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Table Of Content

Table of Contents
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Kubectl is a command line tool that you use to communicate with the Kubernetes API server. The kubectl binary is available in many operating system package managers. Using a package manager for your installation is often easier than a manual download and install process.

Info

Note: You must use a kubectl version that is within one minor version difference of your Amazon EKS cluster control plane. For example, a 1.29 kubectl client works with Kubernetes 1.28, 1.29, and 1.30 clusters.

To install or update kubectl

...

To install or update kubectl on Linux

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

    • Kubernetes 1.30

      Code Block
      curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.30.0/2024-05-12/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl

    • Kubernetes 1.30

      Code Block
      curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.30.0/2024-05-12/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl

    • Kubernetes 1.29

      Code Block
      curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.29.3/2024-04-19/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl

    • Kubernetes 1.28

      Code Block
      curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.28.8/2024-04-19/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl

    • Kubernetes 1.27

      Code Block
      curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.27.12/2024-04-19/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl

    • Kubernetes 1.26

      Code Block
      curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.26.15/2024-04-19/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl

    • Kubernetes 1.25

      Code Block
      curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.25.16/2024-04-19/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl

    • Kubernetes 1.24

      Code Block
      curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.24.17/2024-04-19/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl

    • Kubernetes 1.23

      Code Block
      curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.23.17/2024-04-19/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl

    • Kubernetes 1.22

      Code Block
      curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.22.17/2024-04-19/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl

    • Kubernetes 1.21

      Code Block
      curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.21.14/2024-04-19/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl

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

    1. Download the SHA-256 checksum for your cluster's Kubernetes version from Amazon S3 using the command for your device's hardware platform. The first link for each version is for amd64 and the second link is for arm64.

      • Kubernetes 1.30

        Code Block
        curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.30.0/2024-05-12/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.30

        Code Block
        curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.30.0/2024-05-12/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.29

        Code Block
        curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.29.3/2024-04-19/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.28

        Code Block
        curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.28.8/2024-04-19/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.27

        Code Block
        curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.27.12/2024-04-19/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.26

        Code Block
        curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.26.15/2024-04-19/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.25

        Code Block
        curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.25.16/2024-04-19/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.24

        Code Block
        curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.24.17/2024-04-19/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.23

        Code Block
        curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.23.17/2024-04-19/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.22

        Code Block
        curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.22.17/2024-04-19/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.21

        Code Block
        curl -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.21.14/2024-04-19/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl.sha256

    2. Check the SHA-256 checksum for your downloaded binary with one of the following commands.

      • Code Block
        sha256sum -c kubectl.sha256

        When using this command, make sure that you see the following output:

        Code Block
        kubectl: OK
      • Code Block
        openssl sha1 -sha256 kubectl

        When using this command, make sure that the generated checksum in the output matches in the checksum in the downloaded kubectl.sha256 file.

  3. Apply execute permissions to the binary.

    Code Block
    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.

    Code Block
    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.

    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.

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

  6. After you install kubectl, you can verify its version.

    Code Block
    kubectl version --client

...

To install or update kubectl on Windows

  1. Open a PowerShell terminal.

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

    • Kubernetes 1.30

      Code Block
      curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.30.0/2024-05-12/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe

    • Kubernetes 1.29

      Code Block
      curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.29.3/2024-04-19/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe

    • Kubernetes 1.28

      Code Block
      curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.28.8/2024-04-19/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe

    • Kubernetes 1.27

      Code Block
      curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.27.12/2024-04-19/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe

    • Kubernetes 1.26

      Code Block
      curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.26.15/2024-04-19/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe

    • Kubernetes 1.25

      Code Block
      curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.25.16/2024-04-19/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe

    • Kubernetes 1.24

      Code Block
      curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.24.17/2024-04-19/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe

    • Kubernetes 1.23

      Code Block
      curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.23.17/2024-04-19/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe

    • Kubernetes 1.22

      Code Block
      curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.22.17/2024-04-19/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe

    • Kubernetes 1.21

      Code Block
      curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.21.14/2024-04-19/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe

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

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

      • Kubernetes 1.30

        Code Block
        curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.30.0/2024-05-12/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.29

        Code Block
        curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.29.3/2024-04-19/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.28

        Code Block
        curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.28.8/2024-04-19/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.27

        Code Block
        curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.27.12/2024-04-19/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.26

        Code Block
        curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.26.15/2024-04-19/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.25

        Code Block
        curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.25.16/2024-04-19/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.24

        Code Block
        curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.24.17/2024-04-19/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.23

        Code Block
        curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.23.17/2024-04-19/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.22

        Code Block
        curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.22.17/2024-04-19/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe.sha256

      • Kubernetes 1.21

        Code Block
        curl.exe -O https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/amazon-eks/1.21.14/2024-04-19/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe.sha256

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

      Code Block
      Get-FileHash kubectl.exe

    3. Make sure that the generated checksum in the output matches in the checksum in the downloaded kubectl.sha256 file. The PowerShell output should be an uppercase equivalent string of characters.

  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.

    Code Block
    kubectl version --client

...