# Install kubebuilder with Homebrew, Nix SDK for building Kubernetes APIs using CRDs. Version 4.15.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-15. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:kubebuilder ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install kubebuilder ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#kubebuilder ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ku/kubebuilder/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:kubebuilder - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 4.15.0 - **Source summary:** SDK for building Kubernetes APIs using CRDs - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** Apache-2.0 - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-15T10:40:43Z - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - kubebuilder (cli) - kubebuilder (alias) ## Dependencies - go ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 4.15.0 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-15 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kubebuilder - info: No cached GitHub release or tag data was available. ## Project history and usage Kubebuilder is the Kubernetes SIG API Machinery framework and CLI for building Kubernetes APIs and controllers with Custom Resource Definitions. It scaffolds Go projects, controllers, webhooks, manifests, tests, and deployment configuration around the controller-runtime and controller-tools libraries. ### Project history The kubernetes-sigs/kubebuilder repository was created on 2018-03-14, and the first GitHub release listed by the releases API, v1.9-alpha.30, was published on 2018-03-15. From the start, Kubebuilder sat inside the Kubernetes SIGs ecosystem rather than as a third-party wrapper. The Kubebuilder Book frames the project as a way to reduce the boilerplate involved in building Kubernetes APIs with CRDs. The README compares its role to application frameworks such as Ruby on Rails or Spring Boot: it encodes the canonical Kubernetes API-building approach into generators, libraries, plugins, and conventions. Over time the project formalized plugin and project versioning. The documentation distinguishes Kubebuilder release versions, PROJECT file schema versions, and plugin versions, which reflects how a scaffolding tool has to evolve while preserving already-generated operator projects. ### Adoption history Kubebuilder became a foundational tool in the Kubernetes operator ecosystem because it is developed with controller-runtime and controller-tools. The README explicitly names Operator SDK as an example of a project that uses Kubebuilder as a library and plugin system, which made Kubebuilder's conventions visible beyond users who install the kubebuilder binary directly. The project is distributed through GitHub releases and Homebrew, but its larger adoption story is in generated code: many operator repositories carry Kubebuilder-style PROJECT files, Makefiles, RBAC manifests, controller tests, and controller-runtime patterns. ### How it is used Users typically run kubebuilder init to create a project and kubebuilder create api to add APIs and controllers. The generated project is then edited as normal Go code while Kubebuilder-owned markers and generators keep CRDs, RBAC, and webhook manifests synchronized. Kubebuilder is not just a one-shot template generator. Its plugin versioning, migrations, and library hooks support long-lived projects that may need to adopt newer Kubernetes APIs or scaffolding layouts without abandoning existing code. ### Why package nerds care For package nerds, Kubebuilder is one of the important Kubernetes CLIs because installing a single binary gives access to a large, opinionated development workflow. It is the kind of tool where package version, generated layout version, and dependency versions all matter. It also marks the point where Kubernetes extension development moved from hand-rolled controller boilerplate toward reproducible project scaffolding. That makes the package culturally important even when the final runtime artifact is a controller image rather than the kubebuilder binary itself. ### Timeline - 2018-03-14: GitHub repository created under kubernetes-sigs. - 2018-03-15: GitHub release v1.9-alpha.30 published. - 2018-03-20: GitHub release v1alpha1.0 published for Kubernetes 1.9-era scaffolding. - 2026-06-15: GitHub release v4.15.0 published. ### Related projects - controller-runtime is the runtime library foundation for Kubebuilder-generated controllers. - controller-tools supplies code and manifest generation pieces used in the Kubebuilder workflow. - Operator SDK uses Kubebuilder as a library and extends the workflow for additional operator styles. - Custom Resource Definitions are the Kubernetes API-extension mechanism Kubebuilder targets. ### Sources - - - - - - - - - ## Security Notes infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal. - **Geiger risk:** orange / medium - infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** kubebuilder - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - kubebuilder: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ku/kubebuilder/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Cloud CLI packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/cloud-clis/) - Belongs to a cloud or infrastructure command family. - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Has protected-tool coverage, approval-gate, or non-low Geiger security signals. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [go](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/go/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [kubeconform](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/kubeconform/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, crd, developer-tools, kubernetes. - [chart-releaser](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/chart-releaser/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, kubernetes. - [chart-testing](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/chart-testing/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, kubernetes. - [cmctl](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cmctl/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, kubernetes. - [cri-tools](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cri-tools/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, kubernetes. - [kamel](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/kamel/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, kubernetes. - [kapp](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/kapp/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, kubernetes. - [karmadactl](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/karmadactl/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, kubernetes. - [openapi-tui](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/openapi-tui/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: api, api-development, apis, cli, developer. - [kubent](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/kubent/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: api, apis, cli, developer, developer-tools. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/kubebuilder.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/kubebuilder.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph