To deploy and manage applications on Kubernetes, you’ll use the Kubernetes command-line tool, kubectl. It lets you inspect your cluster resources, create, delete, and update components, and much more. You will use it to look at your new cluster and bring up example apps.
Install kubectl Binary Via curl
Download the latest release with the command:
# OS X
curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-release/release/$(curl -s https://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-release/release/stable.txt)/bin/darwin/amd64/kubectl
# Linux
curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-release/release/$(curl -s https://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-release/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl
If you want to download a specific version of kubectl you can replace the nested curl command from above with the version you want. (e.g. v1.4.6, v1.5.0-beta.2)
Make the kubectl binary executable and move it to your PATH (e.g. /usr/local/bin):
chmod +x ./kubectl
sudo mv ./kubectl /usr/local/bin/kubectl
Extract kubectl from Release .tar.gz or Compiled Source
If you downloaded a pre-compiled release, kubectl will be under platforms/<os>/<arch> from the tar bundle.
If you compiled kubernetes from source, kubectl should be either under _output/local/bin/<os>/<arch> or _output/dockerized/bin/<os>/<arch>.
Copy or move kubectl into a directory already in your PATH (e.g. /usr/local/bin). For example:
# OS X
sudo cp platforms/darwin/amd64/kubectl /usr/local/bin/kubectl
# Linux
sudo cp platforms/linux/amd64/kubectl /usr/local/bin/kubectl
Next make it executable with the following command:
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/kubectl
The kubectl binary doesn’t have to be installed to be executable, but the rest of the walkthrough will assume that it’s in your PATH.
If you prefer not to copy kubectl, you need to ensure it is in your path:
# OS X
export PATH=<path/to/kubernetes-directory>/platforms/darwin/amd64:$PATH
# Linux
export PATH=<path/to/kubernetes-directory>/platforms/linux/amd64:$PATH
Configuring kubectl
In order for kubectl to find and access the Kubernetes cluster, it needs a kubeconfig file, which is created automatically when creating a cluster using kube-up.sh (see the getting started guides for more about creating clusters). If you need access to a cluster you didn’t create, see the Sharing Cluster Access document.
By default, kubectl configuration lives at ~/.kube/config.
Making sure you’re ready
Check that kubectl is properly configured by getting the cluster state:
$ kubectl cluster-info
If you see a url response, you are ready to go.
What’s next?
Learn how to launch and expose your application.