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What is Ankra CLI?

The Ankra CLI is a powerful command-line interface for interacting with the Ankra platform. It enables you to manage clusters, chat with AI about your infrastructure, browse Helm charts, manage credentials, deploy stacks, and automate platform operations directly from your terminal.

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Installation

bash <(curl -sL https://github.com/ankraio/ankra-cli/releases/latest/download/install.sh)
After installation, verify with: 
ankra --version

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Direct Download

Download the binary directly from GitHub Releases. 
chmod +x ankra
mv ankra ~/bin/ankra  # or /usr/local/bin/ankra

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Upgrading the CLI

The CLI can update itself in place with ankra upgrade (aliased as ankra self-update). The downloaded binary is verified against its published SHA-256 checksum before it replaces the running executable. 
# Upgrade to the latest stable release
ankra upgrade

# Check whether a newer release exists without installing
ankra upgrade --check

# Pin an exact version (also works as a downgrade / rollback)
ankra upgrade --version v0.3.0
FlagDescription
--version <tag>Install an exact release (e.g. v0.3.0 or 0.3.0); installs whether newer or older, so it doubles as a rollback
--checkReport whether a newer release is available without installing
--betaInclude pre-release versions for this run (overrides the saved channel)
--forceReinstall even if already on the target version
-y, --yesSkip the confirmation prompt
--allow-unverifiedInstall even when no checksum is published (insecure)
If the binary lives in a root-owned location, run sudo ankra upgrade or re-run the install script.

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Beta (pre-release) channel

Opt in to release candidates (such as v0.3.0-rc.1) so ankra upgrade resolves the newest release including pre-releases: 
ankra config beta enable    # opt in
ankra config beta status    # show current channel
ankra config beta disable   # back to stable only
The channel preference is stored locally in ~/.ankra/settings.json (separate from your credentials).

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Authentication

The easiest way to authenticate is using browser-based SSO: 
ankra login
This will:
  1. Open your browser to the Ankra login page
  2. After you authenticate, save your credentials locally
  3. You can then use all ankra CLI commands
Your credentials are saved to ~/.ankra.yaml. To logout and clear credentials: 
ankra logout

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Environment Variables (Alternative)

You can also use environment variables: 
export ANKRA_API_TOKEN=your-token-here
export ANKRA_BASE_URL=https://platform.ankra.app  # optional
Add to your shell profile (~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc) for persistence.

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Quick Start

# 1. Login with SSO
ankra login

# 2. List your clusters
ankra cluster list

# 3. Select a cluster to work with
ankra cluster select

# 4. Start chatting with AI about your infrastructure
ankra chat "What's the status of my deployments?"

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Machine-readable output (-o json|yaml)

Commands that read or return data support structured output via the shared -o/--output flag, so scripts and AI agents never have to parse tables or prose:
  • -o json prints the result as indented JSON; -o yaml emits the same data as YAML.
  • The kubectl-style commands (cluster get ..., cluster helm releases, cluster metrics ...) default to -o table and accept json/yaml as alternatives.
ankra cluster list -o json
ankra cluster operations list -o json
ankra cluster get pods -o json
ankra org list -o json
Write commands (reconcile, provision, deprovision, scaling, node groups, token creation, …) also accept -o json and emit the API result - including operation IDs - so automation can poll ankra cluster operations list <id> -o json for completion. Asynchronous writes submitted without --wait emit {"submitted": true, ...}.

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Command Reference

The full command reference - every command, subcommand, flag, and default - is generated from the CLI source on each release, so it never drifts:

CLI Command Reference

Browse all 18 command families: cluster, credentials, tokens, profile, org, chat, skills, and more.
Highlights:
TaskCommand
Apply an ImportCluster manifestankra cluster apply -f cluster.yaml
Watch operationsankra cluster operations list
Chat with the AI about live cluster stateankra chat "why is my pod crashing?"
Clone a stack between clustersankra cluster stacks clone
Encrypt secrets with SOPSankra cluster encrypt -f secrets.yaml
Provision a Hetzner clusterankra cluster hetzner create
Mint a kubeconfig contextankra cluster kubeconfig write
Manage 2FA and passkeysankra profile auth status

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Configuration

The CLI stores configuration in ~/.ankra.yaml: 
token: your-api-token
base-url: https://platform.ankra.app
token_id: token-uuid
token_name: ankra-cli-hostname-username
Token resolution priority (highest to lowest):
  1. --token flag (explicit CLI argument)
  2. Config file token (saved by ankra login)
  3. ANKRA_API_TOKEN environment variable
The base URL can be overridden with --base-url or the ANKRA_BASE_URL environment variable.

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Troubleshooting

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Common Issues

PATH issues: 
which ankra  # verify installation location
echo $PATH   # check PATH includes ankra location
Authentication errors: 
ankra logout  # clear credentials
ankra login   # re-authenticate
Check version: 
ankra --version
Get help: 
ankra --help
ankra cluster --help
ankra chat --help

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Error Messages

  • “No active cluster selected” Run ankra cluster select first
  • “Resource not found” Verify the resource name and selected cluster
  • “Unauthorized” Re-authenticate with ankra login

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Support & Resources

For more advanced usage, see the full documentation or contact support.