfigChannel, model.id);
+    if (error) {
+      throw error;
     }
-  }
 
-  /**
-   * Is cluster managed by an extension
-   */
-  get isManaged(): boolean {
-    return !!this.ownerRef;
+    this.apiUrl = kubeconfig.getCluster(kubeconfig.getContextObject(this.contextName).cluster).server;
+
+    if (ipcMain) {
+      // for the time being, until renderer gets its own cluster type
+      this.contextHandler = new ContextHandler(this);
+      this.kubeconfigManager = new KubeconfigManager(this, this.contextHandler);
+
+      logger.debug(`[CLUSTER]: Cluster init success`, {
+        id: this.id,
+        context: this.contextName,
+        apiUrl: this.apiUrl
+      });
+    }
   }
 
   /**
@@ -309,44 +270,11 @@ export class Cluster implements ClusterModel, ClusterState {
       this.metadata = model.metadata;
     }
 
-    if (model.ownerRef) {
-      this.ownerRef = model.ownerRef;
-    }
-
     if (model.accessibleNamespaces) {
       this.accessibleNamespaces = model.accessibleNamespaces;
     }
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Initialize a cluster (can be done only in main process)
-   *
-   * @param port port where internal auth proxy is listening
-   * @internal
-   */
-  @action
-  async init(port: number) {
-    try {
-      this.initializing = true;
-      this.contextHandler = new ContextHandler(this);
-      this.kubeconfigManager = new KubeconfigManager(this, this.contextHandler, port);
-      this.kubeProxyUrl = `http://localhost:${port}${apiKubePrefix}`;
-      this.initialized = true;
-      logger.info(`[CLUSTER]: "${this.contextName}" init success`, {
-        id: this.id,
-        context: this.contextName,
-        apiUrl: this.apiUrl
-      });
-    } catch (err) {
-      logger.error(`[CLUSTER]: init failed: ${err}`, {
-        id: this.id,
-        error: err,
-      });
-    } finally {
-      this.initializing = false;
-    }
-  }
-
   /**
    * @internal
    */
@@ -385,8 +313,8 @@ export class Cluster implements ClusterModel, ClusterState {
     if (this.activated && !force) {
       return this.pushState();
     }
+
     logger.info(`[CLUSTER]: activate`, this.getMeta());
-    await this.whenInitialized;
 
     if (!this.eventDisposers.length) {
       this.bindEvents();
@@ -403,7 +331,7 @@ export class Cluster implements ClusterModel, ClusterState {
     }
     this.activated = true;
 
-    return this.pushState();
+    this.pushState();
   }
 
   /**
@@ -450,7 +378,6 @@ export class Cluster implements ClusterModel, ClusterState {
   @action
   async refresh(opts: ClusterRefreshOptions = {}) {
     logger.info(`[CLUSTER]: refresh`, this.getMeta());
-    await this.whenInitialized;
     await this.refreshConnectionStatus();
 
     if (this.accessible) {
@@ -527,34 +454,6 @@ export class Cluster implements ClusterModel, ClusterState {
     return this.kubeconfigManager.getPath();
   }
 
-  protected async k8sRequest<T = any>(path: string, options: RequestPromiseOptions = {}): Promise<T> {
-    options.headers ??= {};
-    options.json ??= true;
-    options.timeout ??= 30000;
-    options.headers.Host = `${this.id}.${new URL(this.kubeProxyUrl).host}`; // required in ClusterManager.getClusterForRequest()
-
-    return request(this.kubeProxyUrl + path, options);
-  }
-
-  /**
-   *
-   * @param prometheusPath path to prometheus service
-   * @param queryParams query parameters
-   * @internal
-   */
-  getMetrics(prometheusPath: string, queryParams: IMetricsReqParams & { query: string }) {
-    const prometheusPrefix = this.preferences.prometheus?.prefix || "";
-    const metricsPath = `/api/v1/namespaces/${prometheusPath}/proxy${prometheusPrefix}/api/v1/query_range`;
-
-    return this.k8sRequest(metricsPath, {
-      timeout: 0,
-      resolveWithFullResponse: false,
-      json: true,
-      method: "POST",
-      form: queryParams,
-    });
-  }
-
   protected async getConnectionStatus(): Promise<ClusterStatus> {
     try {
       const versionDetector = new VersionDetector(this);
@@ -647,7 +546,6 @@ export class Cluster implements ClusterModel, ClusterState {
       workspace: this.workspace,
       preferences: this.preferences,
       metadata: this.metadata,
-      ownerRef: this.ownerRef,
       accessibleNamespaces: this.accessibleNamespaces,
     };
 
@@ -661,8 +559,6 @@ export class Cluster implements ClusterModel, ClusterState {
    */
   getState(): ClusterState {
     const state: ClusterState = {
-      initialized: this.initialized,
-      enabled: this.enabled,
       apiUrl: this.apiUrl,
       online: this.online,
       ready: this.ready,
@@ -702,7 +598,6 @@ export class Cluster implements ClusterModel, ClusterState {
     return {
       id: this.id,
       name: this.contextName,
-      initialized: this.initialized,
       ready: this.ready,
       online: this.online,
       accessible: this.accessible,
diff --git a/src/main/context-handler.ts b/src/main/context-handler.ts
index e94520b9be..45e081753e 100644
--- a/src/main/context-handler.ts
+++ b/src/main/context-handler.ts
@@ -6,16 +6,14 @@ import url, { UrlWithStringQuery } from "url";
 import { CoreV1Api } from "@kubernetes/client-node";
 import { prometheusProviders } from "../common/prometheus-providers";
 import logger from "./logger";
-import { getFreePort } from "./port";
 import { KubeAuthProxy } from "./kube-auth-proxy";
 
 export class ContextHandler {
-  public proxyPort: number;
   public clusterUrl: UrlWithStringQuery;
-  protected kubeAuthProxy: KubeAuthProxy;
-  protected apiTarget: httpProxy.ServerOptions;
+  protected kubeAuthProxy?: KubeAuthProxy;
+  protected apiTarget?: httpProxy.ServerOptions;
   protected prometheusProvider: string;
-  protected prometheusPath: string;
+  protected prometheusPath: string | null;
 
   constructor(protected cluster: Cluster) {
     this.clusterUrl = url.parse(cluster.apiUrl);
@@ -77,31 +75,25 @@ export class ContextHandler {
   }
 
   async resolveAuthProxyUrl() {
-    const proxyPort = await this.ensurePort();
+    await this.ensureServer();
     const path = this.clusterUrl.path !== "/" ? this.clusterUrl.path : "";
 
-    return `http://127.0.0.1:${proxyPort}${path}`;
+    return `http://127.0.0.1:${this.kubeAuthProxy.port}${path}`;
   }
 
   async getApiTarget(isWatchRequest = false): Promise<httpProxy.ServerOptions> {
-    if (this.apiTarget && !isWatchRequest) {
-      return this.apiTarget;
-    }
     const timeout = isWatchRequest ? 4 * 60 * 60 * 1000 : 30000; // 4 hours for watch request, 30 seconds for the rest
-    const apiTarget = await this.newApiTarget(timeout);
 
