---
title: STACKIT CLI Installation Guide
description: The STACKIT CLI installation guide describes the step-by-step setup, configuration, and usage of the command-line tool for the sovereign cloud environment.
scfAsset:
  maintainers:
    - user: "tobias.mueller"
  managed: false
  category: "guide"
  external: true
  tags: ["CLI", "Installation", "Automation", "Setup", "DevTools"]
source_url: "https://framework.stackit.cloud/architecture/assetcontainer/stackit/stackit-cli-installation/"
source_file: "docs/architecture/assetcontainer/stackit/stackit-cli-installation.mdx"
---

<Aside type="note" title="Asset Profile">
  **Time Estimate:** 15 minutes **Focus:** Developer Tools & Infrastructure Automation **Learning
  Goal:** Install and securely authenticate the STACKIT CLI to manage sovereign cloud resources.
</Aside>

## STACKIT CLI Overview

The STACKIT CLI enables developers and system administrators to interact directly with the STACKIT Sovereign Cloud via the terminal. The STACKIT CLI serves as the primary link for automation scripts, DevOps pipelines, and the efficient management of projects without using the graphical user interface.

### System Requirements and Features

- **Supported operating systems**: Full compatibility with Linux distributions, macOS, and Windows (including native WSL support).
- **Security architecture**: Encrypted token issuance via the STACKIT Identity Provider (IDP) to comply with European data protection standards.
- **Interface integration**: Direct connection to the STACKIT API to manage compute, network, and Kubernetes resources.

---

## System-Compatible Installation

Select the appropriate tab for the operating system of your local development environment to install the STACKIT CLI.

<Tabs>
  <TabItem label="macOS (Homebrew)">
    Use the Homebrew package manager to add the official STACKIT repository and install the STACKIT
    CLI: ```bash brew install stackitcloud/tap/stackit-cli ```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="Linux (Bash)">
    Use the official, hardened installation script to set up the STACKIT CLI binary directly in your
    local system path: ```bash curl -s
    https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stackitcloud/stackit-cli/main/install.sh
    | bash ```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="Windows (winget)">
    Open an administrative PowerShell instance and install the STACKIT CLI via the default Windows
    Package Manager: ```powershell winget install stackit.cli ```
  </TabItem>
</Tabs>

---

## Initial Configuration & Authentication

Follow this step-by-step procedural guide to establish the operational readiness of the STACKIT CLI.

<Steps>
1. **Verify installation success**: Ensure that the STACKIT CLI responds to commands by querying the installed version number.
   ```bash
   stackit version
   ```
2. Execute interactive login: Initiate the authentication process. The STACKIT CLI opens a secure browser window for validation via the STACKIT Identity Provider (IDP).
    ```bash
   stackit auth login
   ```
3. Set default infrastructure project: Assign your default project ID to automatically execute subsequent commands within the context of this specific project.
    ```bash
   stackit config set project <YOUR_PROJECT_ID>
   ```
4. Verify configuration: Verify the active profile settings and environment variables.
    ```bash
   stackit config list
   ```
</Steps>

---

## Structured Feature Matrix

- **Infrastructure management:** Efficiently create, scale, and delete virtual server instances and object storage systems via the terminal.
- **Kubernetes integration:** Load kubeconfig files for STACKIT Kubernetes Engine (SKE) clusters directly into the local environment with a single command.
- **FinOps transparency:** Utilize integrated commands to directly query cost structures and usage data based on the FOCUS standard.

---