aws-kubectl Docker Image

Contents

• aws-kubectl Docker Image
  • Contents
  • Why this image?
  • Prerequisites
  • Getting started
  • Pinning guidance
  • Features
    • Typical use cases
  • Supply chain
    • Verifying signatures
  • Tag management
  • Breaking Changes in v2.0
    • For most users: no changes needed
    • For users mounting volumes
    • Staying on v1.x
  • Mounting credentials
  • Running the Container
    • Execute commands directly (no shell)
  • Build Instructions
    • Local single-arch (dev)
    • Pin a specific kubectl
    • Stamp revision and build date (recommended for release builds)
    • Multi-arch build & push (amd64 + arm64)
  • Local Build & Test (using the repo script)
    • Optional “real” checks (with mounted config)
  • Security Notes
  • Run as root (override)
  • Standardization reference
  • About the maintainer

This image streamlines work with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Kubernetes by bundling AWS CLI v2 (aws) and kubectl on Ubuntu 24.04. It also includes jq, curl, unzip, and envsubst (from gettext-base). Perfect for CI/CD steps, automation, and reproducible local scripting.

🐳 Docker Hub: heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl

Why this image?

Need	This image	amazon/aws-cli	bitnami/kubectl	Alpine + scripts
AWS CLI v2	✅	✅	❌	manual
kubectl	✅	❌	✅	manual
jq, envsubst, curl, unzip	✅	❌	❌	manual
Multi-arch (amd64/arm64)	✅	✅	✅	depends
Cosign signatures	✅	✅	❌	❌
SBOM (SPDX)	✅	❌	❌	❌
SLSA build provenance	✅	❌	❌	❌
OpenSSF Scorecard	7.8/10	N/A	N/A	N/A
Non-root default (UID 10001)	✅ (v2.0+)	❌	❌	depends
Weekly base rebuild	✅	✅	✅	manual

One image instead of three. Full supply-chain attestations. OpenShift-compatible out of the box.

Prerequisites

• Docker installed locally. Quick check: docker version. The image ships AWS CLI v2 and kubectl inside, so you don't need either installed on your host. Multi-arch (amd64 + arm64) — works on Linux, macOS (Intel + Apple Silicon), Windows + WSL2.
• (Optional) AWS credentials in ~/.aws/ if you want to run AWS commands. Create with aws configure from any machine that has aws-cli — or copy from an existing setup. The image mounts the dir read-only by convention.
• (Optional) kubeconfig in ~/.kube/ if you want to run kubectl commands against an existing cluster. Create with aws eks update-kubeconfig --name <cluster> or your tool of choice.

You can also run the container with no mounts for aws --version, kubectl version --client, or any tool that doesn't need cloud/cluster credentials.

Getting started

# List S3 buckets (requires ~/.aws)
docker run --rm --user "$(id -u):0" \
  -v ~/.aws:/home/app/.aws \
  heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl aws s3 ls

# Get Kubernetes nodes (requires ~/.kube)
docker run --rm --user "$(id -u):0" \
  -v ~/.kube:/home/app/.kube \
  heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl kubectl get nodes

# Interactive shell with both
docker run -it --user "$(id -u):0" \
  -v ~/.aws:/home/app/.aws \
  -v ~/.kube:/home/app/.kube \
  heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl bash

Runs as non-root by default (UID 10001). See Mounting credentials for permission details.

🚨 Existing v1.x user and v2.0 broke your workflow? Pin heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl:v1-maintenance for security updates through July 2026. Migration details →

Pinning guidance

For production use, pin to immutable semver tags:

• ✅ Stable: heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl:2.0.0 — immutable on Docker Hub, never purged
• ⚠️ Fragile: heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl:sha-1dfda81 — short-SHA tags are deleted after 90 days

If you pin by manifest digest (recommended for maximum supply chain integrity), make sure the digest is also referenced by a semver tag. Otherwise the digest may become unpullable once short-SHA cleanup runs. To resolve a tag to its current digest:

docker buildx imagetools inspect heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl:2.0.0 \
  --format '{{.Manifest.Digest}}'

Features

• Ubuntu 24.04 base for stability.
• AWS CLI v2 for full AWS management.
• kubectl (pin a specific version or use the latest stable at build time).
• jq, curl, unzip, envsubst, and ca-certificates preinstalled.
• Multi-stage build: build-only intermediates (AWS CLI zip, extracted tree, kubectl archive) never enter the final image.
• Checksum verification for kubectl during build.
• Multi-arch ready (amd64/arm64) when built/pushed with buildx.
• OCI labels (org.opencontainers.image.*) on every published image.
• Resolved kubectl version written to /etc/kube-version inside the image.