-    if (!isWatchRequest) {
-      this.apiTarget = apiTarget;
+    if (isWatchRequest) {
+      return this.newApiTarget(timeout);
     }
 
-    return apiTarget;
+    return this.apiTarget ??= await this.newApiTarget(timeout);
   }
 
   protected async newApiTarget(timeout: number): Promise<httpProxy.ServerOptions> {
-    const proxyUrl = await this.resolveAuthProxyUrl();
-
     return {
-      target: proxyUrl,
+      target: await this.resolveAuthProxyUrl(),
       changeOrigin: true,
       timeout,
       headers: {
@@ -110,32 +102,22 @@ export class ContextHandler {
     };
   }
 
-  async ensurePort(): Promise<number> {
-    if (!this.proxyPort) {
-      this.proxyPort = await getFreePort();
-    }
-
-    return this.proxyPort;
-  }
-
   async ensureServer() {
     if (!this.kubeAuthProxy) {
-      await this.ensurePort();
       const proxyEnv = Object.assign({}, process.env);
 
       if (this.cluster.preferences.httpsProxy) {
         proxyEnv.HTTPS_PROXY = this.cluster.preferences.httpsProxy;
       }
-      this.kubeAuthProxy = new KubeAuthProxy(this.cluster, this.proxyPort, proxyEnv);
+      this.kubeAuthProxy = new KubeAuthProxy(this.cluster, proxyEnv);
       await this.kubeAuthProxy.run();
     }
   }
 
   stopServer() {
-    if (this.kubeAuthProxy) {
-      this.kubeAuthProxy.exit();
-      this.kubeAuthProxy = null;
-    }
+    this.kubeAuthProxy?.exit();
+    this.kubeAuthProxy = undefined;
+    this.apiTarget = undefined;
   }
 
   get proxyLastError(): string {
diff --git a/src/main/index.ts b/src/main/index.ts
index 2b4a7ae911..eec7c5006e 100644
--- a/src/main/index.ts
+++ b/src/main/index.ts
@@ -7,11 +7,10 @@ import * as LensExtensions from "../extensions/core-api";
 import { app, autoUpdater, ipcMain, dialog, powerMonitor } from "electron";
 import { appName, isMac, productName } from "../common/vars";
 import path from "path";
-import { LensProxy } from "./lens-proxy";
+import { LensProxy } from "./proxy/lens-proxy";
 import { WindowManager } from "./window-manager";
 import { ClusterManager } from "./cluster-manager";
 import { shellSync } from "./shell-sync";
-import { getFreePort } from "./port";
 import { mangleProxyEnv } from "./proxy-env";
 import { registerFileProtocol } from "../common/register-protocol";
 import logger from "./logger";
@@ -34,6 +33,7 @@ import { catalogEntityRegistry } from "../common/catalog";
 import { HotbarStore } from "../common/hotbar-store";
 import { HelmRepoManager } from "./helm/helm-repo-manager";
 import { KubeconfigSyncManager } from "./catalog-sources";
+import { handleWsUpgrade } from "./proxy/ws-upgrade";
 
 const workingDir = path.join(app.getPath("appData"), appName);
 
@@ -118,45 +118,33 @@ app.on("ready", async () => {
     filesystemStore.load(),
   ]);
 
-  try {
-    logger.info("🔑 Getting free port for LensProxy server");
-    const proxyPort = await getFreePort();
+  const lensProxy = LensProxy.createInstance(handleWsUpgrade);
 
-    // create cluster manager
-    ClusterManager.createInstance(proxyPort);
-  } catch (error) {
-    logger.error(error);
-    dialog.showErrorBox("Lens Error", "Could not find a free port for the cluster proxy");
-    app.exit();
-  }
+  ClusterManager.createInstance();
+  KubeconfigSyncManager.createInstance().startSync();
 
-  const clusterManager = ClusterManager.getInstance();
-
-  // create kubeconfig sync manager
-  KubeconfigSyncManager.createInstance().startSync(clusterManager.port);
-
-  // run proxy
   try {
     logger.info("🔌 Starting LensProxy");
-    // eslint-disable-next-line unused-imports/no-unused-vars-ts
-    LensProxy.createInstance(clusterManager.port).listen();
+    await lensProxy.listen();
   } catch (error) {
-    logger.error(`Could not start proxy (127.0.0:${clusterManager.port}): ${error?.message}`);
-    dialog.showErrorBox("Lens Error", `Could not start proxy (127.0.0:${clusterManager.port}): ${error?.message || "unknown error"}`);
+    dialog.showErrorBox("Lens Error", `Could not start proxy: ${error?.message || "unknown error"}`);
     app.exit();
   }
 
   // test proxy connection
   try {
     logger.info("🔎 Testing LensProxy connection ...");
-    const versionFromProxy = await getAppVersionFromProxyServer(clusterManager.port);
+    const versionFromProxy = await getAppVersionFromProxyServer(lensProxy.port);
 
     if (getAppVersion() !== versionFromProxy) {
-      logger.error(`Proxy server responded with invalid response`);
+      logger.error("Proxy server responded with invalid response");
+      app.exit();
+    } else {
+      logger.info("⚡ LensProxy connection OK");
     }
-    logger.info("⚡ LensProxy connection OK");
   } catch (error) {
-    logger.error("Checking proxy server connection failed", error);
+    logger.error(`🛑 LensProxy: failed connection test: ${error}`);
+    app.exit();
   }
 
   const extensionDiscovery = ExtensionDiscovery.createInstance();
@@ -169,7 +157,7 @@ app.on("ready", async () => {
   const startHidden = process.argv.includes("--hidden") || (isMac && app.getLoginItemSettings().wasOpenedAsHidden);
 
   logger.info("🖥️  Starting WindowManager");
-  const windowManager = WindowManager.createInstance(clusterManager.port);
+  const windowManager = WindowManager.createInstance();
 
   installDeveloperTools();
 
diff --git a/src/main/k8s-request.ts b/src/main/k8s-request.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2f9def789c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/k8s-request.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+import request, { RequestPromiseOptions } from "request-promise-native";
+import { apiKubePrefix } from "../common/vars";
+import { IMetricsReqParams } from "../renderer/api/endpoints/metrics.api";
+import { LensProxy } from "./proxy/lens-proxy";
+import { Cluster } from "./cluster";
+
+export async function k8sRequest<T = any>(cluster: Cluster, path: string, options: RequestPromiseOptions = {}): Promise<T> {
+  const kubeProxyUrl = `http://localhost:${LensProxy.getInstance().port}${apiKubePrefix}`;
+
+  options.headers ??= {};
+  options.json ??= true;
+  options.timeout ??= 30000;
+  options.headers.Host = `${cluster.id}.${new URL(kubeProxyUrl).host}`; // required in ClusterManager.getClusterForRequest()
+
+  return request(kubeProxyUrl + path, options);
+}
+
+export async function getMetrics(cluster: Cluster, prometheusPath: string, queryParams: IMetricsReqParams & { query: string }): Promise<any> {
+  const prometheusPrefix = cluster.preferences.prometheus?.prefix || "";
+  const metricsPath = `/api/v1/namespaces/${prometheusPath}/proxy${prometheusPrefix}/api/v1/query_range`;
+
+  return k8sRequest(cluster, metricsPath, {
+    timeout: 0,
+    resolveWithFullResponse: false,
+    json: true,
+    method: "POST",
+    form: queryParams,
+  });
+}
diff --git a/src/main/kube-auth-proxy.ts b/src/main/kube-auth-proxy.ts
index 589fe8fa16..e67ae68903 100644
--- a/src/main/kube-auth-proxy.ts
+++ b/src/main/kube-auth-proxy.ts
@@ -5,24 +5,30 @@ import type { Cluster } from "./cluster";
 import { Kubectl } from "./kubectl";
 import logger from "./logger";
 import * as url from "url";
+import { getPortFrom } from "./utils/get-port";
 
 export interface KubeAuthProxyLog {
   data: string;
   error?: boolean; // stream=stderr
 }
 
