# Installation options for Eksctl
`eksctl` is available to install from official releases as described below. We recommend that you install `eksctl` from only the official GitHub releases. You may opt to use a third-party installer, but please be advised that AWS does not maintain nor support these methods of installation. Use them at your own discretion.
## Prerequisite
You will need to have AWS API credentials configured. What works for AWS CLI or any other tools (kops, Terraform, etc.) should be sufficient. You can use [`~/.aws/credentials` file](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/cli-config-files.html) or [environment variables](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/cli-environment.html). For more information, see the [AWS CLI Reference](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/cli-environment.html).
You will also need [AWS IAM Authenticator for Kubernetes](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/aws-iam-authenticator) command (either `aws-iam-authenticator` or `aws eks get-token` (available in version 1.16.156 or greater of AWS CLI) in your `PATH`.
The IAM account used for EKS cluster creation should have these minimal access levels.
| AWS Service | Access Level |
| --- | --- |
| CloudFormation | Full Access |
| EC2 | **Full:** Tagging **Limited:** List, Read, Write |
| EC2 Auto Scaling | **Limited:** List, Write |
| EKS | Full Access |
| IAM | **Limited:** List, Read, Write, Permissions Management |
| Systems Manager | **Limited:** List, Read |
## For Unix
To download the latest release, run:
```
# for ARM systems, set ARCH to: `arm64`, `armv6` or `armv7`
ARCH=amd64
PLATFORM=$(uname -s)_$ARCH
curl -sLO "https://github.com/eksctl-io/eksctl/releases/latest/download/eksctl_$PLATFORM.tar.gz"
# (Optional) Verify checksum
curl -sL "https://github.com/eksctl-io/eksctl/releases/latest/download/eksctl_checksums.txt" | grep $PLATFORM | sha256sum --check
tar -xzf eksctl_$PLATFORM.tar.gz -C /tmp && rm eksctl_$PLATFORM.tar.gz
sudo install -m 0755 /tmp/eksctl /usr/local/bin && rm /tmp/eksctl
```
## For Windows
Direct download (latest release):
+ [AMD64/x86\$164](https://github.com/eksctl-io/eksctl/releases/latest/download/eksctl_windows_amd64.zip)
+ [ARMv6](https://github.com/eksctl-io/eksctl/releases/latest/download/eksctl_windows_armv6.zip)
+ [ARMv7](https://github.com/eksctl-io/eksctl/releases/latest/download/eksctl_windows_armv7.zip)
+ [ARM64](https://github.com/eksctl-io/eksctl/releases/latest/download/eksctl_windows_arm64.zip)
Make sure to unzip the archive to a folder in the `PATH` variable.
Optionally, verify the checksum:
1. Download the checksum file: [latest](https://github.com/eksctl-io/eksctl/releases/latest/download/eksctl_checksums.txt)
1. Use Command Prompt to manually compare `CertUtil`'s output to the checksum file downloaded.
```
REM Replace amd64 with armv6, armv7 or arm64
CertUtil -hashfile eksctl_Windows_amd64.zip SHA256
```
1. Using PowerShell to automate the verification using the `-eq` operator to get a `True` or `False` result:
```
# Replace amd64 with armv6, armv7 or arm64
(Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 .\eksctl_Windows_amd64.zip).Hash -eq ((Get-Content .\eksctl_checksums.txt) -match 'eksctl_Windows_amd64.zip' -split ' ')[0]
```
### Using Git Bash:
```
# for ARM systems, set ARCH to: `arm64`, `armv6` or `armv7`
ARCH=amd64
PLATFORM=windows_$ARCH
curl -sLO "https://github.com/eksctl-io/eksctl/releases/latest/download/eksctl_$PLATFORM.zip"
# (Optional) Verify checksum
curl -sL "https://github.com/eksctl-io/eksctl/releases/latest/download/eksctl_checksums.txt" | grep $PLATFORM | sha256sum --check
unzip eksctl_$PLATFORM.zip -d $HOME/bin
rm eksctl_$PLATFORM.zip
```
The `eksctl` executable is placed in `$HOME/bin`, which is in `$PATH` from Git Bash.
## Homebrew
You can use Homebrew to install software on MacOS and Linux.
AWS maintains a Homebrew tap including eksctl.
For more information about the Homebrew tap, see the [project on Github](https://github.com/aws/homebrew-tap) and the [Homebrew formula](https://github.com/aws/homebrew-tap/blob/master/Formula/eksctl.rb) for eksctl.
**To install eksctl with Homebrew**
1. (Prerequisite) Install [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/)
1. Add the AWS tap
```
brew tap aws/tap
```
1. Install eksctl
```
brew install aws/tap/eksctl
```
## Docker
For every release and RC a container image is pushed to ECR repository `public.ecr.aws/eksctl/eksctl`. Learn more about the usage on [ECR Public Gallery - eksctl](https://gallery.ecr.aws/eksctl/eksctl). For example,
```
docker run --rm -it public.ecr.aws/eksctl/eksctl version
```
## Shell Completion
### Bash
To enable bash completion, run the following, or put it in `~/.bashrc` or `~/.profile`:
```
. <(eksctl completion bash)
```
### Zsh
For zsh completion, please run:
```
mkdir -p ~/.zsh/completion/
eksctl completion zsh > ~/.zsh/completion/_eksctl
```
and put the following in `~/.zshrc`:
```
fpath=($fpath ~/.zsh/completion)
```
Note if you’re not running a distribution like oh-my-zsh you may first have to enable autocompletion (and put in `~/.zshrc` to make it persistent):
```
autoload -U compinit
compinit
```
### Fish
The below commands can be used for fish auto completion:
```
mkdir -p ~/.config/fish/completions
eksctl completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/eksctl.fish
```
### Powershell
The below command can be referred for setting it up. Please note that the path might be different depending on your system settings.
```
eksctl completion powershell > C:\Users\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Scripts\eksctl.ps1
```
## Updates
**Important**
If you install eksctl by directly downloading it (not using a package manager) you need to manually update it.