Default user is non-root (UID 10001, GID 0) as of v2.0. If you need root — e.g. to install additional apt packages at runtime — override with --user 0:0. See Breaking Changes in v2.0 for migration details.

Typical use cases

• GitHub Actions / GitLab CI pipelines — one image instead of installing aws-cli + kubectl + jq separately in every job
• EKS cluster operations — AWS auth via aws-cli, then kubectl against the cluster, in a single container
• OpenShift / restricted PodSecurityPolicy environments — non-root default (UID 10001, GID 0) works out of the box
• Multi-cluster scripting — consistent tooling across dev/staging/prod kubeconfigs
• Air-gapped or restricted networks — pre-built image with checksum-verified binaries, no runtime curl | bash

Supply chain

• Base image pinned by sha256 digest (ubuntu:24.04@sha256:…). Dependabot's docker ecosystem bumps the digest weekly.
• Multi-stage Dockerfile keeps build-only intermediate artefacts (the downloaded AWS CLI archive, extracted tree, kubectl tarball, and checksum file) out of the published image.
• kubectl binaries are verified against the upstream sha256 checksum published at dl.k8s.io during build.
• Weekly scheduled rebuilds pick up Ubuntu base-image security updates (cron: "0 6 * * 1").
• CI lints the Dockerfile with hadolint and shell scripts with shellcheck before any build runs.
• All third-party GitHub Actions are pinned to a commit SHA with a version comment.
• Build arguments VCS_REF and BUILD_DATE are stamped into org.opencontainers.image.revision and org.opencontainers.image.created, and the resolved kubectl release is exposed via io.heyvaldemar.kubectl.version and /etc/kube-version.
• Every published digest is cosign-signed via Sigstore keyless OIDC using the GitHub Actions identity for this repository.
• SBOM (SPDX, generated by BuildKit) and SLSA build provenance (provenance: mode=max) are attached to every published image.
• GitHub native build provenance is attested via actions/attest-build-provenance and stored in GitHub Attestations. Registry push is disabled because Docker Hub's OCI referrer credential handoff proved unreliable in early Phase 2 hotfix testing — see CHANGELOG [2.0.0] CI section for context.
• Trivy scans the published image on every push; CRITICAL and HIGH fixable findings are uploaded as SARIF to the repository's GitHub Security tab.

Verifying signatures

cosign verify heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl:latest \
  --certificate-identity-regexp "https://github.com/heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl-docker/.*" \
  --certificate-oidc-issuer "https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com"

Tag management

Tags fall into five categories:

• Exact semver (:2.0.0, :v2.0.0) — immutable on Docker Hub; the digest under these tags never changes after first push. Recommended for production pins.
• Rolling semver (:2.0, :2) — mutable; re-targets to the newest patch (and minor) within the major on each release. Kept forever.
• Floating channels (:latest, :edge, :v1-maintenance) — updated on every main build; kept forever.
• Kubernetes-version pin (:kube-v1.36.0) — generated only on semver releases. Tracks the kubectl release packaged into the image at the time of that release. Immutable on Docker Hub; kept forever.
• Short-SHA builds (:sha-<7char>) — produced by CI for every commit to main. Immutable while live; retained for 90 days, then automatically deleted by the Docker Hub Tag Cleanup workflow.

Cosign signatures (:sha256-<digest>.sig) are managed by Sigstore and are not deleted.

Breaking Changes in v2.0

Starting with v2.0.0, this image runs as a non-root user (UID 10001, GID 0) by default. This aligns with modern container security best practices and is required for compatibility with OpenShift, restricted Kubernetes PodSecurityPolicy profiles, and enterprise security scanners.

