Installing kubectl - Amazon EKS
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Installing kubectl

Kubernetes uses a command line utility called kubectl for communicating with the cluster API server. The kubectl binary is available in many operating system package managers, and this option is often much easier than a manual download and install process. You can follow the instructions for your specific operating system or package manager in the Kubernetes documentation to install.

This topic helps you to download and install the Amazon EKS vended kubectl binaries for macOS, Linux, and Windows operating systems. Select the tab name of your operating system. These binaries are identical to the upstream community versions, and are not unique to Amazon EKS or Amazon.

Note

You must use a kubectl version that is within one minor version difference of your Amazon EKS cluster control plane. For example, a 1.21 kubectl client works with Kubernetes 1.20, 1.21, and 1.22 clusters.

Select the tab with the name of the operating system that you want to install kubectl on.

macOS

To install kubectl on macOS

  1. Download the Amazon EKS vended kubectl binary for your cluster's Kubernetes version from Amazon S3.

    • Kubernetes 1.22

      curl -o kubectl https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.22.6/2022-03-09/bin/darwin/amd64/kubectl

    • Kubernetes 1.21

      curl -o kubectl https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.21.2/2021-07-05/bin/darwin/amd64/kubectl

    • Kubernetes 1.20

      curl -o kubectl https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.20.4/2021-04-12/bin/darwin/amd64/kubectl

    • Kubernetes 1.19

      curl -o kubectl https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.19.6/2021-01-05/bin/darwin/amd64/kubectl

    • Kubernetes 1.18

      curl -o kubectl https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.18.9/2020-11-02/bin/darwin/amd64/kubectl

  2. (Optional) Verify the downloaded binary with the SHA-256 sum for your binary.

    1. Download the SHA-256 sum for your cluster's Kubernetes version for macOS.

      • Kubernetes 1.22

        curl -o kubectl.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.22.6/2022-03-09/bin/darwin/amd64/kubectl.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.21

        curl -o kubectl.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.21.2/2021-07-05/bin/darwin/amd64/kubectl.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.20

        curl -o kubectl.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.20.4/2021-04-12/bin/darwin/amd64/kubectl.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.19

        curl -o kubectl.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.19.6/2021-01-05/bin/darwin/amd64/kubectl.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.18

        curl -o kubectl.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.18.9/2020-11-02/bin/darwin/amd64/kubectl.sha256

    2. Check the SHA-256 sum for your downloaded binary.

      openssl sha1 -sha256 kubectl

    3. Compare the generated SHA-256 sum in the command output against your downloaded SHA-256 file. The two should match.

  3. Apply execute permissions to the binary.

    chmod +x ./kubectl

  4. Copy the binary to a folder in your PATH. If you have already installed a version of kubectl, then we recommend creating a $HOME/bin/kubectl and ensuring that $HOME/bin comes first in your $PATH.

    mkdir -p $HOME/bin && cp ./kubectl $HOME/bin/kubectl && export PATH=$HOME/bin:$PATH

  5. (Optional) Add the $HOME/bin path to your shell initialization file so that it is configured when you open a shell.

    echo 'export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin' >> ~/.bash_profile

  6. After you install kubectl, you can verify its version with the following command:

    kubectl version --short --client
Linux

To install kubectl on Linux

  1. Download the Amazon EKS vended kubectl binary for your cluster's Kubernetes version from Amazon S3 using the command for your hardware platform.

    • Kubernetes 1.22

      curl -o kubectl https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.22.6/2022-03-09/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl
      curl -o kubectl https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.22.6/2022-03-09/bin/linux/arm64/kubectl

    • Kubernetes 1.21

      curl -o kubectl https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.21.2/2021-07-05/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl
      curl -o kubectl https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.21.2/2021-07-05/bin/linux/arm64/kubectl

    • Kubernetes 1.20

      curl -o kubectl https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.20.4/2021-04-12/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl
      curl -o kubectl https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.20.4/2021-04-12/bin/linux/arm64/kubectl

    • Kubernetes 1.19

      curl -o kubectl https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.19.6/2021-01-05/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl
      curl -o kubectl https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.19.6/2021-01-05/bin/linux/arm64/kubectl

    • Kubernetes 1.18

      curl -o kubectl https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.18.9/2020-11-02/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl
      curl -o kubectl https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.18.9/2020-11-02/bin/linux/arm64/kubectl

  2. (Optional) Verify the downloaded binary with the SHA-256 sum for your binary.

