cloudctl

cloudctl is a CLI for managing Kubernetes cluster access via Greenhouse. It keeps your local kubeconfig in sync with the clusters registered in your Greenhouse organization — so kubectl just works.

What it does

• Syncs kubeconfigs — fetches ClusterKubeconfig resources from Greenhouse and merges them into your local ~/.kube/config, handling OIDC token caching, deduplication, and prefix-based entry management
• Reports cluster versions — queries the Kubernetes API version of any context, trying unauthenticated first for speed
• Self-updates — checks for and installs the latest cloudctl release from GitHub
• Structured output — every command supports --output text|json|yaml for scripting and pipelines; interactive terminals get a spinner and a colour-coded table

Installation

Download the latest binary from the releases page, place it on your PATH, and make it executable:

# macOS / Linux
curl -Lo cloudctl https://github.com/cloudoperators/cloudctl/releases/latest/download/cloudctl-$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')-$(uname -m)
chmod +x cloudctl
sudo mv cloudctl /usr/local/bin/

Or build from source (requires Go 1.25+):

git clone https://github.com/cloudoperators/cloudctl.git
cd cloudctl
make install   # installs to $GOBIN

Quick start

# Sync all clusters from a Greenhouse organization into your local kubeconfig
cloudctl sync --greenhouse-cluster-namespace <org>

# Sync a single cluster
cloudctl sync -n <org> --remote-cluster-name <cluster>

# Check the Kubernetes version of a context
cloudctl cluster-version --context <context>

# Print version info
cloudctl version
cloudctl version --output json   # machine-readable

# Update cloudctl to the latest release
cloudctl update

Output formats

All commands accept -o / --output:

Value	Description
text	Human-readable (default). Interactive terminals get a spinner and styled table.
json	Indented JSON — suitable for jq pipelines.
yaml	YAML — suitable for GitOps tooling.

# Pipeline example
cloudctl version -o json | python3 -m json.tool
cloudctl sync -n <org> -o json | python3 -c "import sys,json; r=json.load(sys.stdin); print(r['synced'])"

Logging

Logs are written to stderr so they never pollute stdout pipelines. By default only info-level messages appear.

Flag	Values	Default
--log-level	debug, info, warn, error	info
--log-format	text, json	text

# Show debug logs while syncing
cloudctl sync -n <org> --log-level debug

# Structured JSON logs (useful in CI)
cloudctl sync -n <org> --log-level info --log-format json 2>sync.log

Configuration

Every flag can be set via an environment variable (prefix CLOUDCTL_, dashes become underscores) or a config file.

Environment variable example:

export CLOUDCTL_GREENHOUSE_CLUSTER_NAMESPACE=my-org
cloudctl sync

Config file — searched in order, first match wins:

1. Path given by --config or $CLOUDCTL_CONFIG
2. ./.cloudctl.yaml or ~/.cloudctl.yaml
3. ./cloudctl.yaml or ~/cloudctl.yaml
4. $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cloudctl/cloudctl.yaml or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cloudctl.yaml (falls back to ~/.config/cloudctl/cloudctl.yaml or ~/.config/cloudctl.yaml when $XDG_CONFIG_HOME is unset)

Example ~/.cloudctl.yaml:

greenhouse-cluster-namespace: my-org
greenhouse-cluster-kubeconfig: /home/user/.kube/greenhouse.yaml
auth-type: exec-plugin
log-level: info

Commands

sync

Fetches ClusterKubeconfig resources from Greenhouse and merges them into your local kubeconfig. Before connecting, it logs a summary to stderr showing which kubeconfig files, context, and namespace are in use.

The --greenhouse-cluster-kubeconfig and --remote-cluster-kubeconfig flags support the standard KUBECONFIG environment variable: when no explicit path is given, cloudctl defers to KUBECONFIG (multi-file merge, same as kubectl).

cloudctl sync -n <org> [flags]

Flags:
  -k, --greenhouse-cluster-kubeconfig   Path to Greenhouse cluster kubeconfig (default: $KUBECONFIG or ~/.kube/config)
  -c, --greenhouse-cluster-context      Context inside the Greenhouse kubeconfig
  -n, --greenhouse-cluster-namespace    Greenhouse organization namespace (required)
  -r, --remote-cluster-kubeconfig       Local kubeconfig to merge into (default: $KUBECONFIG or ~/.kube/config)
      --remote-cluster-name             Sync only this cluster (default: all ready clusters)
      --prefix                          Prefix for managed kubeconfig entries (default: cloudctl)
      --merge-identical-users           Share a single auth entry for clusters with identical OIDC config (default: true)
      --auth-type                       auth-provider or exec-plugin (default: exec-plugin)
      --kubelogin-path                  Path to kubelogin binary (default: kubelogin)
      --kubelogin-extra-args            Extra flags passed to kubelogin
      --kubelogin-token-cache-dir       OIDC token cache directory
      --dry-run                         Preview changes without writing to the kubeconfig file

cluster-version

Queries the Kubernetes server version for a given kubeconfig context. Tries an unauthenticated request first; falls back to an authenticated one if needed. Logs a summary to stderr showing the kubeconfig source and context before querying.

Respects the KUBECONFIG environment variable when no explicit --kubeconfig path is given.

cloudctl cluster-version [flags]

Flags:
  -k, --kubeconfig   Path to kubeconfig file (default: $KUBECONFIG or ~/.kube/config)
  -c, --context      Context to query
      --timeout      Maximum time to wait for the API server (default: 10s)

version

Prints cloudctl build information.

cloudctl version [flags]

Flags:
      --short   Print only the version number

update

Checks for the latest cloudctl release on GitHub and installs it, replacing the current binary.

cloudctl update [flags]

Flags:
      --check   Check for a newer version without installing it

Support, Feedback, Contributing

This project is open to feature requests, bug reports, and contributions via GitHub issues and pull requests. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Security / Disclosure

If you find a security issue, follow the instructions in our security policy. Do not open GitHub issues for security-related problems.

Code of Conduct

By participating in this project you agree to abide by the SAP Open Source Code of Conduct.

Licensing

Copyright 2025 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company and cloudctl contributors. See LICENSE for details. Third-party licensing information is available via the REUSE tool.