+const startingServeRegex = /^starting to serve on (?<address>.+)/i;
+
 export class KubeAuthProxy {
   public lastError: string;
 
+  public get port(): number {
+    return this._port;
+  }
+
+  protected _port: number;
   protected cluster: Cluster;
   protected env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = null;
   protected proxyProcess: ChildProcess;
-  protected port: number;
   protected kubectl: Kubectl;
 
-  constructor(cluster: Cluster, port: number, env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv) {
+  constructor(cluster: Cluster, env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv) {
     this.env = env;
-    this.port = port;
     this.cluster = cluster;
     this.kubectl = Kubectl.bundled();
   }
@@ -39,7 +45,7 @@ export class KubeAuthProxy {
     const proxyBin = await this.kubectl.getPath();
     const args = [
       "proxy",
-      "-p", `${this.port}`,
+      "-p", "0",
       "--kubeconfig", `${this.cluster.kubeConfigPath}`,
       "--context", `${this.cluster.contextName}`,
       "--accept-hosts", this.acceptHosts,
@@ -50,6 +56,7 @@ export class KubeAuthProxy {
       args.push("-v", "9");
     }
     logger.debug(`spawning kubectl proxy with args: ${args}`);
+
     this.proxyProcess = spawn(proxyBin, args, { env: this.env, });
     this.proxyProcess.on("error", (error) => {
       this.sendIpcLogMessage({ data: error.message, error: true });
@@ -61,20 +68,20 @@ export class KubeAuthProxy {
       this.exit();
     });
 
-    this.proxyProcess.stdout.on("data", (data) => {
-      let logItem = data.toString();
-
-      if (logItem.startsWith("Starting to serve on")) {
-        logItem = "Authentication proxy started\n";
-      }
-      this.sendIpcLogMessage({ data: logItem });
-    });
-
     this.proxyProcess.stderr.on("data", (data) => {
       this.lastError = this.parseError(data.toString());
       this.sendIpcLogMessage({ data: data.toString(), error: true });
     });
 
+    this._port = await getPortFrom(this.proxyProcess.stdout, {
+      lineRegex: startingServeRegex,
+      onFind: () => this.sendIpcLogMessage({ data: "Authentication proxy started\n" }),
+    });
+
+    this.proxyProcess.stdout.on("data", (data: any) => {
+      this.sendIpcLogMessage({ data: data.toString() });
+    });
+
     return waitUntilUsed(this.port, 500, 10000);
   }
 
@@ -96,7 +103,7 @@ export class KubeAuthProxy {
     return errorMsg;
   }
 
-  protected async sendIpcLogMessage(res: KubeAuthProxyLog) {
+  protected sendIpcLogMessage(res: KubeAuthProxyLog) {
     const channel = `kube-auth:${this.cluster.id}`;
 
     logger.info(`[KUBE-AUTH]: out-channel "${channel}"`, { ...res, meta: this.cluster.getMeta() });
diff --git a/src/main/kubeconfig-manager.ts b/src/main/kubeconfig-manager.ts
index 6fe5cddf39..d7753bf742 100644
--- a/src/main/kubeconfig-manager.ts
+++ b/src/main/kubeconfig-manager.ts
@@ -6,12 +6,13 @@ import path from "path";
 import fs from "fs-extra";
 import { dumpConfigYaml, loadConfig } from "../common/kube-helpers";
 import logger from "./logger";
+import { LensProxy } from "./proxy/lens-proxy";
 
 export class KubeconfigManager {
   protected configDir = app.getPath("temp");
   protected tempFile: string = null;
 
-  constructor(protected cluster: Cluster, protected contextHandler: ContextHandler, protected port: number) { }
+  constructor(protected cluster: Cluster, protected contextHandler: ContextHandler) { }
 
   async getPath(): Promise<string> {
     if (this.tempFile === undefined) {
@@ -46,15 +47,15 @@ export class KubeconfigManager {
 
   protected async init() {
     try {
-      await this.contextHandler.ensurePort();
+      await this.contextHandler.ensureServer();
       this.tempFile = await this.createProxyKubeconfig();
     } catch (err) {
       logger.error(`Failed to created temp config for auth-proxy`, { err });
     }
   }
 
-  protected resolveProxyUrl() {
-    return `http://127.0.0.1:${this.port}/${this.cluster.id}`;
+  get resolveProxyUrl() {
+    return `http://127.0.0.1:${LensProxy.getInstance().port}/${this.cluster.id}`;
   }
 
   /**
@@ -71,7 +72,7 @@ export class KubeconfigManager {
       clusters: [
         {
           name: contextName,
-          server: this.resolveProxyUrl(),
+          server: this.resolveProxyUrl,
           skipTLSVerify: undefined,
         }
       ],
diff --git a/src/main/port.ts b/src/main/port.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index cd4c5701e8..0000000000
--- a/src/main/port.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,25 +0,0 @@
-import net, { AddressInfo } from "net";
-import logger from "./logger";
-
-// todo: check https://github.com/http-party/node-portfinder ?
-
-export async function getFreePort(): Promise<number> {
-  logger.debug("Lookup new free port..");
-
-  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-    const server = net.createServer();
-
-    server.unref();
-    server.on("listening", () => {
-      const port = (server.address() as AddressInfo).port;
-
-      server.close(() => resolve(port));
-      logger.debug(`New port found: ${port}`);
-    });
-    server.on("error", error => {
-      logger.error(`Can't resolve new port: "${error}"`);
-      reject(error);
-    });
-    server.listen({ host: "127.0.0.1", port: 0 });
-  });
-}
diff --git a/src/main/port_spec.ts b/src/main/port_spec.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 43c2326b92..0000000000
--- a/src/main/port_spec.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,33 +0,0 @@
-import { EventEmitter } from "events";
-import { getFreePort } from "./port";
-
-let newPort = 0;
-
-jest.mock("net", () => {
-  return {
-    createServer() {
-      return new class MockServer extends EventEmitter {
-        listen = jest.fn(() => {
-          this.emit("listening");
-
-          return this;
-        });
-        address = () => {
-          newPort = Math.round(Math.random() * 10000);
-
-          return {
-            port: newPort
-          };
-        };
-        unref = jest.fn();
-        close = jest.fn(cb => cb());
-      };
-    },
-  };
-});
-
-describe("getFreePort", () => {
-  it("finds the next free port", async () => {
-    return expect(getFreePort()).resolves.toEqual(newPort);
-  });
-});
diff --git a/src/main/proxy/index.ts b/src/main/proxy/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..64e2cfdca7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/proxy/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+// Don't export the contents here
+// It will break the extension webpack
diff --git a/src/main/lens-proxy.ts b/src/main/proxy/lens-proxy.ts
similarity index 70%
rename from src/main/lens-proxy.ts
rename to src/main/proxy/lens-proxy.ts
index aa92f4b90e..b0ac867e39 100644
--- a/src/main/lens-proxy.ts
+++ b/src/main/proxy/lens-proxy.ts
@@ -3,45 +3,30 @@ import http from "http";
 import spdy from "spdy";
 import httpProxy from "http-proxy";
 import url from "url";
-import * as WebSocket from "ws";
-import { apiPrefix, apiKubePrefix } from "../common/vars";
-import { Router } from "./router";
-import { ContextHandler } from "./context-handler";
-import logger from "./logger";
-import { NodeShellSession, LocalShellSession } from "./shell-session";
-import { Singleton } from "../common/utils";
-import { ClusterManager } from "./cluster-manager";
+import { apiPrefix, apiKubePrefix } from "../../common/vars";
+import { Router } from "../router";
+import { ContextHandler } from "../context-handler";
+import logger from "../logger";
+import { Singleton } from "../../common/utils";
+import { ClusterManager } from "../cluster-manager";
+
+type WSUpgradeHandler = (req: http.IncomingMessage, socket: net.Socket, head: Buffer) => void;
 
