Installation

Installation

Download the installer for your system from the latest release:

System	File
Linux (Debian, Ubuntu)	Sextant_<version>_amd64.deb (x86_64) or Sextant_<version>_arm64.deb (arm64): sudo apt install ./Sextant_<version>_amd64.deb
Linux (Fedora, openSUSE, RHEL)	the .rpm for your architecture (x86_64 or aarch64) from the release page: sudo dnf install ./<file>.rpm
Linux (any distribution)	the .AppImage for your architecture (amd64 or aarch64): chmod +x it and run it
macOS (Apple silicon and Intel)	Sextant_<version>_universal.dmg
Windows (x64)	Sextant_<version>_x64_en-US.msi, or the portable Sextant_<version>_x64_portable.zip

Linux builds exist for x86_64 and arm64. The .rpm needs WebKitGTK 4.1 and GTK 3 (the tray icon needs libayatana-appindicator, but it is optional).

Package managers

Homebrew and Scoop are available; winget is coming soon (the first version is waiting to be submitted).

brew install --cask friendsofkubernetes/sextant/sextant                 # macOS, Homebrew
scoop bucket add sextant https://github.com/FriendsOfKubernetes/sextant-scoop
scoop install sextant/sextant                                           # Windows, Scoop

Scoop installs the portable .zip; winget installs the .msi; the Homebrew cask installs the .dmg.

Prefer to build it yourself? See Building from source.

Unsigned installers

The installers are not code-signed with a certificate from Apple or Microsoft, so the operating system warns you the first time you open Sextant.

• macOS: move Sextant to Applications, then right-click it and choose Open (once). If macOS says the app "is damaged" or still refuses to open it, run:

  xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Sextant.app

• Windows: SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC". Choose More info → Run anyway.

(The updates Sextant downloads for itself are different: they are signed with the project's own update key and checked before they are installed. See below.)

Optional tools

Sextant talks to the Kubernetes API itself and needs no kubectl. These use outside programs:

• kubectl is only for you to use in Sextant's local terminal, which is already pointed at the selected cluster.
• helm is needed to install, upgrade, roll back and uninstall Helm releases and to search and install charts. Viewing releases works without it. If helm is not in your PATH, choose the binary in Settings → Helm (see Settings).
• aws, gcloud and az are needed only to find and add EKS, GKE and AKS clusters (Add cluster → From cloud) and to sign in to them; GKE also needs gke-gcloud-auth-plugin and AKS needs kubelogin. See Cloud clusters.

Updates

Sextant 0.2.0 and later update themselves. When Sextant starts it checks the latest release; turn this off in Settings → Updates, where Check for updates also checks on demand and the running version is shown; About Sextant (from the tray menu or Settings) shows the version and the same check (see Settings). A newer release is offered with its notes. Install and restart downloads it, verifies its signature against the key built into Sextant, and restarts into the new version.

Installed from	How it updates
AppImage (Linux)	in place, by Sextant
.dmg (macOS)	in place, by Sextant
.msi (Windows)	by Sextant: the installer runs and starts the new version
.deb (Linux)	with your package manager: download the new .deb for your architecture and sudo apt install ./Sextant_<version>_<amd64 or arm64>.deb (Sextant shows the new version and links the release page)
.rpm (Linux)	with your package manager: download the new .rpm and install it with dnf or zypper; Sextant says "update with your package manager"
portable .zip from Scoop (Windows)	scoop update sextant; Sextant tells you so
a portable .zip unpacked by hand	download the new release yourself; Settings links the release page

Updates come only from releases signed with the project's updater key. A copy that is not an installed package (a bare binary, npm run tauri dev) does not check at start and cannot install an update, but Check for updates still shows whether there is one. A build whose src-tauri/tauri.conf.json has no plugins.updater.pubkey does not check at all and says so in Settings.

Uninstalling

Remove it the usual way for your system (uninstall the .deb or .rpm with your package manager, delete the .AppImage or the app, uninstall the .msi in Windows settings). Sextant's settings and data stay in your user folders; see Settings for where they are if you want to delete them.

Next: Getting started.