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Alpha Kube Inspector is under active development — expect bugs and breaking changes.

CLI Installation

The Kube Inspector CLI (kube-inspector-cli) is a single self-contained binary for Linux, macOS and Windows. Unlike the desktop app it has no WebKitGTK / webview dependency — there is nothing extra to install.

Download

Grab the artifact for your platform from the Downloads page:

Platform File
Linux — portable binary kube-inspector-cli-<version>-linux-amd64.tar.gz
Linux — Debian / Ubuntu kube-inspector-cli-<version>-debian-amd64.deb
Linux — RHEL / Fedora kube-inspector-cli-<version>-linux-x86_64.rpm
macOS (Universal) kube-inspector-cli-<version>-macos-universal.tar.gz
Windows kube-inspector-cli-<version>-windows-amd64.exe

One Linux build for all distros

Because the CLI links no webview, a single .deb / .rpm / tarball works on every Linux distribution — there are no separate WebKitGTK 4.0 / 4.1 variants like the desktop app.

Linux

sudo dpkg -i kube-inspector-cli-<version>-debian-amd64.deb
# installs to /usr/local/bin/kube-inspector-cli
kube-inspector-cli

sudo rpm -i kube-inspector-cli-<version>-linux-x86_64.rpm
# installs to /usr/local/bin/kube-inspector-cli
kube-inspector-cli

tar -xzf kube-inspector-cli-<version>-linux-amd64.tar.gz
chmod +x kube-inspector-cli
sudo mv kube-inspector-cli /usr/local/bin/   # or anywhere on your $PATH
kube-inspector-cli

macOS

tar -xzf kube-inspector-cli-<version>-macos-universal.tar.gz
chmod +x kube-inspector-cli
sudo mv kube-inspector-cli /usr/local/bin/
kube-inspector-cli

The binary is universal (Apple Silicon and Intel).

Gatekeeper

The binary is unsigned, so macOS may block the first run. Allow it with: 

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /usr/local/bin/kube-inspector-cli
…or approve it under System Settings → Privacy & Security.

Windows

Place kube-inspector-cli-<version>-windows-amd64.exe somewhere on your PATH (optionally rename it to kube-inspector-cli.exe) and run it from Windows Terminal, PowerShell, or cmd:

.\kube-inspector-cli-<version>-windows-amd64.exe

Use a modern terminal

Run the CLI in Windows Terminal (or any VT-capable console) for correct colours and key handling. Interactive pod exec relies on a pseudo-terminal and works best there.

Verify

The CLI shows its version in the top status bar. To confirm the binary runs, launch it — you should land on the Clusters screen. Press ? for the keyboard help, and q to quit.

Requirements

  • A kubeconfig for at least one cluster, added through the CLI's Clusters screen (press a). Cluster configs live in ~/.kube-ins/ and are shared with the desktop app — clusters added in one are visible in the other.
  • Network access to the target Kubernetes API server.

The CLI does not require kubectl — it talks to the Kubernetes API directly via client-go.

Next: Usage & Shortcuts.