 export class LensProxy extends Singleton {
   protected origin: string;
   protected proxyServer: http.Server;
-  protected router: Router;
+  protected router = new Router();
   protected closed = false;
   protected retryCounters = new Map<string, number>();
 
-  constructor(protected port: number) {
+  public port: number;
+
+  constructor(handleWsUpgrade: WSUpgradeHandler) {
     super();
 
-    this.origin = `http://localhost:${port}`;
-    this.router = new Router();
-  }
-
-  listen(port = this.port): this {
-    this.proxyServer = this.buildCustomProxy().listen(port, "127.0.0.1");
-    logger.info(`[LENS-PROXY]: Proxy server has started at ${this.origin}`);
-
-    return this;
-  }
-
-  close() {
-    logger.info("Closing proxy server");
-    this.proxyServer.close();
-    this.closed = true;
-  }
-
-  protected buildCustomProxy(): http.Server {
     const proxy = this.createProxy();
-    const spdyProxy = spdy.createServer({
+
+    this.proxyServer = spdy.createServer({
       spdy: {
         plain: true,
         protocols: ["http/1.1", "spdy/3.1"]
@@ -50,18 +35,51 @@ export class LensProxy extends Singleton {
       this.handleRequest(proxy, req, res);
     });
 
-    spdyProxy.on("upgrade", (req: http.IncomingMessage, socket: net.Socket, head: Buffer) => {
-      if (req.url.startsWith(`${apiPrefix}?`)) {
-        this.handleWsUpgrade(req, socket, head);
-      } else {
-        this.handleProxyUpgrade(proxy, req, socket, head);
-      }
-    });
-    spdyProxy.on("error", (err) => {
-      logger.error("proxy error", err);
-    });
+    this.proxyServer
+      .on("upgrade", (req: http.IncomingMessage, socket: net.Socket, head: Buffer) => {
+        if (req.url.startsWith(`${apiPrefix}?`)) {
+          handleWsUpgrade(req, socket, head);
+        } else {
+          this.handleProxyUpgrade(proxy, req, socket, head);
+        }
+      });
+  }
 
-    return spdyProxy;
+  /**
+   * Starts the lens proxy.
+   * @resolves After the server is listening
+   * @rejects if there is an error before that happens
+   */
+  listen(): Promise<void> {
+    return new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
+      this.proxyServer.listen(0, "127.0.0.1");
+
+      this.proxyServer
+        .once("listening", () => {
+          this.proxyServer.removeAllListeners("error"); // don't reject the promise
+
+          const { address, port } = this.proxyServer.address() as net.AddressInfo;
+
+          logger.info(`[LENS-PROXY]: Proxy server has started at ${address}:${port}`);
+
+          this.proxyServer.on("error", (error) => {
+            logger.info(`[LENS-PROXY]: Subsequent error: ${error}`);
+          });
+
+          this.port = port;
+          resolve();
+        })
+        .once("error", (error) => {
+          logger.info(`[LENS-PROXY]: Proxy server failed to start: ${error}`);
+          reject(error);
+        });
+    });
+  }
+
+  close() {
+    logger.info("Closing proxy server");
+    this.proxyServer.close();
+    this.closed = true;
   }
 
   protected async handleProxyUpgrade(proxy: httpProxy, req: http.IncomingMessage, socket: net.Socket, head: Buffer) {
@@ -166,21 +184,6 @@ export class LensProxy extends Singleton {
     return proxy;
   }
 
-  protected createWsListener(): WebSocket.Server {
-    const ws = new WebSocket.Server({ noServer: true });
-
-    return ws.on("connection", ((socket: WebSocket, req: http.IncomingMessage) => {
-      const cluster = ClusterManager.getInstance().getClusterForRequest(req);
-      const nodeParam = url.parse(req.url, true).query["node"]?.toString();
-      const shell = nodeParam
-        ? new NodeShellSession(socket, cluster, nodeParam)
-        : new LocalShellSession(socket, cluster);
-
-      shell.open()
-        .catch(error => logger.error(`[SHELL-SESSION]: failed to open: ${error}`, { error }));
-    }));
-  }
-
   protected async getProxyTarget(req: http.IncomingMessage, contextHandler: ContextHandler): Promise<httpProxy.ServerOptions> {
     if (req.url.startsWith(apiKubePrefix)) {
       delete req.headers.authorization;
@@ -211,12 +214,4 @@ export class LensProxy extends Singleton {
     }
     this.router.route(cluster, req, res);
   }
-
-  protected async handleWsUpgrade(req: http.IncomingMessage, socket: net.Socket, head: Buffer) {
-    const wsServer = this.createWsListener();
-
-    wsServer.handleUpgrade(req, socket, head, (con) => {
-      wsServer.emit("connection", con, req);
-    });
-  }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/proxy/ws-upgrade.ts b/src/main/proxy/ws-upgrade.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9fc2d03d94
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/proxy/ws-upgrade.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+/**
+ * This file is here so that the "../shell-session" import can be injected into
+ * LensProxy at creation time. So that the `pty.node` extension isn't loaded
+ * into Lens Extension webpack bundle.
+ */
+
+import * as WebSocket from "ws";
+import http from "http";
+import net from "net";
+import url from "url";
+import { NodeShellSession, LocalShellSession } from "../shell-session";
+import { ClusterManager } from "../cluster-manager";
+import logger from "../logger";
+
+function createWsListener(): WebSocket.Server {
+  const ws = new WebSocket.Server({ noServer: true });
+
+  return ws.on("connection", ((socket: WebSocket, req: http.IncomingMessage) => {
+    const cluster = ClusterManager.getInstance().getClusterForRequest(req);
+    const nodeParam = url.parse(req.url, true).query["node"]?.toString();
+    const shell = nodeParam
+      ? new NodeShellSession(socket, cluster, nodeParam)
+      : new LocalShellSession(socket, cluster);
+
+    shell.open()
+      .catch(error => logger.error(`[SHELL-SESSION]: failed to open: ${error}`, { error }));
+  }));
+}
+
+export async function handleWsUpgrade(req: http.IncomingMessage, socket: net.Socket, head: Buffer) {
+  const wsServer = createWsListener();
+
+  wsServer.handleUpgrade(req, socket, head, (con) => {
+    wsServer.emit("connection", con, req);
+  });
+}
diff --git a/src/main/routes/metrics-route.ts b/src/main/routes/metrics-route.ts
index d132f7b0ae..b6fbdadb61 100644
--- a/src/main/routes/metrics-route.ts
+++ b/src/main/routes/metrics-route.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { LensApi } from "../lens-api";
 import { Cluster, ClusterMetadataKey } from "../cluster";
 import { ClusterPrometheusMetadata } from "../../common/cluster-store";
 import logger from "../logger";
+import { getMetrics } from "../k8s-request";
 
