Arkade — Portable Kubernetes App and CLI Installer

Introduction

Arkade is a portable marketplace for Kubernetes apps and developer CLI tools created by Alex Ellis. It removes the friction of finding Helm chart URLs, looking up installation flags, and downloading CLI binaries for the right platform. With a single arkade install or arkade get command, you can deploy applications to a Kubernetes cluster or download CLIs to your local machine.

What Arkade Does

• Installs Kubernetes applications (cert-manager, ingress-nginx, OpenFaaS, Prometheus, etc.) with sensible defaults in one command
• Downloads CLI tools (kubectl, helm, faas-cli, kubectx, k9s, etc.) for the correct OS and architecture automatically
• Provides an info command that shows post-installation instructions, connection details, and credentials
• Supports custom Helm values and namespace overrides for production-ready installations
• Works on Linux, macOS, and Windows with ARM and AMD64 support

Architecture Overview

Arkade is a single Go binary that wraps Helm chart installations and GitHub release downloads. For Kubernetes apps, it maintains a catalog of curated app definitions that map app names to Helm chart repositories, default values, and post-install instructions. For CLI tools, it resolves the correct binary from GitHub releases based on the detected OS and architecture. The tool requires no server component — it runs entirely on the client side and communicates directly with the Kubernetes API server and GitHub.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Install arkade itself with a single curl command or download the binary from GitHub releases
• No configuration files required — arkade uses your existing kubeconfig for Kubernetes operations
• Override default Helm values with --set key=value flags during app installation
• Specify target namespaces with --namespace for app installations
• Downloaded CLI tools are placed in ~/.arkade/bin/ — add this to your PATH for easy access

Key Features

• Curated catalog of 50+ Kubernetes apps with tested default configurations
• Cross-platform CLI tool downloads with automatic OS and architecture detection
• Post-install info command provides connection URLs, default credentials, and next steps
• Works with any Kubernetes cluster — local (kind, k3d, minikube) or cloud (EKS, GKE, AKS)
• Single binary with no dependencies beyond a valid kubeconfig

Comparison with Similar Tools

• Helm — The package manager Arkade wraps; Helm requires knowing chart repos and values, while Arkade provides curated defaults
• Homebrew — Great for general CLI tools on macOS/Linux but lacks Kubernetes app installation and cross-architecture awareness
• Krew — kubectl plugin manager that extends kubectl, but does not install Kubernetes applications
• asdf — Version manager for language runtimes and CLI tools, but does not handle Kubernetes application deployment

FAQ

Q: Does Arkade replace Helm? A: No. Arkade uses Helm under the hood for Kubernetes app installations. It simplifies the experience by providing curated defaults and a unified interface, but you can still use Helm directly for advanced customization.

Q: Can I install apps on a remote cluster? A: Yes. Arkade uses your current kubeconfig context. Point your kubeconfig to any cluster and arkade install will deploy there.

Q: How do I see what apps and tools are available? A: Run arkade install --help to list available Kubernetes apps and arkade get --help to list downloadable CLI tools.

Q: Is Arkade suitable for production? A: Arkade is ideal for bootstrapping and development. For production, review the Helm values it applies and customize them. The arkade install --dry-run flag shows the Helm commands without executing them.

Sources

• https://github.com/alexellis/arkade
• https://arkade.dev/