# kubectl

The [kubectl command-line tool](https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/overview/) is required by Octopus Deploy's Kubernetes features.

`kubectl` is not bundled with Octopus, and must be pre-installed on the [worker](/docs/infrastructure/workers/) or Octopus Server which will execute steps and health checks against a [Kubernetes target](/docs/kubernetes/targets/kubernetes-api). Alternatively, [execution containers](/docs/projects/steps/execution-containers-for-workers) may be used and we recommend using [`octopuslabs/k8s-workertools`](https://hub.docker.com/r/octopuslabs/k8s-workertools) Docker image, we also recommend setting the tag to a version that is compatible with the version of your cluster, [read the official version skew policy](https://kubernetes.io/releases/version-skew-policy/#kubectl) for more information.

By default, Octopus assumes `kubectl` is available in the PATH environment variable. A specific location for `kubectl` can be supplied by setting a `Octopus.Action.Kubernetes.CustomKubectlExecutable` variable in the Octopus project (an example value is `c:\tools\kubectl\version\kubectl.exe`).