 export type IMetricsQuery = string | string[] | {
   [metricName: string]: string;
@@ -22,7 +23,7 @@ async function loadMetrics(promQueries: string[], cluster: Cluster, prometheusPa
     async function loadMetricHelper(): Promise<any> {
       for (const [attempt, lastAttempt] of ATTEMPTS.entries()) { // retry
         try {
-          return await cluster.getMetrics(prometheusPath, { query, ...queryParams });
+          return await getMetrics(cluster, prometheusPath, { query, ...queryParams });
         } catch (error) {
           if (lastAttempt || (error?.statusCode >= 400 && error?.statusCode < 500)) {
             logger.error("[Metrics]: metrics not available", { error });
diff --git a/src/main/routes/port-forward-route.ts b/src/main/routes/port-forward-route.ts
index 0b5954948d..6edd81e537 100644
--- a/src/main/routes/port-forward-route.ts
+++ b/src/main/routes/port-forward-route.ts
@@ -2,48 +2,58 @@ import { LensApiRequest } from "../router";
 import { LensApi } from "../lens-api";
 import { spawn, ChildProcessWithoutNullStreams } from "child_process";
 import { Kubectl } from "../kubectl";
-import { getFreePort } from "../port";
 import { shell } from "electron";
 import * as tcpPortUsed from "tcp-port-used";
 import logger from "../logger";
+import { getPortFrom } from "../utils/get-port";
+
+interface PortForwardArgs {
+  clusterId: string;
+  kind: string;
+  namespace: string;
+  name: string;
+  port: string;
+}
+
+const internalPortRegex = /^forwarding from (?<address>.+) ->/i;
 
 class PortForward {
   public static portForwards: PortForward[] = [];
 
-  static getPortforward(forward: {clusterId: string; kind: string; name: string; namespace: string; port: string}) {
-    return PortForward.portForwards.find((pf) => {
-      return (
-        pf.clusterId == forward.clusterId &&
-        pf.kind == forward.kind &&
-        pf.name == forward.name &&
-        pf.namespace == forward.namespace &&
-        pf.port == forward.port
-      );
-    });
+  static getPortforward(forward: PortForwardArgs) {
+    return PortForward.portForwards.find((pf) => (
+      pf.clusterId == forward.clusterId &&
+      pf.kind == forward.kind &&
+      pf.name == forward.name &&
+      pf.namespace == forward.namespace &&
+      pf.port == forward.port
+    ));
   }
 
-  public clusterId: string;
   public process: ChildProcessWithoutNullStreams;
-  public kubeConfig: string;
+  public clusterId: string;
   public kind: string;
   public namespace: string;
   public name: string;
   public port: string;
-  public localPort: number;
+  public internalPort?: number;
 
-  constructor(obj: any) {
-    Object.assign(this, obj);
+  constructor(public kubeConfig: string, args: PortForwardArgs) {
+    this.clusterId = args.clusterId;
+    this.kind = args.kind;
+    this.namespace = args.namespace;
+    this.name = args.name;
+    this.port = args.port;
   }
 
   public async start() {
-    this.localPort = await getFreePort();
     const kubectlBin = await Kubectl.bundled().getPath();
     const args = [
       "--kubeconfig", this.kubeConfig,
       "port-forward",
       "-n", this.namespace,
       `${this.kind}/${this.name}`,
-      `${this.localPort}:${this.port}`
+      `:${this.port}`
     ];
 
     this.process = spawn(kubectlBin, args, {
@@ -58,8 +68,12 @@ class PortForward {
       }
     });
 
+    this.internalPort = await getPortFrom(this.process.stdout, {
+      lineRegex: internalPortRegex,
+    });
+
     try {
-      await tcpPortUsed.waitUntilUsed(this.localPort, 500, 15000);
+      await tcpPortUsed.waitUntilUsed(this.internalPort, 500, 15000);
 
       return true;
     } catch (error) {
@@ -70,7 +84,14 @@ class PortForward {
   }
 
   public open() {
-    shell.openExternal(`http://localhost:${this.localPort}`);
+    shell.openExternal(`http://localhost:${this.internalPort}`)
+      .catch(error => logger.error(`[PORT-FORWARD]: failed to open external shell: ${error}`, {
+        clusterId: this.clusterId,
+        port: this.port,
+        kind: this.kind,
+        namespace: this.namespace,
+        name: this.name,
+      }));
   }
 }
 
@@ -86,13 +107,12 @@ class PortForwardRoute extends LensApi {
 
     if (!portForward) {
       logger.info(`Creating a new port-forward ${namespace}/${resourceType}/${resourceName}:${port}`);
-      portForward = new PortForward({
+      portForward = new PortForward(await cluster.getProxyKubeconfigPath(), {
         clusterId: cluster.id,
         kind: resourceType,
         namespace,
         name: resourceName,
         port,
-        kubeConfig: await cluster.getProxyKubeconfigPath()
       });
       const started = await portForward.start();
 
diff --git a/src/main/utils/get-port.ts b/src/main/utils/get-port.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9af1191002
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/utils/get-port.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+import { Readable } from "stream";
+import URLParse from "url-parse";
+
+interface GetPortArgs {
+  /**
+   * Should be case insensitive
+   * Must have a named matching group called `address`
+   */
+  lineRegex: RegExp;
+  /**
+   * Called when the port is found
+   */
+  onFind?: () => void;
+  /**
+   * Timeout for how long to wait for the port.
+   * Default: 5s
+   */
+  timeout?: number;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Parse lines from `stream` (assumes data comes in lines) to find the port
+ * which the source of the stream is watching on.
+ * @param stream A readable stream to match lines against
+ * @param args The args concerning the stream
+ * @returns A Promise for port number
+ */
+export function getPortFrom(stream: Readable, args: GetPortArgs): Promise<number> {
+  return new Promise<number>((resolve, reject) => {
+    const handler = (data: any) => {
+      const logItem: string = data.toString();
+      const match = logItem.match(args.lineRegex);
+
+      if (match) {
+        // use unknown protocol so that there is no default port
+        const addr = new URLParse(`s://${match.groups.address.trim()}`);
+
+        args.onFind?.();
+        stream.off("data", handler);
+        clearTimeout(timeoutID);
+        resolve(+addr.port);
+      }
+    };
+    const timeoutID = setTimeout(() => {
+      stream.off("data", handler);
+      reject(new Error("failed to retrieve port from stream"));
+    }, args.timeout ?? 5000);
+
+    stream.on("data", handler);
+  });
+}
diff --git a/src/main/window-manager.ts b/src/main/window-manager.ts
index 0a8627b324..7324a3df1a 100644
--- a/src/main/window-manager.ts
+++ b/src/main/window-manager.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import { ClusterFrameInfo, clusterFrameMap } from "../common/cluster-frames";
 import { IpcRendererNavigationEvents } from "../renderer/navigation/events";
 import logger from "./logger";
 import { productName } from "../common/vars";
+import { LensProxy } from "./proxy/lens-proxy";
 
 export class WindowManager extends Singleton {
   protected mainWindow: BrowserWindow;
@@ -20,7 +21,7 @@ export class WindowManager extends Singleton {
 
