Installing the Kubernetes CLI

This topic describes how to install the Kubernetes Command Line Interface (kubectl).

Overview

Kubernetes provides the kubectl command line tool for communicating with a Kubernetes cluster’s control plane, using the Kubernetes API.

For more information about kubectl, see Command line tool (kubectl) in the Kubernetes documentation.

To download and install kubectl, complete the steps in Install the Kubernetes CLI below.

Note: Kubernetes CLI binaries are only provided for 64-bit architectures.

Install the Kubernetes CLI

To download and install the Kubernetes CLI:

1. Navigate to Broadcom Support and log in.
2. Click VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition.
3. Click Kubectl CLIs.

4. To download the TKGI CLI for your operating system:

   • Mac OS X: Click kubectl CLI - Mac to download the kubectl binary.
   • Linux: Click kubectl CLI - Linux to download the kubectl binary.
   • Windows: Click kubectl CLI - Windows to download the kubectl executable file.

5. To install the Kubernetes CLI, follow the procedures for your operating system:

   • Mac OS X
   • Linux
   • Windows

Mac OS X

To install the Kubernetes CLI on Mac OS X:

1. Rename the downloaded binary to kubectl.
2. On the command line, run the following command to make the kubectl binary executable: $ chmod +x kubectl
3. Move the binary into your PATH. For example: $ mv kubectl /usr/local/bin/kubectl

Linux

To install the Kubernetes CLI on Linux:

1. Rename the downloaded binary to kubectl.
2. On the command line, run the following command to make the kubectl binary executable: $ chmod +x kubectl
3. Move the binary into your PATH. For example: $ mv kubectl /usr/local/bin/kubectl

Windows

To install the Kubernetes CLI on Microsoft Windows:

1. Rename the downloaded binary to kubectl.exe.
2. Move the binary into your PATH.