    1. Download the SHA-256 sum for your cluster's Kubernetes version for Linuxusing the command for your hardware platform.

      • Kubernetes 1.22

        curl -o kubectl.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.22.6/2022-03-09/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl.sha256
        curl -o kubectl.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.23.6/2022-03-09/bin/linux/arm64/kubectl.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.21

        curl -o kubectl.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.21.2/2021-07-05/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl.sha256
        curl -o kubectl.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.21.2/2021-07-05/bin/linux/arm64/kubectl.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.20

        curl -o kubectl.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.20.4/2021-04-12/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl.sha256
        curl -o kubectl.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.20.4/2021-04-12/bin/linux/arm64/kubectl.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.19

        curl -o kubectl.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.19.6/2021-01-05/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl.sha256
        curl -o kubectl.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.19.6/2021-01-05/bin/linux/arm64/kubectl.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.18

        curl -o kubectl.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.18.9/2020-11-02/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl.sha256
        curl -o kubectl.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.18.9/2020-11-02/bin/linux/arm64/kubectl.sha256

    2. Check the SHA-256 sum for your downloaded binary.

      openssl sha1 -sha256 kubectl

    3. Compare the generated SHA-256 sum in the command output against your downloaded SHA-256 file. The two should match.

  3. Apply execute permissions to the binary.

    chmod +x ./kubectl

  4. Copy the binary to a folder in your PATH. If you have already installed a version of kubectl, then we recommend creating a $HOME/bin/kubectl and ensuring that $HOME/bin comes first in your $PATH.

    mkdir -p $HOME/bin && cp ./kubectl $HOME/bin/kubectl && export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin

  5. (Optional) Add the $HOME/bin path to your shell initialization file so that it is configured when you open a shell.

    Note

    This step assumes you are using the Bash shell; if you are using another shell, change the command to use your specific shell initialization file.

    echo 'export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin' >> ~/.bashrc

  6. After you install kubectl, you can verify its version with the following command:

    kubectl version --short --client
Windows

To install kubectl on Windows

  1. Open a PowerShell terminal.

  2. Download the Amazon EKS vended kubectl binary for your cluster's Kubernetes version from Amazon S3.

    • Kubernetes 1.22

      curl -o kubectl.exe https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.22.6/2022-03-09/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe

    • Kubernetes 1.21

      curl -o kubectl.exe https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.21.2/2021-07-05/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe

    • Kubernetes 1.20

      curl -o kubectl.exe https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.20.4/2021-04-12/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe

    • Kubernetes 1.19

      curl -o kubectl.exe https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.19.6/2021-01-05/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe

    • Kubernetes 1.18

      curl -o kubectl.exe https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.18.9/2020-11-02/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe

  3. (Optional) Verify the downloaded binary with the SHA-256 sum for your binary.

    1. Download the SHA-256 sum for your cluster's Kubernetes version for Windows.

      • Kubernetes 1.22

        curl -o kubectl.exe.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.22.6/2022-03-09/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.21

        curl -o kubectl.exe.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.21.2/2021-07-05/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.20

        curl -o kubectl.exe.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.20.4/2021-04-12/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.19

        curl -o kubectl.exe.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.19.6/2021-01-05/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.18

        curl -o kubectl.exe.sha256 https://s3.cn-north-1.amazonaws.com.cn/amazon-eks/1.18.9/2020-11-02/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe.sha256

    2. Check the SHA-256 sum for your downloaded binary.

      Get-FileHash kubectl.exe

    3. Compare the generated SHA-256 sum in the command output against your downloaded SHA-256 file. The two should match, although the PowerShell output will be uppercase.

  4. Copy the binary to a folder in your PATH. If you have an existing directory in your PATH that you use for command line utilities, copy the binary to that directory. Otherwise, complete the following steps.

    1. Create a new directory for your command line binaries, such as C:\bin.

    2. Copy the kubectl.exe binary to your new directory.

    3. Edit your user or system PATH environment variable to add the new directory to your PATH.

    4. Close your PowerShell terminal and open a new one to pick up the new PATH variable.

  5. After you install kubectl, you can verify its version with the following command:

    kubectl version --short --client