   @observable activeClusterId: ClusterId;
 
-  constructor(protected proxyPort: number) {
+  constructor() {
     super();
     this.bindEvents();
     this.initMenu();
@@ -28,7 +29,7 @@ export class WindowManager extends Singleton {
   }
 
   get mainUrl() {
-    return `http://localhost:${this.proxyPort}`;
+    return `http://localhost:${LensProxy.getInstance().port}`;
   }
 
   async initMainWindow(showSplash = true) {
diff --git a/src/migrations/hotbar-store/5.0.0-alpha.0.ts b/src/migrations/hotbar-store/5.0.0-alpha.0.ts
index 08d3e9785c..58d7073761 100644
--- a/src/migrations/hotbar-store/5.0.0-alpha.0.ts
+++ b/src/migrations/hotbar-store/5.0.0-alpha.0.ts
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ export default migration({
   run(store) {
     const hotbars: Hotbar[] = [];
 
-    ClusterStore.getInstance().enabledClustersList.forEach((cluster: any) => {
+    ClusterStore.getInstance().clustersList.forEach((cluster: any) => {
       const name = cluster.workspace;
 
       if (!name) return;
diff --git a/src/renderer/components/+add-cluster/add-cluster.scss b/src/renderer/components/+add-cluster/add-cluster.scss
index 9583ec17b9..1185fcd761 100644
--- a/src/renderer/components/+add-cluster/add-cluster.scss
+++ b/src/renderer/components/+add-cluster/add-cluster.scss
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
   $spacing: $padding * 2;
 
   .AceEditor {
-    min-height: 200px;
-    max-height: 400px;
+    min-height: 600px;
+    max-height: 600px;
     border: 1px solid var(--colorVague);
     border-radius: $radius;
 
@@ -17,24 +17,6 @@
     }
   }
 
-  .Select {
-    .kube-context {
-      --flex-gap: #{$padding};
-    }
-
-    // todo: extract to component, merge with namespace-select.scss
-    &__placeholder {
-      width: 100%;
-      white-space: nowrap;
-      text-overflow: ellipsis;
-      overflow: hidden;
-    }
-
-    &__control {
-      box-shadow: 0 0 0 1px $borderFaintColor;
-    }
-  }
-
   code {
     color: $pink-400;
   }
diff --git a/src/renderer/components/+add-cluster/add-cluster.tsx b/src/renderer/components/+add-cluster/add-cluster.tsx
index 4c65104c7e..b6d24f46e5 100644
--- a/src/renderer/components/+add-cluster/add-cluster.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/components/+add-cluster/add-cluster.tsx
@@ -1,51 +1,35 @@
 import "./add-cluster.scss";
-import os from "os";
 import React from "react";
 import { observer } from "mobx-react";
 import { action, observable, runInAction } from "mobx";
-import { remote } from "electron";
 import { KubeConfig } from "@kubernetes/client-node";
-import { Select, SelectOption } from "../select";
-import { DropFileInput, Input } from "../input";
 import { AceEditor } from "../ace-editor";
 import { Button } from "../button";
-import { Icon } from "../icon";
-import { kubeConfigDefaultPath, loadConfig, splitConfig, validateConfig, validateKubeConfig } from "../../../common/kube-helpers";
+import { loadConfig, splitConfig, validateKubeConfig } from "../../../common/kube-helpers";
 import { ClusterStore } from "../../../common/cluster-store";
 import { v4 as uuid } from "uuid";
 import { navigate } from "../../navigation";
 import { UserStore } from "../../../common/user-store";
-import { cssNames } from "../../utils";
 import { Notifications } from "../notifications";
-import { Tab, Tabs } from "../tabs";
 import { ExecValidationNotFoundError } from "../../../common/custom-errors";
 import { appEventBus } from "../../../common/event-bus";
 import { PageLayout } from "../layout/page-layout";
 import { docsUrl } from "../../../common/vars";
 import { catalogURL } from "../+catalog";
-
-enum KubeConfigSourceTab {
-  FILE = "file",
-  TEXT = "text"
-}
-
+import { preferencesURL } from "../+preferences";
+import { Input } from "../input";
 @observer
 export class AddCluster extends React.Component {
   @observable.ref kubeConfigLocal: KubeConfig;
   @observable.ref error: React.ReactNode;
-
-  @observable kubeContexts = observable.map<string, KubeConfig>(); // available contexts from kubeconfig-file or user-input
-  @observable selectedContexts = observable.array<string>();
-  @observable sourceTab = KubeConfigSourceTab.FILE;
-  @observable kubeConfigPath = "";
   @observable customConfig = "";
   @observable proxyServer = "";
   @observable isWaiting = false;
   @observable showSettings = false;
 
+  kubeContexts = observable.map<string, KubeConfig>();
+
   componentDidMount() {
-    ClusterStore.getInstance().setActive(null);
-    this.setKubeConfig(UserStore.getInstance().kubeConfigPath);
     appEventBus.emit({ name: "cluster-add", action: "start" });
   }
 
@@ -53,52 +37,19 @@ export class AddCluster extends React.Component {
     UserStore.getInstance().markNewContextsAsSeen();
   }
 
-  @action
-  setKubeConfig(filePath: string, { throwError = false } = {}) {
-    try {
-      this.kubeConfigLocal = loadConfig(filePath);
-      validateConfig(this.kubeConfigLocal);
-      this.refreshContexts();
-      this.kubeConfigPath = filePath;
-      UserStore.getInstance().kubeConfigPath = filePath; // save to store
-    } catch (err) {
-      if (!UserStore.getInstance().isDefaultKubeConfigPath) {
-        Notifications.error(
-          <div>Can&apos;t setup <code>{filePath}</code> as kubeconfig: {String(err)}</div>
-        );
-      }
-
-      if (throwError) {
-        throw err;
-      }
-    }
-  }
-
   @action
   refreshContexts() {
-    this.selectedContexts.clear();
     this.kubeContexts.clear();
 
-    switch (this.sourceTab) {
-      case KubeConfigSourceTab.FILE:
-        const contexts = this.getContexts(this.kubeConfigLocal);
+    try {
+      this.error = "";
+      const contexts = this.getContexts(loadConfig(this.customConfig || "{}"));
 
