Krew

Krew is the official kubectl plugin manager developed by Kubernetes SIG CLI. It provides access to over 200 kubectl plugins with simple installation and upgrade workflows.

• Version: v0.4.5 (March 2025)
• Requirements: kubectl v1.12+
• Platforms: macOS, Linux, Windows

# One-line installation
(
  set -x; cd "$(mktemp -d)" &&
  OS="$(uname | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')" &&
  ARCH="$(uname -m | sed -e 's/x86_64/amd64/' -e 's/\(arm\)\(64\)\?.*/\1\2/' -e 's/aarch64$/arm64/')" &&
  KREW="krew-${OS}_${ARCH}" &&
  curl -fsSLO "https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/krew/releases/latest/download/${KREW}.tar.gz" &&
  tar zxvf "${KREW}.tar.gz" &&
  ./"${KREW}" install krew
)

# bash/zsh - add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
export PATH="${KREW_ROOT:-$HOME/.krew}/bin:$PATH"

# fish - add to ~/.config/fish/config.fish
set -gx PATH $PATH $HOME/.krew/bin

# Apply changes
exec $SHELL

After installation, restart your shell or source your profile.

# Update plugin index
kubectl krew update

# Search for plugins
kubectl krew search

# Install essential plugins
kubectl krew install ctx ns stern

# List installed plugins
kubectl krew list

# Upgrade all plugins
kubectl krew upgrade

# Update plugin index
kubectl krew update

Updates the local plugin index (does NOT upgrade plugins).

# Install plugins
kubectl krew install access-matrix
kubectl krew install ctx ns stern

Install one or multiple plugins.

# Upgrade plugins
kubectl krew upgrade
kubectl krew upgrade <PLUGIN>

Upgrade all or specific plugin.

# Uninstall plugins
kubectl krew uninstall access-matrix

# List all available plugins
kubectl krew search

# Search by keyword
kubectl krew search log
kubectl krew search rbac

# Show plugin details
kubectl krew info stern

# List installed plugins
kubectl krew list

# Show krew version
kubectl krew version

# Show plugin information
kubectl krew info <PLUGIN>

Displays description, version, homepage.

# Backup installed plugins
kubectl krew list | tee krew-backup.txt

# Restore on another machine
kubectl krew install < krew-backup.txt

See full list at krew.sigs.k8s.io/plugins

# Custom installation directory
export KREW_ROOT=/opt/krew

# Custom plugin index
export KREW_DEFAULT_INDEX_URI='git@github.com:foo/custom-index.git'

# Proxy configuration
export HTTP_PROXY=http://proxy.example.com:8080
export HTTPS_PROXY=http://proxy.example.com:8080
export NO_PROXY=localhost,127.0.0.1

1. Download krew.exe from GitHub releases
2. Run Command Prompt as Administrator
3. Execute krew.exe install krew
4. Add %USERPROFILE%\.krew\bin to PATH

Note: Administrator rights required for symbolic link creation.

Symptom: kubectl: command 'krew' not found

# Add to ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or ~/.profile
export PATH="${KREW_ROOT:-$HOME/.krew}/bin:$PATH"

# Restart shell
exec $SHELL

Symptom: kubectl: unknown command "plugin-name"

# Verify plugin installed
kubectl krew list

# Check PATH includes krew
echo $PATH | grep krew

# List krew executables
ls -la ~/.krew/bin/

Fix: Ensure ~/.krew/bin is in PATH and restart shell.

# Configure proxy
export HTTP_PROXY=http://proxy.example.com:8080
export HTTPS_PROXY=http://proxy.example.com:8080
export NO_PROXY=localhost,127.0.0.1

# Update index through proxy
kubectl krew update

Requirement: kubectl v1.12 or later

# Check kubectl version
kubectl version --client --short

# Upgrade kubectl (macOS)
brew upgrade kubernetes-cli

# Upgrade kubectl (Linux)
curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl"
sudo install -o root -g root -m 0755 kubectl /usr/local/bin/kubectl

Symptom: Installation fails with permission errors

Fix: Run Command Prompt or PowerShell as Administrator

Issue: kubectl krew update doesn't upgrade plugins

Solution:

• kubectl krew update → Updates plugin index
• kubectl krew upgrade → Upgrades installed plugins

Two separate commands by design.

apiVersion: krew.googlecontainertools.github.com/v1alpha2
kind: Plugin
metadata:
  name: restart
spec:
  version: "v0.0.1"
  homepage: https://github.com/example/kubectl-restart
  shortDescription: "Restarts a pod"
  description: |
    Restarts a pod by deleting and
    recreating it.
  platforms:
    - selector:
        matchExpressions:
          - key: "os"
            operator: "In"
            values:
              - darwin
              - linux
      uri: https://github.com/example/kubectl-restart/archive/v0.0.3.zip
      sha256: d7079b79bf4e10e55ded435a2e862efe310e019b6c306a8ff04191238ef4b2b4
      files:
        - from: "kubectl-restart-*/restart.sh"
          to: "./restart.sh"
      bin: restart.sh

Archive Formats: .zip, .tar.gz

Windows Limitation: Only .exe executables (no .bat or .ps1)

1. Create plugin manifest (.yaml file)
2. Test locally with custom index
3. Submit PR to kubernetes-sigs/krew-index
4. Follow contribution guidelines
5. Wait for review and merge

# Use custom index
export KREW_DEFAULT_INDEX_URI='git@github.com:foo/custom-index.git'
kubectl krew update

Useful for private plugin repositories.

