Environment:Kubeflow Kubeflow Kubectl Kustomize CLI Environment

Knowledge Sources	kubectl Install Guide kustomize Install Guide Kubeflow Manifests
Domains	Infrastructure, CLI_Tools, Platform_Deployment
Last Updated	2026-02-13 00:00 GMT

Overview

Local workstation environment with kubectl (>= 1.25) and kustomize CLI tools for deploying and managing Kubeflow.

Description

This environment defines the local CLI tools required on the operator's workstation for deploying Kubeflow to a Kubernetes cluster. The kubectl CLI must be version 1.25 or higher to support the API resources used by Kubeflow. The kustomize standalone binary is required to render Kubeflow manifests using the kustomize build command. Note that the kustomize built into kubectl (kubectl apply -k) may lag behind the standalone version and is not recommended for Kubeflow deployments.

Usage

Use this environment for all Platform Deployment workflows and for ongoing cluster management tasks (health checks, scaling, debugging). Both tools must be on the system PATH before running any Kubeflow deployment commands.

System Requirements

Category	Requirement	Notes
OS	Linux, macOS, or Windows (WSL2)	Linux is the primary deployment platform
kubectl	>= 1.25	Must match within one minor version of the target cluster
kustomize	>= 5.0.0 (standalone)	Do not use `kubectl apply -k`; use standalone kustomize
Disk	Minimal (< 500MB)	Just the CLI binaries and kubeconfig
Network	Access to Kubernetes API server	KUBECONFIG must point to a reachable cluster

Dependencies

System Packages

kubectl >= 1.25
kustomize >= 5.0.0 (standalone binary)
curl or wget (for downloading binaries)
git (for cloning kubeflow/manifests repository)

Credentials

The following environment variables may be set:

KUBECONFIG: Path to kubeconfig file with cluster access credentials. Defaults to ~/.kube/config.

Quick Install

# Install kubectl (Linux amd64)
curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl"
chmod +x kubectl
sudo mv kubectl /usr/local/bin/

# Install kustomize (standalone)
curl -s "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes-sigs/kustomize/master/hack/install_kustomize.sh" | bash
sudo mv kustomize /usr/local/bin/

# Verify
kubectl version --client
kustomize version

Code Evidence

Installation instructions referenced from README.md:L46-47:

The Kubeflow AI reference platform can be installed via Packaged Distributions
or Kubeflow Manifests.

The deployment pattern kustomize build ... | kubectl apply -f - is the standard Kubeflow Manifests installation method, documented in the kubeflow/manifests repository and referenced by the README.

Version check implementation from the Prerequisites Validation step:

kubectl version --client --output=yaml
kubectl version --output=yaml
kustomize version

Common Errors

Error Message	Cause	Solution
`command not found: kubectl`	kubectl not installed or not on PATH	Install kubectl and ensure it is in /usr/local/bin/ or on PATH
`command not found: kustomize`	kustomize not installed	Install standalone kustomize binary (do not rely on kubectl built-in)
`error: unable to recognize STDIN: no matches for kind`	kustomize version too old for the manifests	Upgrade to kustomize >= 5.0.0
`error: the server doesn't have a resource type`	kubectl client version mismatch with server	Upgrade kubectl to within one minor version of the cluster

Compatibility Notes

macOS: Use brew install kubectl kustomize for Homebrew-based installation.
Windows: Use WSL2 with Ubuntu. Native Windows kubectl works but kustomize may have path issues.
kubectl built-in kustomize: The kubectl apply -k command uses an embedded kustomize that may be older than the standalone version. Kubeflow manifests often require features only available in the standalone kustomize binary.

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