Docs Self-Managed Get Started Redpanda CLI Install or Update rpk You are viewing the Self-Managed v24.3 beta documentation. We welcome your feedback at the Redpanda Community Slack #beta-feedback channel. To view the latest available version of the docs, see v24.2. Install or Update rpk The rpk tool is a single binary application that provides a way to interact with your Redpanda clusters from the command line. For example, you can use rpk to do the following: Monitor your cluster’s health Create, produce, and consume from topics Set up access control lists (ACLs) and other security features For Redpanda Self-Managed deployments, the rpk binary is automatically installed on each Redpanda broker, so you can use the locally installed rpk binary to communicate with the local Redpanda cluster. You can also install rpk on your local machine as a standalone binary. With this setup, you can connect to a Redpanda cluster on your local machine and to an external one on a remote server. If you use rpk as a standalone binary to communicate with a Redpanda cluster, your installed version of rpk must match the version of Redpanda running in your cluster. Check rpk version To check your current version of the rpk binary, run rpk --version. The following example lists the latest version of rpk. If your installed version is lower than this latest version, then update rpk. For a list of versions, see Redpanda releases. rpk --version rpk version 24.3.1 (rev 72ba3d3) Install or update rpk on Linux To install, or update to, the latest version of rpk for Linux, run: amd64 arm64 curl -LO https://github.com/redpanda-data/redpanda/releases/latest/download/rpk-linux-amd64.zip && mkdir -p ~/.local/bin && export PATH="~/.local/bin:$PATH" && unzip rpk-linux-amd64.zip -d ~/.local/bin/ curl -LO https://github.com/redpanda-data/redpanda/releases/latest/download/rpk-linux-arm64.zip && mkdir -p ~/.local/bin && export PATH="~/.local/bin:$PATH" && unzip rpk-linux-amd64.zip -d ~/.local/bin/ To install, or update to, a version other than the latest, run: amd64 arm64 curl -LO https://github.com/redpanda-data/redpanda/releases/download/v<version>/rpk-linux-amd64.zip && mkdir -p ~/.local/bin && export PATH="~/.local/bin:$PATH" && unzip rpk-linux-amd64.zip -d ~/.local/bin/ curl -LO https://github.com/redpanda-data/redpanda/releases/download/v<version>/rpk-linux-arm64.zip && mkdir -p ~/.local/bin && export PATH="~/.local/bin:$PATH" && unzip rpk-linux-amd64.zip -d ~/.local/bin/ Install or update rpk on macOS Homebrew Manual Download If you don’t have Homebrew installed, install it. To install or update rpk, run: brew install redpanda-data/tap/redpanda This method installs the latest version of rpk, which is supported only with the latest version of Redpanda. To install or update rpk through a manual download, choose the option for your system architecture. For example, if you have an M1 or newer chip, select Apple Silicon. Intel macOS Apple Silicon To install, or update to, the latest version of rpk for Intel macOS, run: curl -LO https://github.com/redpanda-data/redpanda/releases/latest/download/rpk-darwin-amd64.zip && mkdir -p ~/.local/bin && export PATH="~/.local/bin:$PATH" && unzip rpk-darwin-amd64.zip -d ~/.local/bin/ To install, or update to, a version other than the latest, run: curl -LO https://github.com/redpanda-data/redpanda/releases/download/v<version>/rpk-darwin-amd64.zip && mkdir -p ~/.local/bin && export PATH="~/.local/bin:$PATH" && unzip rpk-darwin-amd64.zip -d ~/.local/bin/ To install, or update to, the latest version of rpk for Apple Silicon, run: curl -LO https://github.com/redpanda-data/redpanda/releases/latest/download/rpk-darwin-arm64.zip && mkdir -p ~/.local/bin && export PATH="~/.local/bin:$PATH" && unzip rpk-darwin-arm64.zip -d ~/.local/bin/ To install, or update to, a version other than the latest, run: curl -LO https://github.com/redpanda-data/redpanda/releases/download/v<version>/rpk-darwin-arm64.zip && mkdir -p ~/.local/bin && export PATH="~/.local/bin:$PATH" && unzip rpk-darwin-arm64.zip -d ~/.local/bin/ Next steps For a list of rpk commands and their syntax, see the rpk reference. Back to top × Simple online edits For simple changes, such as fixing a typo, you can edit the content directly on GitHub. Edit on GitHub Or, open an issue to let us know about something that you want us to change. Open an issue Contribution guide For extensive content updates, or if you prefer to work locally, read our contribution guide . Was this helpful? thumb_up thumb_down group Ask in the community mail Share your feedback group_add Make a contribution Introduction to rpk rpk Profiles