Simplified AKS Menu Structure

The AKS extension uses a role-based cluster context menu organization as the default experience.

Setting

{
  "aks.simplifiedMenuStructure": true
}

Default value: true

After changing this setting, reload the VS Code window. You can also switch modes via the commands AKS: Switch to Classic Menu and AKS: Switch to Grouped Menu without editing settings directly.

What changes when enabled

Instead of many top-level commands, cluster actions are grouped into three submenus:

• Develop & Deploy
• Troubleshoot & Diagnose
• Manage Cluster

These stay top-level: Show In Azure Portal, Show Properties, AKS Quick Actions, and Switch to Classic Menu.

Menu grouping overview

Develop & Deploy : Run Kubectl Commands, Attach ACR to Cluster, Create a GitHub Workflow, Run Deployment Safeguards YAML Validation, Install Azure Service Operator, the Deploy a LLM with KAITO submenu, Check Argo CD Status (with aks.argoCDEnabled), and the Container Assist commands (with aks.containerAssistEnabledPreview).

Troubleshoot & Diagnose : The Run AKS Diagnostics, Troubleshoot Network Health, Troubleshoot Resource Utilization, and Improve security of my cluster submenus, plus Show Inspektor Gadget and Run Eraser Image Cleanup.

Manage Cluster : Show Properties, Show In Azure Portal, Delete Cluster, Rotate Cluster Certificate, Reconcile Cluster.

Container Assist in the new menu

With aks.containerAssistEnabledPreview enabled (the default), AKS: Migrate Application to AKS appears under Develop & Deploy. With a workspace folder also open, AKS: Generate Dockerfiles and K8s Manifests for App and AKS: Deploy App with Automated Pipeline appear alongside it.

Switching between Classic and Grouped menus

Two commands let you switch menu modes without opening Settings:

Both commands are available in:

• The Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P).
• The AKS cluster context menu (right-click on a cluster in the Azure/Kubernetes Cloud Explorer).
  Only the applicable command is shown — if the grouped menu is active you see “Switch to Classic Menu”, and vice versa.

After running either command, VS Code prompts you to reload the window. The new menu layout takes effect after the reload.

Backward compatibility

Setting aks.simplifiedMenuStructure to false restores the classic menu, where every command sits at the top level of the cluster context menu.

Screenshots