For most users: no changes needed

If you use this image for one-off CI commands (aws s3 sync, kubectl apply), v2.0 works identically to v1.x.

For users mounting volumes

If you mount a host directory or Kubernetes PVC, you may need to adjust file ownership or run the container with a matching UID:

Docker:

docker run --rm -v "$PWD:/home/app" --user "$(id -u):0" \
  heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl:latest aws s3 ls

Kubernetes:

spec:
  securityContext:
    runAsUser: 10001
    runAsGroup: 0
    fsGroup: 0

Staying on v1.x

If v2.0 breaks your workflow and you need time to migrate, pin to the v1 maintenance track:

docker pull heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl:v1-maintenance

The v1-maintenance tag will receive security updates through July 20, 2026, after which it will be frozen.

Mounting credentials

• ~/.aws – AWS credentials/config (credentials, config). Mount to /home/app/.aws inside the container.
• ~/.kube – kubeconfig(s). Mount to /home/app/.kube inside the container.

The container's default user is UID 10001 with HOME=/home/app. Pass --user "$(id -u):0" when mounting host files so the container can read them.

Running the Container

Interactive shell with both configs (mount under /home/app — the non-root user's HOME — and match your host UID so the container can read the mounted files):

docker run -it \
  --user "$(id -u):0" \
  -v ~/.aws:/home/app/.aws \
  -v ~/.kube:/home/app/.kube \
  heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl bash

If you pulled an amd64-only tag on an ARM/M-series Mac:

docker run --platform linux/amd64 -it \
  --user "$(id -u):0" \
  -v ~/.aws:/home/app/.aws \
  -v ~/.kube:/home/app/.kube \
  heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl bash

Execute commands directly (no shell)

# List S3 buckets
docker run --rm \
  --user "$(id -u):0" \
  -v ~/.aws:/home/app/.aws \
  heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl aws s3 ls

# Get Kubernetes nodes
docker run --rm \
  --user "$(id -u):0" \
  -v ~/.kube:/home/app/.kube \
  heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl kubectl get nodes

Build Instructions

The Dockerfile accepts the following build arguments:

ARG	Default	Purpose
KUBE_VERSION	latest	Pin a specific kubectl release (e.g. v1.30.6). latest fetches the current stable from dl.k8s.io.
VCS_REF	unknown	Commit SHA, stamped into org.opencontainers.image.revision.
BUILD_DATE	unknown	ISO-8601 build timestamp, stamped into org.opencontainers.image.created.
TARGETARCH	auto	Target architecture (amd64/arm64). Supplied automatically by buildx.

Local single-arch (dev)

# From the folder with the Dockerfile
docker build -t aws-kubectl:local .

Pin a specific kubectl

docker build --build-arg KUBE_VERSION=v1.30.6 \
  -t aws-kubectl:local .

If KUBE_VERSION is omitted, the build fetches the latest stable from dl.k8s.io.

Stamp revision and build date (recommended for release builds)

docker build \
  --build-arg KUBE_VERSION=v1.30.6 \
  --build-arg VCS_REF="$(git rev-parse HEAD)" \
  --build-arg BUILD_DATE="$(date -u +'%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')" \
  -t aws-kubectl:local .

Multi-arch build & push (amd64 + arm64)

docker buildx create --name x --use || docker buildx use x

# Generic tag (no OS name in the tag)
docker buildx build \
  --platform linux/amd64,linux/arm64 \
  --build-arg VCS_REF="$(git rev-parse HEAD)" \
  --build-arg BUILD_DATE="$(date -u +'%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')" \
  -t heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl:latest \
  --push .

# Or pin kubectl in a tag users can reason about
KUBE_VERSION=v1.30.6
docker buildx build \
  --platform linux/amd64,linux/arm64 \
  --build-arg KUBE_VERSION=$KUBE_VERSION \
  --build-arg VCS_REF="$(git rev-parse HEAD)" \
  --build-arg BUILD_DATE="$(date -u +'%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')" \
  -t heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl:kube-$KUBE_VERSION \
  --push .

