# Install kn with Homebrew, Nix

Command-line interface for managing Knative Serving and Eventing resources. Version 1.23.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-29. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#kn.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:kn
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install kn
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#kn
```

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

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:kn
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 1.23.0
- **Source summary:** Command-line interface for managing Knative Serving and Eventing resources
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/knative/client>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/knative/client>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-29T18:10:56Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- kn (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 1.23.0
## Project history and usage

`kn` is the official Knative command-line client, built to let users create and manage Knative Serving and Eventing resources without writing Kubernetes YAML by hand.

### Project history

Knative was released by Google in July 2018 as a serverless application layer on Kubernetes, with early collaboration from VMware, IBM, Red Hat, and SAP. The `kn` client emerged as the developer-facing command surface for that ecosystem; GitHub release data shows Knative Client v0.1.0 published on 2019-05-18.

The client documentation describes `kn` as an interface for Knative Services and Event Sources, including higher-level operations such as autoscaling and traffic splitting. The repository README also documents support for Serving resources, growing Eventing support, plugin architecture, and use from scripts or Tekton tasks.

### Adoption history

The client tracks Knative's own maturation. Knative 1.0 was announced in 2021 with over 600 contributors and described Knative as the most widely installed serverless layer on Kubernetes. CNCF accepted Knative as an incubating project on 2022-03-02 and later listed it as graduated on 2025-09-11, which strengthened `kn` as the default CLI interface for a vendor-neutral cloud-native project.

### How it is used

Users run `kn` to create services, list and inspect resources, split traffic between revisions, work with Eventing sources and triggers, and script Knative workflows. Its documented configuration uses `~/.config/kn/config.yaml` on Unix systems, while cluster credentials usually come from Kubernetes kubeconfig handling such as `~/.kube/config` or `KUBECONFIG`.

### Why package nerds care

`kn` matters because it packages a complex Kubernetes CRD ecosystem into a small Go CLI. For package maintainers, it is part of the broader pattern where cloud-native projects ship a narrowly scoped binary that wraps Kubernetes APIs while still relying on kubeconfig and shell completion conventions users already know.

### Timeline

- 2018-07: Google released Knative, later described by Knative 1.0 materials as developed with VMware, IBM, Red Hat, and SAP.
- 2019-05-18: Knative Client v0.1.0 published on GitHub.
- 2020-10-07: Knative Client v0.18.0 released with additional Eventing support.
- 2021: Knative 1.0 announced as a production-readiness milestone with over 600 contributors.
- 2022-03-02: CNCF accepted Knative as an incubating project.
- 2025-09-11: CNCF project page lists Knative as moving to graduated maturity.

### Related projects

- `kn` is related to Knative Serving, Knative Eventing, Kubernetes, kubectl plugin conventions, Tekton, CloudEvents, and distribution-specific serverless platforms such as OpenShift Serverless.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/knative/client/releases?per_page=100>
- <https://github.com/knative/client>
- <https://knative.dev/blog/releases/knative-1.0/>
- <https://knative.dev/docs/client/>
- <https://knative.dev/docs/client/configure-kn/>
- <https://knative.dev/docs/client/install-kn/>
- <https://www.cncf.io/projects/knative/>


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals


## 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: ~/.config/kn/config.yaml

## Credential files

- Unix: ~/.kube/config
## Other Package-Manager Records

- Nix - kn: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/kn/kn/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/kn.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/kn.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