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Before you deploy Cilium in your Kubernetes cluster, you’ll need to install two command-line tools locally: the Cilium CLI and the Hubble CLI. This guide walks you through downloading, verifying, and installing both CLIs on Linux.

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Install Cilium CLI

Follow these steps to fetch the latest stable Cilium CLI release, verify its integrity, and install it to /usr/local/bin.

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1. Download and verify the Cilium CLI

Make sure you have curl, sha256sum, and tar installed. You’ll also need sudo privileges to copy the binary into /usr/local/bin.
# Determine the latest stable version and target architecture
CILIUM_CLI_VERSION=$(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cilium/cilium-cli/main/stable.txt)
CLI_ARCH=amd64
if [ "$(uname -m)" = "aarch64" ]; then
  CLI_ARCH=arm64
fi

# Download the tarball and its SHA-256 checksum
curl -L --fail --remote-name-all \
  https://github.com/cilium/cilium-cli/releases/download/${CILIUM_CLI_VERSION}/cilium-linux-${CLI_ARCH}.tar.gz{,.sha256sum}

# Verify the checksum before extraction
sha256sum --check cilium-linux-${CLI_ARCH}.tar.gz.sha256sum

# Extract and install the binary
sudo tar xzvf cilium-linux-${CLI_ARCH}.tar.gz -C /usr/local/bin

# Remove downloaded files
rm cilium-linux-${CLI_ARCH}.tar.gz{,.sha256sum}
This process:
  1. Fetches the correct binary for your CPU architecture.
  2. Validates it with the downloaded SHA-256 checksum.
  3. Places the cilium executable into /usr/local/bin.

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2. Verify the Cilium CLI installation

Run: 
cilium version --client
You should see output similar to: 
cilium-cli version: v0.16.13 compiled with go1.21.25 on linux/amd64
cilium image (default): v1.15.6
cilium image (stable): v1.16.0
If you need a specific version, visit the Cilium CLI GitHub releases page to download the right asset.
The image shows a list of downloadable files with their sizes and upload dates, likely from a software release page. It includes various operating system versions and source code options.

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Install Hubble CLI

The Hubble CLI installation mirrors the Cilium CLI workflow. Use the same pattern to download, verify, and install.

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1. Download and verify the Hubble CLI

# Get the latest stable Hubble version and set architecture
HUBBLE_VERSION=$(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cilium/hubble/master/stable.txt)
HUBBLE_ARCH=amd64
if [ "$(uname -m)" = "aarch64" ]; then
  HUBBLE_ARCH=arm64
fi

# Download the Hubble tarball and checksum
curl -L --fail --remote-name-all \
  https://github.com/cilium/hubble/releases/download/${HUBBLE_VERSION}/hubble-linux-${HUBBLE_ARCH}.tar.gz{,.sha256sum}

# Validate the download
sha256sum --check hubble-linux-${HUBBLE_ARCH}.tar.gz.sha256sum

# Install the binary
sudo tar xzf hubble-linux-${HUBBLE_ARCH}.tar.gz -C /usr/local/bin

# Cleanup
rm hubble-linux-${HUBBLE_ARCH}.tar.gz{,.sha256sum}

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2. Verify the Hubble CLI installation

Execute: 
hubble version
Expected output: 
hubble v1.16.0 compiled with go1.22.5 on linux/amd64
For alternative versions, browse the Hubble GitHub releases page.
Now that both the Cilium and Hubble CLIs are installed, you’re ready to proceed with deploying Cilium onto your Kubernetes cluster.

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