Install and Configure kubectl or Helm
Kubectl and Helm are two tools (among others) that can be used with the Kube configuration file to manage and/or deploy your applications. The Kubernetes command-line tool, kubectl, allows you to run commands against Kubernetes clusters. You can use kubectl to deploy applications, inspect and manage cluster resources, and view logs. Helm is a package manager for Kubernetes, meaning that its main purpose is to simplify the deployment of applications in your cluster, but not to manage the cluster itself.
The two tools can be installed and used in the same machine, they co-exist and do not interfere with each other.
Install Kubectl
Follow the official installation page at https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/#kubectl
Note that, as stated on the kubectl website: “You must use a kubectl version that is within one minor version difference of your cluster. For example, a v1.26 client can communicate with v1.25, v1.26, and v1.27 control planes.”
Before installing kubectl check the version of your cluster in CloudNativeLab. It is shown during the deployment phase and always available in Details
in the Manage existing clusters
tile.
- Install kubectl on Linux
- Install kubeclt on macOS
- Install kubectl on Windows
Install Kubectl on Linux
- Download the specific release replacing
<kubectl-version>
with the version you would like to download (i.e. […]/release/v1.26.0/bin/[…])
curl -LO https://dl.k8s.io/release/<kubectl-version>/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl
- Install kubectl
sudo install -o root -g root -m 0755 kubectl /usr/local/bin/kubectl
- Test kubectl
kubectl version --client
Install Kubectl on macOS
- Download the specific release based on your CPU, replacing
<kubectl-version>
with the version you would like to download (i.e. […]/release/v1.26.0/bin/[…])
Intel
curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/<kubectl-version>/bin/darwin/amd64/kubectl"
Apple Silicon
curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/<kubectl-version>/bin/darwin/arm64/kubectl"
- Make the binary executable and move it on your system PATH
chmod +x ./kubectl
sudo mv ./kubectl /usr/local/bin/kubectl
sudo chown root: /usr/local/bin/kubectl
- Test kubectl
kubectl version --client
Install Kubectl on Windows
- Download the specific release, replacing
<kubectl-version>
with the version you would like to download (i.e. […]/release/v1.26.0/bin/[…])
curl.exe -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/<kubectl-version>/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe"
- Append or prepend the
kubectl
binary folder to yourPATH
environment variable.
- Test kubectl
kubectl version --client
Configure Kubectl
After creating your Kubernetes cluster you will receive a kubeconfig
file. Copy this file to ~/.kube
. For Windows users $HOME
is equal to the %userprofile%/.kube
directory. Rename the file to config
and you are good to go.
You can now run kubectl
commands and access the cluster:
kubectl get all
Install Helm
Several official methods are available to install the latest version of Helm based on your OS (no specific version is required based on your Kubernetes version).
We report the two official methods, for a specific OS installation through package manager, check https://helm.sh/docs/intro/install/
Install Helm from Binary Release
- Download the desired version at https://github.com/helm/helm/releases
- Unpack it
- Find the
helm
binary in the unpacked directory, and move it to its desired destination - Test Helm
helm help
Install Helm from Script
Run the following commands to install Helm from script
curl -fsSL -o get_helm.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/helm/helm/main/scripts/get-helm-3
chmod 700 get_helm.sh
./get_helm.sh
Configure Helm
Helm uses the same Kube configuration file and looks for it in the same location as kubectl. We therefore repeat the same procedure, but if you already set up Kubectl, no additional steps are required.
After creating your Kubernetes cluster you will receive a kubeconfig
file. Copy this file to ~/.kube
. For Windows users $HOME
is equal to the %userprofile%/.kube
directory. Rename the file to config
and you are good to go.
The cluster is ready!
At this stage the cluster is ready, turn on the VPN and start using one of the tools to manage your cluster or deploy your applications.
