Install arkade with Homebrew, Nix, zypper, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, pacman, winget

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• ark
• arkade

Project history

Alex Ellis' two-year update explains that arkade came out of repeated Kubernetes tutorial boilerplate and an earlier k3sup app-install prototype. The specific split was from k3sup app install/info into arkade install/info, making the Kubernetes app marketplace independent from k3sup's cluster-bootstrap identity.

The official blog post dates the project motivation to 2019 and cites a September 24, 2019 prototype commit for installing apps. By the 2021 update, arkade had become a standalone project at github.com/alexellis/arkade, with a community around adding apps and tools.

The project later expanded from installing Kubernetes apps to downloading CLI tools. The README now frames arkade get as a fast way to install kubectl, kind, terraform, jq, helm, and many other developer CLIs without waiting on heavier package-manager catalog updates.

Adoption history

The arkade README includes user testimonials from cloud-native practitioners and says users run arkade get on both local workstations and CI runners such as GitHub Actions or Jenkins. It also reports a current catalog of 193 CLIs and 53 Kubernetes apps.

The 2021 project update reported 47 Kubernetes apps, 47,000 downloads, 108 releases, about 2,000 GitHub stars, and between 50 and 100 contributors when including the k3sup period. The same article describes sponsored apps as a way to fund work while improving vendor onboarding.

The supplied package facts show Homebrew packaging for arkade. Some other package-manager mappings in the input point to unrelated packages named ark or KDE Ark, so Homebrew and the upstream install script are the reliable package-level adoption signals here.

How it is used

The executables are arkade and ark. The README documents curl -sLS https://get.arkade.dev | sudo sh for installation, arkade install APP for Kubernetes apps, arkade info for post-install information, arkade get TOOL for CLI downloads, and arkade update for self-update on macOS and Linux.

arkade stores downloaded tools under $HOME/.arkade/bin by default and lets users override OS, architecture, version, and output path. It is used for local developer setup, disposable clusters, demos, tutorials, and CI jobs that need a handful of cloud-native CLIs quickly.

Why package nerds care

arkade matters because it deliberately overlaps with package managers while staying narrower: it downloads upstream CLI binaries and wraps Kubernetes app installation recipes rather than trying to be a universal OS package manager.

For package nerds, arkade is a catalog and installer pattern: one Go CLI codifies URL templates, platform/architecture detection, Helm chart installs, and app post-install messages. It is interesting precisely because it competes with copy-pasted README install commands, not because it replaces distro packaging.

Timeline

• 2019: Alex Ellis describes the project motivation as repeated Kubernetes installation boilerplate and cites a September 24 prototype in k3sup.
• 2021: The two-year update describes arkade as a standalone marketplace with dozens of apps, many releases, contributors, and downloads.
• 2024: Official releases continued through 0.11.x, adding and updating CLI tool definitions.
• 2026: The current README reports 193 CLIs and 53 Kubernetes apps.

Related projects

• arkade grew out of k3sup and is closely related to Kubernetes, Helm, kubectl, kind, OpenFaaS, cert-manager, ingress-nginx, and the broader cloud-native CLI ecosystem.
• Its package-manager neighbors are Homebrew, apt, direct GitHub release downloads, curl install scripts, and CI tool-cache setup steps.

Sources

• https://blog.alexellis.io/kubernetes-marketplace-two-year-update/
• https://github.com/alexellis/arkade/releases
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/alexellis/arkade/master/README.md
• input.source_facts.package-manager