# Rancher Desktop v1.23.1 — Rancher Desktop 1.23.1

- Product: Rancher Desktop (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/rancher-desktop)
- Vendor: SUSE
- Date: 2026-06-29
- Version: v1.23.1
- Original notes: https://github.com/rancher-sandbox/rancher-desktop/releases/tag/v1.23.1
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/rancher-desktop/releases/v1.23.1
- Labels: Platforms: Desktop

What's New is an index, not a publisher: every entry below links to the vendor's own release notes, which are the authoritative source. Entries are labelled where they are hand-curated sample data, pre-releases, or drawn from a secondary source such as a developer blog.

Reuse: the summaries, labels and curation here are © What's New. Quote freely with attribution and a link back; wholesale republication of the corpus is not permitted — terms: https://whatsnew.fyi/terms. The vendors' own release notes remain their publishers'.

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- **fixed** — Kubernetes port forwarding on macOS and Linux has been fixed
- **added** — Dark mode preference allowing choice between dark, light, and system themes under Preferences > Behavior
- **added** — Shell tab in container detail page that opens an interactive terminal session inside a running container
- **added** — Inspect tab that displays key container metadata including name, image, IP address, creation date, mounts, environment variables, commands and arguments, capabilities, ports, and labels
- **added** — Stats tab showing live CPU, memory, network, and disk I/O charts for a running container plus a table of its processes
- **added** — Restart action in the Containers list for running containers available for single containers or bulk selections
- **changed** — Cluster Dashboard API server now picks an available port automatically at startup instead of binding to fixed port 9443
- **changed** — Windows proxy bypass list now supports domain names and wildcard patterns in addition to IP addresses and CIDR subnets
- **changed** — Bundled Open WebUI extension has been renamed to AI Workbench and updated to version 0.2.0
- **added** — Installed extensions table now shows each extension's vendor, description, and More information link
- **changed** — macOS disk image installer now includes installation guidance with a lasso wrapping the Rancher Desktop icon pointing toward the Applications folder
- **fixed** — macOS and Linux could fail to start after an unclean shutdown due to leftover virtual-machine process
- **fixed** — Windows startup could fail after many launches due to certificate store filling past a fixed limit
- **fixed** — Windows running other-architecture binaries could stop working when starting Rancher Desktop

This is the 1.23.1 release of Rancher Desktop, an open source desktop application to bring Kubernetes and container management to macOS, Windows, and Linux.

##### Installers

* [Windows](https://github.com/rancher-sandbox/rancher-desktop/releases/download/v1.23.1/Rancher.Desktop.Setup.1.23.1.msi)
* [macOS x86_64](https://github.com/rancher-sandbox/rancher-desktop/releases/download/v1.23.1/Rancher.Desktop-1.23.1.x86_64.dmg)
* [macOS aarch64](https://github.com/rancher-sandbox/rancher-desktop/releases/download/v1.23.1/Rancher.Desktop-1.23.1.aarch64.dmg)
* [Linux install notes](https://docs.rancherdesktop.io/1.23/getting-started/installation#linux)

##### Rancher Desktop 2.0 Alpha 1 is available

The first alpha of Rancher Desktop 2.0 is out: a ground-up rewrite that runs with or without the GUI and installs alongside Rancher Desktop without touching it. It is an early tech preview, not for production. For what it is and how to try it, see [Welcome to Rancher Desktop 2.0](https://docs.rancherdesktop.io/blog/welcome-to-rancher-desktop-2/) on our blog.

##### New Contributors

Thank you to our new contributors: @linghengqian, @endemics, @cm-iwata, @maximumschmidt, @immanuwell, @officialasishkumar, and @edwinbalani!

##### Release Notes for 1.23.1

###### Kubernetes portforwarding on macOS and Linux has been fixed

In the 1.23.0 release Kubernetes port were not being forwarded to the host. This has been fixed.

##### Release Notes for 1.23.0

###### What's New

###### Dark mode preference

Rancher Desktop now lets you choose between dark, light, and system themes under Preferences > Behavior. Previous versions always followed the OS theme. ([#5905](https://github.com/rancher-sandbox/rancher-desktop/issues/5905))

###### Container dashboard improvements

Thanks to @endemics, the container detail page now includes a Shell tab that opens an interactive terminal session inside a running container. The session persists across tab switches, so you can check logs and return to your shell without losing context. ([#9925](https://github.com/rancher-sandbox/rancher-desktop/issues/9925))

@endemics also added an Inspect tab that displays key container metadata pulled from `docker inspect`: name, image, IP address, creation date, and collapsible sections for mounts, environment variables, commands and arguments, capabilities, ports, and labels. ([#9986](https://github.com/rancher-sandbox/rancher-desktop/issues/9986))

A Stats tab, also from @endemics, shows live CPU, memory, network, and disk I/O charts for a running container, plus a table of its processes. The refresh interval defaults to one second, with 5-second, 20-second, 30-second, and 1-minute options; collection stops when you leave the tab. ([#9987](https://github.com/rancher-sandbox/rancher-desktop/issues/9987))

Separately, @officialasishkumar added a Restart action to the Containers list for running containers, available for single containers or bulk selections. The table refreshes once the restart completes. ([#10224](https://github.com/rancher-sandbox/rancher-desktop/issues/10224))

###### Dynamic ports for the Cluster Dashboard

The Cluster Dashboard's API server used to bind to a fixed port (9443) and failed to start when another program already used it. It now picks an available port automatically at startup. ([#1890](https://github.com/rancher-sandbox/rancher-desktop/issues/1890))

###### Windows: proxy bypass for domains and wildcards

The no-proxy list now supports domain names and wildcard patterns (e.g. `*.example.com`) in addition to IP addresses and CIDR subnets. ([#9803](https://github.com/rancher-sandbox/rancher-desktop/issues/9803))

###### AI Workbench extension

The bundled Open WebUI extension has been renamed to AI Workbench and updated to version 0.2.0. AI Workbench provides a local web interface for interacting with large language models running in containers, letting you experiment with AI workloads directly

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