eksctl

Create a basic cluster

$ eksctl create cluster

$ eksctl get cluster --name=[name] --region=[region]

$ eksctl create cluster --config-file=[path/to/file]

$ eksctl create cluster --config-file=[path/to/file] --without-nodegroup

$ eksctl delete cluster --name=[name] --region=[region]

$ eksctl create cluster --name=[name] --nodes=[4] --kubeconfig=[path/to/config.yaml]

$ eksctl create cluster --name=[name] --nodes=[4] --write-kubeconfig=false

$ eksctl create cluster --name=[name] --nodes=[4] --auto-kubeconfig

eksctl [global-options] <command> [<args>]

--help
    Display help for eksctl or subcommands

--version
    Print current version of eksctl

--verbose int
    Log verbosity level: 0=off, 1=errors, 2=warn, 3=info, 4=debug (default 2)

--timeout duration
    Timeout for commands (e.g., 1h30m)

--region string
    AWS region (overrides config/default)

--profile string
    AWS profile name from credentials file

--dry-run
    Preview changes without applying

--approve
    Skip interactive approval prompts

--config-file string
    Path to YAML config file

--kubeconfig string
    Path to kubeconfig file (default ~/.kube/config)

--clusters-dir string
    Directory for cluster configs (~/.eksctl/clusters default)

--no-vpc-ip-availability-checks
    Skip VPC IP availability checks

eksctl is the official command-line interface (CLI) for Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS), designed to simplify cluster lifecycle management. It enables users to create, update, delete, and scale EKS clusters declaratively using simple YAML configuration files. This tool automates provisioning of required AWS resources, including VPCs, subnets, security groups, IAM roles, and EC2 instances for managed node groups.

Key capabilities include:
• Cluster creation with custom networking and add-ons.
• Managed and self-managed node groups.
• Fargate profiles for serverless compute.
• IAM integration for roles and policies.
• Upgrade and scaling operations with minimal downtime.
• Dry-run mode for previewing changes.

eksctl supports idempotent operations, detailed logging (verbosity 0-4), and integration with AWS profiles/regions. It's written in Go, open-source under Apache 2.0, and requires AWS CLI v2 for authentication. Ideal for DevOps workflows, it reduces boilerplate compared to manual AWS console or CloudFormation usage, making EKS accessible for Kubernetes users.

Requires AWS CLI configured with IAM permissions for EKS; not all EKS features (e.g., custom AMIs) fully supported in managed mode; cluster configs must align with AWS quotas.

curl --silent --location "https://github.com/eksctl-io/eksctl/releases/latest/download/eksctl_$(uname -s)_amd64.tar.gz" | tar xz -C /tmp && sudo mv /tmp/eksctl /usr/local/bin

create cluster - Create cluster
delete cluster - Delete cluster
scale nodegroup - Scale nodes
get clusters - List clusters
upgrade cluster - Upgrade control plane

YAML-based; example at eksctl.io docs. Defines metadata.name, region, nodeGroups[].instanceType, vpc.subnetIds, etc.

Developed by Weaveworks in 2018 as open-source tool; adopted as official EKS CLI by AWS in 2020. Actively maintained with releases aligning EKS versions; v0.100+ added Fargate, add-ons support.

kubectl(1), aws(1), kops(1), terraform(1)