Verify:

docker buildx imagetools inspect heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl:latest

Optional supply-chain flags (if you want SBOM/provenance): --sbom=true --provenance=true

Local Build & Test (using the repo script)

This repo includes scripts/smoke-test.sh to validate the tools in the image.

1. Build locally

docker build -t aws-kubectl:local .

2. Run the smoke test

chmod +x scripts/smoke-test.sh
./scripts/smoke-test.sh                # defaults to aws-kubectl:local
./scripts/smoke-test.sh your/tag:dev   # test any tag you pass

The script checks:

• OS/arch
• Versions: AWS CLI, kubectl (client), jq, envsubst, curl, unzip
• That /etc/kube-version matches kubectl version --client
• Binary locations & CA bundle
• HTTPS reachability (header-only)
• (Optional) AWS STS + kubectl cluster calls if you mount ~/.aws / ~/.kube

Quick verification one-liners (click to expand)

IMG=aws-kubectl:local

# OS/arch
docker run --rm $IMG sh -lc 'uname -a; echo -n "Arch: "; uname -m'

# Core tools & versions
docker run --rm $IMG aws --version
docker run --rm $IMG kubectl version --client --output=yaml
docker run --rm $IMG jq --version
docker run --rm $IMG envsubst --version
docker run --rm $IMG sh -c 'curl --version | head -n1'
docker run --rm $IMG sh -c 'unzip -v | head -n2'

# Resolved kubectl release stamped at build time
docker run --rm $IMG cat /etc/kube-version

# Binaries present where expected
docker run --rm $IMG sh -c 'ls -l /usr/local/bin/kubectl; for b in aws jq envsubst curl unzip; do command -v "$b"; done'

# CA bundle present + HTTPS sanity
docker run --rm $IMG sh -c 'ls -lh /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt'
docker run --rm $IMG sh -c 'curl -fsSI -o /dev/null -w "HTTPS OK (%{http_code})\n" https://kubernetes.io'

Optional “real” checks (with mounted config)

# AWS identity (requires valid creds)
docker run --rm --user "$(id -u):0" \
  -v ~/.aws:/home/app/.aws \
  aws-kubectl:local aws sts get-caller-identity

# Current k8s context & nodes (requires valid kubeconfig)
docker run --rm --user "$(id -u):0" \
  -v ~/.kube:/home/app/.kube \
  aws-kubectl:local kubectl config current-context

docker run --rm --user "$(id -u):0" \
  -v ~/.kube:/home/app/.kube \
  aws-kubectl:local kubectl get nodes -o wide

Security Notes

• Runs as non-root by default (UID 10001, GID 0) as of v2.0.
• kubectl binaries are checksum-verified during build.
• APT is minimal (--no-install-recommends) and lists are cleaned.
• Pin KUBE_VERSION in CI for reproducibility.

Run as root (override)

If a specific workflow requires root inside the container (e.g. installing additional apt packages at runtime, or restoring pre-v2.0 behaviour), override the user:

docker run --rm --user 0:0 heyvaldemar/aws-kubectl bash

Standardization reference

The patterns in this image are codified as a reusable standard at heyvaldemar/self-host-repo-hardening-runbook → IMAGE-PUBLISHING-RUNBOOK.md. If you maintain a Dockerfile-based repo and want to follow the same standard, the runbook covers:

• Multi-stage Dockerfile with base-image digest pinning
• Full OCI labels (org.opencontainers.image.*)
• BuildKit attestations (SBOM + SLSA provenance: mode=max)
• Cosign keyless signing via Sigstore (with rationale for pinning Cosign v2.6.1 over v3.x)
• Tag retention + Docker Hub immutability policy
• Weekly base-image rebuild via cron
• Pinning guidance documentation for downstream consumers

Six mandatory phases plus an optional non-root migration phase for repos with existing :latest audiences. Eight production-grounded pitfalls drawn from this repo's own PR history.

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About the maintainer

Maintained by Vladimir Mikhalev — Docker Captain · IBM Champion · AWS Community Builder

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