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Install kubectx using Winget - wingetCollections
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kubectx Ahmet Alp Balkan

cli devops-tools golang kubectl kubectl-plugins kubernetes kubernetes-clusters portable
Use this command to install kubectx:
winget install --id=ahmetb.kubectx -e

kubectx is a tool designed to simplify switching between Kubernetes clusters (contexts) in kubectl. It streamlines cluster management by enabling users to quickly switch contexts, rename them, or fuzzy-search using fzf for interactive selection.

Key Features:

  • Quickly switch between Kubernetes clusters and namespaces.
  • Rename existing contexts for better organization.
  • Fuzzy search with fzf integration for efficient context selection.
  • Shell autocompletion support for bash, zsh, and fish shells to reduce typing errors.
  • Lightweight and compatible with various operating systems.

Audience & Benefit: Ideal for Kubernetes administrators, developers, and operators who manage multiple clusters or namespaces. kubectx saves time by reducing repetitive tasks and minimizing errors when switching between environments. It enhances productivity in multi-cluster workflows while maintaining simplicity and efficiency.

Available as a Go-based tool, it can be installed via winget on Windows or through various package managers on Linux and macOS.

README

kubectx + kubens: Power tools for kubectl

Latest GitHub release GitHub stars Homebrew downloads Go implementation (CI)

This repository provides both kubectx and kubens tools. Install →

What are kubectx and kubens?

kubectx is a tool to switch between contexts (clusters) on kubectl faster, and launch readonly shells for each context. kubens is a tool to switch between Kubernetes namespaces (and configure them for kubectl) easily.

Here's a kubectx demo: kubectx demo GIF

...and here's a kubens demo: kubens demo GIF

Usage

kubectx

Switch to another cluster that's in kubeconfig:

$ kubectx minikube
Switched to context "minikube".

Switch back to previous cluster:

$ kubectx -
Switched to context "oregon".

Start an isolated shell that only has a single context:

$ kubectx -s minikube

Start a read-only shell where write operations are blocked:

$ kubectx -r minikube

Rename context:

$ kubectx dublin=gke_ahmetb_europe-west1-b_dublin
Context "gke_ahmetb_europe-west1-b_dublin" renamed to "dublin".

kubens

Change the active namespace on kubectl:

$ kubens kube-system
Context "test" set.
Active namespace is "kube-system".

Go back to the previous namespace:

$ kubens -
Context "test" set.
Active namespace is "default".

Change the active namespace even if it doesn't exist:

Versions
0.10.0
0.9.5
0.9.4
Website
github.com
License
Last updated
3/22/2026
Download latest version
$ kubens namespace-404 -f
Context "test" set.
Active namespace is "namespace-404".

If you have fzf installed, you can also interactively select a context or cluster, or fuzzy-search by typing a few characters. To learn more, read interactive mode →

Both kubectx and kubens support Tab completion on bash/zsh/fish shells to help with long context names. You don't have to remember full context names anymore.

Installation

Package managerCommand
Homebrew (macOS & Linux)brew install kubectx
MacPorts (macOS)sudo port install kubectx
apt (Debian/Ubuntu)sudo apt install kubectx
pacman (Arch Linux)sudo pacman -S kubectx
Chocolatey (Windows)choco install kubens kubectx
Scoop (Windows)scoop bucket add main && scoop install main/kubens main/kubectx
winget (Windows)winget install --id ahmetb.kubectx && winget install --id ahmetb.kubens
Krew (kubectl plugin)kubectl krew install ctx && kubectl krew install ns

Alternatively, download binaries from the Releases page → and add them to somewhere in your PATH.

Shell completion scripts

zsh (with antibody)

Add this line to your Plugins File (e.g. ~/.zsh_plugins.txt):

ahmetb/kubectx path:completion kind:fpath

Depending on your setup, you might or might not need to call compinit or autoload -U compinit && compinit in your ~/.zshrc after you load the Plugins file. If you use oh-my-zsh, load the completions before you load oh-my-zsh because oh-my-zsh will call compinit.

zsh (plain)

The completion scripts have to be in a path that belongs to $fpath. Either link or copy them to an existing folder.

Example with oh-my-zsh:

mkdir -p ~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/completions
chmod -R 755 ~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/completions
ln -s /opt/kubectx/completion/_kubectx.zsh ~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/completions/_kubectx.zsh
ln -s /opt/kubectx/completion/_kubens.zsh ~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/completions/_kubens.zsh
echo "fpath=($ZSH/custom/completions $fpath)" >> ~/.zshrc

If completion doesn't work, add autoload -U compinit && compinit to your .zshrc (similar to zsh-completions).

If you are not using oh-my-zsh, you could link to /usr/share/zsh/functions/Completion (might require sudo), depending on the $fpath of your zsh installation.

In case of errors, calling compaudit might help.

bash

git clone https://github.com/ahmetb/kubectx.git ~/.kubectx
COMPDIR=$(pkg-config --variable=completionsdir bash-completion)
ln -sf ~/.kubectx/completion/kubens.bash $COMPDIR/kubens
ln -sf ~/.kubectx/completion/kubectx.bash $COMPDIR/kubectx
cat << EOF >> ~/.bashrc


#kubectx and kubens
export PATH=~/.kubectx:\$PATH
EOF

fish

mkdir -p ~/.config/fish/completions
ln -s /opt/kubectx/completion/kubectx.fish ~/.config/fish/completions/
ln -s /opt/kubectx/completion/kubens.fish ~/.config/fish/completions/

> [!NOTE] > Tip: Show context/namespace in your shell prompt with oh-my-posh or > simply with kube-ps1.

Interactive mode

If you want kubectx and kubens commands to present you an interactive menu with fuzzy searching, you just need to install fzf in your $PATH.

kubectx interactive search with fzf

Caveats:

  • If you have fzf installed, but want to opt out of using this feature, set the environment variable KUBECTX_IGNORE_FZF=1.
  • If you want to keep fzf interactive mode but need the default behavior of the command, you can do it by piping the output to another command (e.g. kubectx | cat ).

Customizing colors

If you like to customize the colors indicating the current namespace or context, set the environment variables KUBECTX_CURRENT_FGCOLOR and KUBECTX_CURRENT_BGCOLOR (refer color codes here):

export KUBECTX_CURRENT_FGCOLOR=$(tput setaf 6) # blue text
export KUBECTX_CURRENT_BGCOLOR=$(tput setab 7) # white background

Colors in the output can be disabled by setting the NO_COLOR environment variable.

If you liked kubectx, you may like my kubectl-aliases project, too. I recommend pairing kubectx and kubens with fzf and kube-ps1.

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