-        this.kubeContexts.replace(contexts);
-        break;
-      case KubeConfigSourceTab.TEXT:
-        try {
-          this.error = "";
-          const contexts = this.getContexts(loadConfig(this.customConfig || "{}"));
+      console.log(contexts);
 
-          this.kubeContexts.replace(contexts);
-        } catch (err) {
-          this.error = String(err);
-        }
-        break;
-    }
-
-    if (this.kubeContexts.size === 1) {
-      this.selectedContexts.push(this.kubeContexts.keys().next().value);
+      this.kubeContexts.replace(contexts);
+    } catch (err) {
+      this.error = String(err);
     }
   }
 
@@ -112,36 +63,14 @@ export class AddCluster extends React.Component {
     return contexts;
   }
 
-  selectKubeConfigDialog = async () => {
-    const { dialog, BrowserWindow } = remote;
-    const { canceled, filePaths } = await dialog.showOpenDialog(BrowserWindow.getFocusedWindow(), {
-      defaultPath: this.kubeConfigPath,
-      properties: ["openFile", "showHiddenFiles"],
-      message: `Select custom kubeconfig file`,
-      buttonLabel: `Use configuration`,
-    });
-
-    if (!canceled && filePaths.length) {
-      this.setKubeConfig(filePaths[0]);
-    }
-  };
-
-  onDropKubeConfig = (files: File[]) => {
-    this.sourceTab = KubeConfigSourceTab.FILE;
-    this.setKubeConfig(files[0].path);
-  };
-
   @action
   addClusters = (): void => {
     try {
-      if (!this.selectedContexts.length) {
-        return void (this.error = "Please select at least one cluster context");
-      }
 
       this.error = "";
       this.isWaiting = true;
       appEventBus.emit({ name: "cluster-add", action: "click" });
-      const newClusters = this.selectedContexts.filter(context => {
+      const newClusters = Array.from(this.kubeContexts.keys()).filter(context => {
         const kubeConfig = this.kubeContexts.get(context);
         const error = validateKubeConfig(kubeConfig, context);
 
@@ -157,9 +86,7 @@ export class AddCluster extends React.Component {
       }).map(context => {
         const clusterId = uuid();
         const kubeConfig = this.kubeContexts.get(context);
-        const kubeConfigPath = this.sourceTab === KubeConfigSourceTab.FILE
-          ? this.kubeConfigPath // save link to original kubeconfig in file-system
-          : ClusterStore.embedCustomKubeConfig(clusterId, kubeConfig); // save in app-files folder
+        const kubeConfigPath = ClusterStore.embedCustomKubeConfig(clusterId, kubeConfig); // save in app-files folder
 
         return {
           id: clusterId,
@@ -193,9 +120,8 @@ export class AddCluster extends React.Component {
   renderInfo() {
     return (
       <p>
-        Add clusters by clicking the <span className="text-primary">Add Cluster</span> button.
-        You&apos;ll need to obtain a working kubeconfig for the cluster you want to add.
-        You can either browse it from the file system or paste it as a text from the clipboard.
+        Paste kubeconfig as a text from the clipboard to the textarea below.
+        If you want to add clusters from kubeconfigs that exists on filesystem, please add those files (or folders) to kubeconfig sync via <a onClick={() => navigate(preferencesURL())}>Preferences</a>.
         Read more about adding clusters <a href={`${docsUrl}/clusters/adding-clusters/`} rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.
       </p>
     );
@@ -204,180 +130,66 @@ export class AddCluster extends React.Component {
   renderKubeConfigSource() {
     return (
       <>
-        <Tabs onChange={this.onKubeConfigTabChange}>
-          <Tab
-            value={KubeConfigSourceTab.FILE}
-            label="Select kubeconfig file"
-            active={this.sourceTab == KubeConfigSourceTab.FILE}/>
-          <Tab
-            value={KubeConfigSourceTab.TEXT}
-            label="Paste as text"
-            active={this.sourceTab == KubeConfigSourceTab.TEXT}
+        <div className="flex column">
+          <AceEditor
+            autoFocus
+            showGutter={false}
+            mode="yaml"
+            value={this.customConfig}
+            wrap={true}
+            onChange={value => {
+              this.customConfig = value;
+              this.refreshContexts();
+            }}
           />
-        </Tabs>
-        {this.sourceTab === KubeConfigSourceTab.FILE && (
-          <div>
-            <div className="kube-config-select flex gaps align-center">
-              <Input
-                theme="round-black"
-                className="kube-config-path box grow"
-                value={this.kubeConfigPath}
-                onChange={v => this.kubeConfigPath = v}
-                onBlur={this.onKubeConfigInputBlur}
-              />
-              {this.kubeConfigPath !== kubeConfigDefaultPath && (
-                <Icon
-                  material="settings_backup_restore"
-                  onClick={() => this.setKubeConfig(kubeConfigDefaultPath)}
-                  tooltip="Reset"
-                />
-              )}
-              <Icon
-                material="folder"
-                onClick={this.selectKubeConfigDialog}
-                tooltip="Browse"
-              />
-            </div>
-            <small className="hint">
-              Pro-Tip: you can also drag-n-drop kubeconfig file to this area
-            </small>
-          </div>
-        )}
-        {this.sourceTab === KubeConfigSourceTab.TEXT && (
-          <div className="flex column">
-            <AceEditor
-              autoFocus
-              showGutter={false}
-              mode="yaml"
-              value={this.customConfig}
-              onChange={value => {
-                this.customConfig = value;
-                this.refreshContexts();
-              }}
-            />
-            <small className="hint">
-              Pro-Tip: paste kubeconfig to get available contexts
-            </small>
-          </div>
-        )}
+        </div>
       </>
     );
   }
 
-  renderContextSelector() {
-    const allContexts = Array.from(this.kubeContexts.keys());
-    const placeholder = this.selectedContexts.length > 0
-      ? <>Selected contexts: <b>{this.selectedContexts.length}</b></>
-      : "Select contexts";
-
-    return (
-      <div>
-        <Select
-          id="kubecontext-select" // todo: provide better mapping for integration tests (e.g. data-test-id="..")
-          placeholder={placeholder}
-          controlShouldRenderValue={false}
-          closeMenuOnSelect={false}
-          isOptionSelected={() => false}
-          options={allContexts}
-          formatOptionLabel={this.formatContextLabel}
-          noOptionsMessage={() => `No contexts available or they have been added already`}
-          onChange={({ value: ctx }: SelectOption<string>) => {
-            if (this.selectedContexts.includes(ctx)) {
-              this.selectedContexts.remove(ctx);
-            } else {
-              this.selectedContexts.push(ctx);
-            }
-          }}
-        />
-        {this.selectedContexts.length > 0 && (
-          <small className="hint">
-            <span>Applying contexts:</span>{" "}
-            <code>{this.selectedContexts.join(", ")}</code>
-          </small>
-        )}
-      </div>
-    );
-  }
-
-  onKubeConfigInputBlur = () => {
-    const isChanged = this.kubeConfigPath !== UserStore.getInstance().kubeConfigPath;
-
-    if (isChanged) {
-      this.kubeConfigPath = this.kubeConfigPath.replace("~", os.homedir());
-
-      try {
-        this.setKubeConfig(this.kubeConfigPath, { throwError: true });
-      } catch (err) {
-        this.setKubeConfig(UserStore.getInstance().kubeConfigPath); // revert to previous valid path
-      }
-    }
-  };
-
-  onKubeConfigTabChange = (tabId: KubeConfigSourceTab) => {
-    this.sourceTab = tabId;
-    this.error = "";
-    this.refreshContexts();
-  };
-
-  protected formatContextLabel = ({ value: context }: SelectOption<string>) => {
-    const isNew = UserStore.getInstance().newContexts.has(context);
-    const isSelected = this.selectedContexts.includes(context);
-
-    return (
-      <div className={cssNames("kube-context flex gaps align-center", context)}>
-        <span>{context}</span>
-        {isNew && <Icon small material="fiber_new"/>}
-        {isSelected && <Icon small material="check" className="box right"/>}
-      </div>
-    );
-  };
-
   render() {
-    const submitDisabled = this.selectedContexts.length === 0;
+    const submitDisabled = this.kubeContexts.size === 0;
 
