clusterctl

Initialize management cluster

$ clusterctl init --infrastructure [aws]

$ clusterctl init --infrastructure [aws:v2.0.0]

$ clusterctl generate cluster [mycluster] --kubernetes-version [v1.28.0]

$ clusterctl get kubeconfig [mycluster]

$ clusterctl upgrade apply --contract [v1beta1]

$ clusterctl move --to-kubeconfig [target.kubeconfig]

$ clusterctl delete --infrastructure [aws]

clusterctl command [options]

clusterctl is the command-line tool for managing Kubernetes Cluster API (CAPI) management clusters. It handles the full lifecycle of cluster infrastructure providers, from initial installation through upgrades and deletion.
The tool can initialize a Kubernetes cluster as a CAPI management cluster by installing infrastructure providers (AWS, Azure, vSphere, etc.), bootstrap providers, and control plane providers. Once initialized, it generates cluster templates for creating workload clusters and retrieves their kubeconfigs.
clusterctl also supports moving Cluster API resources between management clusters, which is essential for upgrade scenarios and disaster recovery. The upgrade commands help keep providers in sync with the latest releases and API contract versions.

~/.cluster-api/clusterctl.yaml

Main configuration file for providers, variables, and image overrides.

init

Install Cluster API components

Generate cluster template

Process YAML templates

Get workload cluster kubeconfig

Show upgrade recommendations

Apply provider upgrades

Move resources between clusters

Delete providers

Describe cluster resources

--infrastructure provider

Infrastructure provider (aws, azure, vsphere, etc.)

Bootstrap provider

Control plane provider

Target namespace for providers

Core provider version

Set GITHUB_TOKEN to avoid API rate limiting. Requires kubectl configured for target cluster. Uses go proxy for version detection.

kubectl(1), kind(1), kubeadm(1)