Installing the Kubernetes CLI (kubectl)

To access your cluster by using the command line interface (CLI), you must install and configure kubectl, the Kubernetes command line tool.

  1. Synchronize the clocks in between the client computer and the nodes in the IBM® Cloud Private cluster . To synchronize your clocks, you can use network time protocol (NTP). For more information about setting up NTP, see the user documentation for your operating system.

  2. From the IBM Cloud Private management console, click Menu > Command Line Tools > Cloud Private CLI.

  3. Expand Install Kubernetes CLI to download the installer by using a curl command. Copy and run the curl command for your operating system, then continue the installation procedure:

    Choose the curl command for the applicable operating system. For example, you can run the following command for macOS:

    curl -kLo <install_file> https://<cluster ip>:<port>/api/cli/kubectl-darwin-amd64
    
  4. Change the file to an executable, then move the file to your directory:

    • For Linux and MacOS, run the following commands to change and move the file:

      chmod 755 <path_to_installer>/<install_file>
      
      sudo mv <path_to_installer>/<install_file> /usr/local/bin/kubectl
      
    • For Windows, rename the downloaded file to kubectl and place the file on the PATH environment variable.

Note: You can also download from Kubernetes. See Install and Set Up kubectl Opens in a new tab.

  1. Obtain the cluster configuration details. You can obtain the cluster configuration details by using the IBM Cloud Private CLI or management console.

    • To obtain the configuration details from the management console:

      1. Log in to your cluster management console. See Accessing your IBM Cloud Private cluster by using the management console.
      2. Select the user icon user icon, then click Configure client. The cluster configuration details display and resemble the following code:

        kubectl config set-cluster {cluster_name} --server=https://master_ip:8001 --insecure-skip-tls-verify=true
        kubectl config set-context {cluster_name}-context --cluster={cluster_name}
        kubectl config set-credentials {cluster_name}-user --token={token}
        kubectl config set-context {cluster_name}-context --user={cluster_name}-user --namespace=default
        kubectl config use-context {cluster_name}-context
        

        In these details, master_ip is the IP address of the master node for your IBM Cloud Private cluster.

      3. Copy and paste the configuration information to your command line, and press Enter.
    • To obtain the configuration details from the IBM Cloud Private CLI:

      1. Install the IBM Cloud Private command line interface (CLI) and log in to your cluster. See Installing the IBM Cloud Private CLI.

      Note: This configuration expires in 8 hours. To continue to use the CLI, you must log in and reconfigure kubectl every 8 hours. To avoid this limitation, you can configure your CLI by using service accounts. See Configuring the Kubernetes CLI by using service account tokens Opens in a new tab.