     return (
-      <DropFileInput onDropFiles={this.onDropKubeConfig}>
-        <PageLayout className="AddClusters" showOnTop={true}>
-          <h2>Add Clusters from Kubeconfig</h2>
-          {this.renderInfo()}
-          {this.renderKubeConfigSource()}
-          {this.renderContextSelector()}
-          <div className="cluster-settings">
-            <a href="#" onClick={() => this.showSettings = !this.showSettings}>
-              Proxy settings
-            </a>
-          </div>
-          {this.showSettings && (
-            <div className="proxy-settings">
-              <p>HTTP Proxy server. Used for communicating with Kubernetes API.</p>
-              <Input
-                autoFocus
-                value={this.proxyServer}
-                onChange={value => this.proxyServer = value}
-                theme="round-black"
-              />
-              <small className="hint">
-                {"A HTTP proxy server URL (format: http://<address>:<port>)."}
-              </small>
-            </div>
-          )}
-          {this.error && (
-            <div className="error">{this.error}</div>
-          )}
-
-          <div className="actions-panel">
-            <Button
-              primary
-              disabled={submitDisabled}
-              label={this.selectedContexts.length < 2 ? "Add cluster" : "Add clusters"}
-              onClick={this.addClusters}
-              waiting={this.isWaiting}
-              tooltip={submitDisabled ? "Select at least one cluster to add." : undefined}
-              tooltipOverrideDisabled
+      <PageLayout className="AddClusters" showOnTop={true}>
+        <h2>Add Clusters from Kubeconfig</h2>
+        {this.renderInfo()}
+        {this.renderKubeConfigSource()}
+        <div className="cluster-settings">
+          <a href="#" onClick={() => this.showSettings = !this.showSettings}>
+            Proxy settings
+          </a>
+        </div>
+        {this.showSettings && (
+          <div className="proxy-settings">
+            <p>HTTP Proxy server. Used for communicating with Kubernetes API.</p>
+            <Input
+              autoFocus
+              value={this.proxyServer}
+              onChange={value => this.proxyServer = value}
+              theme="round-black"
             />
+            <small className="hint">
+              {"A HTTP proxy server URL (format: http://<address>:<port>)."}
+            </small>
           </div>
-        </PageLayout>
-      </DropFileInput>
+        )}
+        {this.error && (
+          <div className="error">{this.error}</div>
+        )}
+
+        <div className="actions-panel">
+          <Button
+            primary
+            disabled={submitDisabled}
+            label={this.kubeContexts.keys.length < 2 ? "Add cluster" : "Add clusters"}
+            onClick={this.addClusters}
+            waiting={this.isWaiting}
+            tooltip={submitDisabled ? "Paste a valid kubeconfig." : undefined}
+            tooltipOverrideDisabled
+          />
+        </div>
+      </PageLayout>
     );
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/renderer/components/cluster-settings/cluster-settings.tsx b/src/renderer/components/cluster-settings/cluster-settings.tsx
index 5ebde4caa8..ba1aff0d9f 100644
--- a/src/renderer/components/cluster-settings/cluster-settings.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/components/cluster-settings/cluster-settings.tsx
@@ -13,13 +13,7 @@ import { CatalogEntity } from "../../api/catalog-entity";
 
 
 function getClusterForEntity(entity: CatalogEntity) {
-  const cluster = ClusterStore.getInstance().getById(entity.metadata.uid);
-
-  if (!cluster?.enabled) {
-    return null;
-  }
-
-  return cluster;
+  return ClusterStore.getInstance().getById(entity.metadata.uid);
 }
 
 entitySettingRegistry.add([
diff --git a/src/renderer/components/cluster-settings/components/remove-cluster-button.tsx b/src/renderer/components/cluster-settings/components/remove-cluster-button.tsx
index 20c1b2b62c..b41aa4d9aa 100644
--- a/src/renderer/components/cluster-settings/components/remove-cluster-button.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/components/cluster-settings/components/remove-cluster-button.tsx
@@ -27,10 +27,8 @@ export class RemoveClusterButton extends React.Component<Props> {
   }
 
   render() {
-    const { cluster } = this.props;
-
     return (
-      <Button accent onClick={this.confirmRemoveCluster} className="button-area" disabled={cluster.isManaged}>
+      <Button accent onClick={this.confirmRemoveCluster} className="button-area">
         Remove Cluster
       </Button>
     );
diff --git a/src/renderer/components/layout/__test__/main-layout-header.test.tsx b/src/renderer/components/layout/__test__/main-layout-header.test.tsx
index 11985e9b42..a92f87f266 100644
--- a/src/renderer/components/layout/__test__/main-layout-header.test.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/components/layout/__test__/main-layout-header.test.tsx
@@ -7,20 +7,50 @@ import "@testing-library/jest-dom/extend-expect";
 import { MainLayoutHeader } from "../main-layout-header";
 import { Cluster } from "../../../../main/cluster";
 import { ClusterStore } from "../../../../common/cluster-store";
-
-const cluster: Cluster = new Cluster({
-  id: "foo",
-  contextName: "minikube",
-  kubeConfigPath: "minikube-config.yml",
-});
+import mockFs from "mock-fs";
 
 describe("<MainLayoutHeader />", () => {
+  let cluster: Cluster;
+
   beforeEach(() => {
+    const mockOpts = {
+      "minikube-config.yml": JSON.stringify({
+        apiVersion: "v1",
+        clusters: [{
+          name: "minikube",
+          cluster: {
+            server: "https://192.168.64.3:8443",
+          },
+        }],
+        contexts: [{
+          context: {
+            cluster: "minikube",
+            user: "minikube",
+          },
+          name: "minikube",
+        }],
+        users: [{
+          name: "minikube",
+        }],
+        kind: "Config",
+        preferences: {},
+      })
+    };
+
+    mockFs(mockOpts);
+
     ClusterStore.createInstance();
+
+    cluster = new Cluster({
+      id: "foo",
+      contextName: "minikube",
+      kubeConfigPath: "minikube-config.yml",
+    });
   });
 
   afterEach(() => {
     ClusterStore.resetInstance();
+    mockFs.restore();
   });
 
   it("renders w/o errors", () => {