Krew is itself a kubectl plugin managed by Krew:

# Krew manages itself
kubectl krew upgrade krew

Bootstrap problem solved by initial installation script.

1. Krew creates symbolic links in ~/.krew/bin/
2. Links named kubectl-<plugin> (e.g., kubectl-ctx)
3. kubectl discovers plugins in PATH automatically
4. Run as kubectl <plugin> (e.g., kubectl ctx)

Note: Dashes in plugin names become underscores in executable names.

$HOME/.krew/
├── bin/              # Symbolic links to plugins
├── index/            # Git clone of plugin index
├── receipts/         # Installation metadata
└── store/            # Downloaded plugin archives

# Weekly: Update plugin index
kubectl krew update

# Monthly: Upgrade installed plugins
kubectl krew upgrade

# Before major system changes
kubectl krew list > ~/krew-plugins-$(date +%F).txt

# Restore
kubectl krew install < ~/krew-plugins-2026-02-04.txt

• Plugins run with your kubectl credentials
• Review plugin source before installation
• Install only from trusted sources
• Check plugin manifest for suspicious URLs
• Audit installed plugins periodically

# Review plugin details before installing
kubectl krew info <plugin>

# Search before installing
kubectl krew search <keyword>

# Read plugin description
kubectl krew info <plugin>

# Check plugin homepage
kubectl krew info <plugin> | grep homepage

Krew doesn't support version pinning. Always installs latest version.

Workaround: Fork plugin repository and use custom index.

kubectl krew update    # Updates plugin INDEX only
kubectl krew upgrade   # Upgrades INSTALLED plugins

Gotcha: update does NOT upgrade your plugins. You must run upgrade separately.

After installation:

# Required for PATH changes
exec $SHELL

# Or source profile manually
source ~/.bashrc

Gotcha: Plugins won't be available until shell is restarted.

• Windows requires Administrator rights for symbolic link creation
• Not needed on macOS/Linux

Gotcha: Installation fails without admin rights on Windows.

# Plugin name in krew
kubectl krew install ctx

# Command name (no 'krew')
kubectl ctx

Gotcha: Don't run kubectl krew ctx — it's just kubectl ctx.

Krew doesn't auto-upgrade plugins.

Workaround: Set up weekly cron job:

# Add to crontab
0 9 * * 1 kubectl krew upgrade

Krew always installs latest plugin version.

Workaround: Use custom plugin index with pinned versions.

# 1. Install krew (run installation script)

# 2. Add to PATH
echo 'export PATH="${KREW_ROOT:-$HOME/.krew}/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

# 3. Update index
kubectl krew update

# 4. Install essential plugins
kubectl krew install \
  ctx \
  ns \
  stern \
  neat \
  tree \
  whoami \
  view-secret \
  access-matrix

# On old machine
kubectl krew list > krew-plugins.txt

# Copy krew-plugins.txt to new machine

# On new machine (after installing krew)
kubectl krew update
kubectl krew install < krew-plugins.txt

# 1. Uninstall all plugins
kubectl krew uninstall $(kubectl krew list | awk '{print $1}')

# 2. Remove krew directory
rm -rf ~/.krew

# 3. Remove from PATH
# Edit ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc and remove krew PATH line

# 4. Restart shell
exec $SHELL

# List installed plugins with details
kubectl krew list | while read plugin _; do
  echo "=== $plugin ==="
  kubectl krew info "$plugin" | grep -E "(DESCRIPTION|HOMEPAGE)"
done

# 1. Download plugin archive manually
curl -LO https://github.com/user/plugin/archive/v1.0.0.tar.gz

# 2. Create custom manifest
# 3. Install from custom index

# Note: Krew doesn't support direct file installation

Limitation: Krew requires Git-based indexes.

# Install ctx and ns plugins
kubectl krew install ctx ns

# Switch context
kubectl ctx minikube

# Switch namespace
kubectl ns kube-system

# List contexts
kubectl ctx

# List namespaces
kubectl ns

# Install stern
kubectl krew install stern

# Tail logs from all pods matching pattern
kubectl stern myapp

# Tail with filters
kubectl stern myapp --since 15m
kubectl stern myapp --container nginx
kubectl stern myapp --namespace prod

# Install neat
kubectl krew install neat

# Get pod YAML without clutter
kubectl get pod mypod -o yaml | kubectl neat

# Remove managed fields
kubectl get deploy -o yaml | kubectl neat

# Install access-matrix
kubectl krew install access-matrix

# Show access matrix for current user
kubectl access-matrix

# Show for specific user
kubectl access-matrix --as user@example.com

# Show for service account
kubectl access-matrix --as system:serviceaccount:default:mysa

# Install view-secret
kubectl krew install view-secret

# View all keys in secret
kubectl view-secret mysecret

# View specific key
kubectl view-secret mysecret -k password

# Decode to file
kubectl view-secret mysecret -k cert > cert.pem

# Install tree
kubectl krew install tree

# Show resource tree
kubectl tree deployment myapp
kubectl tree service myapp
kubectl tree namespace prod