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
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.
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-
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
-
-
(Optional) Verify the downloaded binary with the SHA-256 sum for your binary.
-
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
-
-
Check the SHA-256 sum for your downloaded binary.
openssl sha1 -sha256 kubectl
-
Compare the generated SHA-256 sum in the command output against your downloaded SHA-256 file. The two should match.
-
-
Apply execute permissions to the binary.
chmod +x ./kubectl
-
Copy the binary to a folder in your
PATH
. If you have already installed a version ofkubectl
, 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
-
(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
-
After you install
kubectl
, you can verify its version with the following command:kubectl version --short --client
-
- Linux
-
To install
kubectl
on Linux-
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
-
-
(Optional) Verify the downloaded binary with the SHA-256 sum for your binary.
-
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
-
-
Check the SHA-256 sum for your downloaded binary.
openssl sha1 -sha256 kubectl
-
Compare the generated SHA-256 sum in the command output against your downloaded SHA-256 file. The two should match.
-
-
Apply execute permissions to the binary.
chmod +x ./kubectl
-
Copy the binary to a folder in your
PATH
. If you have already installed a version ofkubectl
, 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
-
(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
-
After you install
kubectl
, you can verify its version with the following command:kubectl version --short --client
-
- Windows
-
To install
kubectl
on Windows-
Open a PowerShell terminal.
-
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
-
-
(Optional) Verify the downloaded binary with the SHA-256 sum for your binary.
-
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
-
-
Check the SHA-256 sum for your downloaded binary.
Get-FileHash kubectl.exe
-
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.
-
-
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.-
Create a new directory for your command line binaries, such as
C:\bin
. -
Copy the
kubectl.exe
binary to your new directory. -
Edit your user or system PATH environment variable to add the new directory to your PATH.
-
Close your PowerShell terminal and open a new one to pick up the new PATH variable.
-
-
After you install
kubectl
, you can verify its version with the following command:kubectl version --short --client
-