# Install fleet-cli with Homebrew, zypper, Nix

Manage large fleets of Kubernetes clusters. Version 0.16.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-26. Also installable with zypper: sudo zypper install fleet-cli.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:fleet-cli
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install fleet-cli
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- zypper (92%):

```sh
sudo zypper install fleet-cli
```

  Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: fleet-cli from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#fleet
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/fl/fleet/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:fleet-cli
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.16.0
- **Source summary:** Manage large fleets of Kubernetes clusters
- **Homepage:** <https://fleet.rancher.io/>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/rancher/fleet>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-26T11:37:57+02:00
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- fleet (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.16.0
## Project history and usage

Fleet CLI is the command-line tool for Rancher Fleet, a Kubernetes GitOps and HelmOps system for deploying workloads from Git and local bundle sources across one or many clusters. The package matters because it exposes Fleet bundle creation, targeting, diffing, deployment, and diagnostics as a standalone binary.

### Project history

The rancher/fleet repository was created in 2020. The upstream README describes Fleet as GitOps and HelmOps at scale, designed for many clusters while still lightweight enough for a single cluster.

Fleet's design turns raw Kubernetes YAML, Helm charts, Kustomize trees, or combinations of those sources into Helm-backed deployments, emphasizing control, consistency, visibility, and auditability. The CLI documentation positions the `fleet` binary as a way to create, preview, target, and deploy bundles from local files without always requiring a GitRepo.

### Adoption history

Fleet is part of the Rancher/SUSE Kubernetes management ecosystem, so its adoption is tied to multi-cluster Kubernetes operations rather than a general-purpose developer CLI audience. The supplied package metadata records Homebrew, Nix, and zypper packaging, which matches its role as an operator/admin tool installed on workstations and CI environments.

### How it is used

Fleet CLI can create bundles from Helm charts, Kubernetes manifests, Kustomize directories, and `fleet.yaml` files. Documented commands include `fleet apply` for creating or previewing bundles, `fleet target` for evaluating cluster targeting rules, and `fleet deploy` for applying a targeted bundle to a cluster.

`fleet.yaml` adds bundle options; the docs state that any directory containing `fleet.yaml` is automatically turned into a bundle. The file can define namespace behavior, Helm options, Kustomize settings, target customizations, rollout behavior, dependencies, and monitoring ignore rules.

### Why package nerds care

Fleet CLI is package-nerd significant as a packaged Kubernetes control-plane companion: it is not the controller itself, but a local binary that lets operators inspect and reproduce Fleet's bundle pipeline. That makes it useful for debugging GitOps state, packaging release artifacts, and validating cluster targeting before controller reconciliation.

### Timeline

- 2020: rancher/fleet repository created.
- 2020s: Fleet documentation presents the project as GitOps and HelmOps at scale for Kubernetes clusters.
- 2020s: Fleet CLI documentation describes standalone local bundle workflows with `fleet apply`, `fleet target`, and `fleet deploy`.
- 2026: v0.15.x release line is current in the official documentation and GitHub releases metadata.

### Related projects

- Rancher and SUSE provide the broader Kubernetes management context.
- Helm, Kustomize, Kubernetes manifests, GitRepo resources, Bundle resources, fleet-controller, fleet-agent, and fleet-examples are central related components in the official docs.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/rancher/fleet>
- <https://fleet.rancher.io/>
- <https://fleet.rancher.io/how-tos-for-users/install-use-fleet-cli>
- <https://fleet.rancher.io/reference/ref-fleet-yaml>
- <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/fleet-cli>
- <https://github.com/rancher/fleet>
- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rancher/fleet/master/README.md>


## Security Notes

infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal.

- **Geiger risk:** orange / medium
- infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal


## Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.


## Configuration files

- Unix: fleet.yaml
## Other Package-Manager Records

- zypper - fleet-cli - 0.16.0-1.2: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: fleet-cli from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | CLI for the Rancher Fleet GitOps tooling | https://github.com/rancher/fleet
- zypper - fleet-cli-bash-completion - 0.16.0-1.2: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: fleet-cli-bash-completion from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | Bash Completion for fleet-cli | https://github.com/rancher/fleet
- zypper - fleet-cli-fish-completion - 0.16.0-1.2: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: fleet-cli-fish-completion from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | Fish Completion for fleet-cli | https://github.com/rancher/fleet
- zypper - fleet-cli-zsh-completion - 0.16.0-1.2: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: fleet-cli-zsh-completion from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | Zsh Completion for fleet-cli | https://github.com/rancher/fleet
- Nix - fleet: installed executable or alias match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/fl/fleet/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/fleet-cli.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/fleet-cli.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph