---
reviewers:
- mikedanese
title: Install and Set Up kubectl on Linux
content_type: task
weight: 10
---

## {{% heading "prerequisites" %}}

You must use a kubectl version that is within one minor version difference of
your cluster. For example, a v{{< skew currentVersion >}} client can communicate
with v{{< skew currentVersionAddMinor -1 >}}, v{{< skew currentVersionAddMinor 0 >}},
and v{{< skew currentVersionAddMinor 1 >}} control planes.
Using the latest compatible version of kubectl helps avoid unforeseen issues.

## Install kubectl on Linux

The following methods exist for installing kubectl on Linux:

- [Install kubectl binary with curl on Linux](#install-kubectl-binary-with-curl-on-linux)
- [Install using native package management](#install-using-native-package-management)
- [Install using other package management](#install-using-other-package-management)

### Install kubectl binary with curl on Linux

1. Download the latest release with the command:

   {{< tabs name="download_binary_linux" >}}
   {{< tab name="x86-64" codelang="bash" >}}
   curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl"
   {{< /tab >}}
   {{< tab name="ARM64" codelang="bash" >}}
   curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/arm64/kubectl"
   {{< /tab >}}
   {{< /tabs >}}

   {{< note >}}
   To download a specific version, replace the `$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)`
   portion of the command with the specific version.

   For example, to download version {{< skew currentPatchVersion >}} on Linux x86-64, type:

   ```bash
   curl -LO https://dl.k8s.io/release/v{{< skew currentPatchVersion >}}/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl
   ```

   And for Linux ARM64, type:

   ```bash
   curl -LO https://dl.k8s.io/release/v{{< skew currentPatchVersion >}}/bin/linux/arm64/kubectl
   ```

   {{< /note >}}

1. Validate the binary (optional)

   Download the kubectl checksum file:

   {{< tabs name="download_checksum_linux" >}}
   {{< tab name="x86-64" codelang="bash" >}}
   curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl.sha256"
   {{< /tab >}}
   {{< tab name="ARM64" codelang="bash" >}}
   curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/arm64/kubectl.sha256"
   {{< /tab >}}
   {{< /tabs >}}

   Validate the kubectl binary against the checksum file:

   ```bash
   echo "$(cat kubectl.sha256)  kubectl" | sha256sum --check
   ```

   If valid, the output is:

   ```console
   kubectl: OK
   ```

   If the check fails, `sha256` exits with nonzero status and prints output similar to:

   ```console
   kubectl: FAILED
   sha256sum: WARNING: 1 computed checksum did NOT match
   ```

   {{< note >}}
   Download the same version of the binary and checksum.
   {{< /note >}}

1. Install kubectl

   ```bash
   sudo install -o root -g root -m 0755 kubectl /usr/local/bin/kubectl
   ```

   {{< note >}}
   If you do not have root access on the target system, you can still install
   kubectl to the `~/.local/bin` directory:

   ```bash
   chmod +x kubectl
   mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
   mv ./kubectl ~/.local/bin/kubectl
   # and then append (or prepend) ~/.local/bin to $PATH
   ```

   {{< /note >}}

1. Test to ensure the version you installed is up-to-date:

   ```bash
   kubectl version --client
   ```

   Or use this for detailed view of version:

   ```cmd
   kubectl version --client --output=yaml
   ```

### Install using native package management

{{< tabs name="kubectl_install" >}}
{{% tab name="Debian-based distributions" %}}

1. Update the `apt` package index and install packages needed to use the Kubernetes `apt` repository:

   ```shell
   sudo apt-get update
   # apt-transport-https may be a dummy package; if so, you can skip that package
   sudo apt-get install -y apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl gnupg
   ```

2. Download the public signing key for the Kubernetes package repositories. The same signing key is used for all repositories so you can disregard the version in the URL: