---
name: openshift-cli-install
title: Installing the CLI
description: You can use the following tools to manage your Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud clusters. While you can install a subset of the tools, all the following tools are recommended.
last-updated: 2026-07-10
---

> ## Documentation Index
> The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/openshift?format=markdown
> The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use these files to discover more information as needed.

# Installing the CLI
{: #cli-install}


You can use the following tools to manage your Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud clusters. While you can install a subset of the tools, all the following tools are recommended.
{: shortdesc}


[Virtual Private Cloud]{: tag-vpc} [Classic infrastructure]{: tag-classic-inf} [Satellite]{: tag-satellite}


## Understanding the CLI tools
{: #cli-understand}

| CLI | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `ibmcloud` | You can use the `ibmcloud` CLI to login to your account, add users, manage your catalogs and more. |
| `ks` plug-in | After installing the `ibmcloud` CLI, you can use the `ks` plug-in to create and manage Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud clusters as well as Satellite hosts and Locations. |
| `oc` | You can use the `oc` CLI to manage resources within your clusters like pods, deployments, and more. |
{: caption="Table 1: CLI tools" caption-side="bottom"}


## Running the installation command
{: #step1-install-idt}
{: step}

The latest version of the IBM Cloud CLI is installed when you run the command. As the CLI installs, keep an eye on the command line to authenticate as needed.

* For MacOS, run the following command:
   ```curl
   curl -fsSL https://clis.cloud.ibm.com/install/osx | sh
   ```
   {: codeblock}

* For Linux™, run the following command:
   ```curl
   curl -fsSL https://clis.cloud.ibm.com/install/linux | sh
   ```
   {: codeblock}

* For Windows™, run the following command in PowerShell as an administrator:
   ```curl
   iex (New-Object Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://clis.cloud.ibm.com/install/powershell')
   ```
   {: codeblock}

   To open PowerShell, right-click the Windows™ PowerShell icon, and select **Run as administrator**.
   {: tip}

* For WSL2 on Windows™, run the following command:
   ```curl
   curl -fsSL https://clis.cloud.ibm.com/install/linux | sh
   ```

## Verifying the installation
{: #step2-verify-idt}
{: step}

To verify that the CLI was installed successfully, run the `help` command:
```text
ibmcloud help
```
{: codeblock}

The output lists the usage instructions, the current version, and the supported commands.

## Installing CLI plug-ins and tools
{: #step3-install-idt-manually}
{: step}

To manually install the CLI plug-ins and tools, see [Extending IBM Cloud CLI with plug-ins](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/cli?topic=cli-plug-ins&format=markdown).

To install the `container-service` or `ks` plug-in, run the following command.

```sh
ibmcloud plugin install ks
```
{: pre}


## Install the Red Hat OpenShift CLI
{: #install-kubectl-cli}
{: step}

You can use the `oc` CLI to deploy and manage resources in your Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud cluster.




- If you already have a Red Hat account, install the OpenShift CLI. For more information, see the [Getting started with the OpenShift CLI](https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.21/html/cli_tools/openshift-cli-oc){: external}.

- If you don't have a Red Hat account, you can download the OpenShift CLI from the [console](https://cloud.ibm.com/containers/cluster-management/clusters){: external} after you create an OpenShift cluster.

- For more information about the OpenShift CLI, see the following links.
    - [OpenShift CLI administrator command reference](https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.21/html/cli_tools/openshift-cli-oc#cli-administrator-commands){: external}.
    - [OpenShift CLI developer command reference](https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.21/html/cli_tools/openshift-cli-oc#cli-developer-commands){: external}.

Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud version 4.16 is now based on the RHEL 9.2 host operating system, which increases the micro-architecture requirements to x86-64-v2. As a result, host machines for IBM Cloud Satellite must support x86-64-v2 architecture for any location that contains a version 4.16 cluster. See [Host system requirements](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-host-reqs&format=markdown) for more information. In addition, client machines used to run `oc` client version 4.16 must also support x86-64-v2 architecture. Client machines that do not meet this micro-architecture requirement must use a RHEL 8 based `oc` version 4.16 client. Refer to the list of [available `oc` version 4.16 clients](https://mirror.openshift.com/pub/openshift-v4/clients/ocp/stable-4.16/){: external}.
{: important}