Install akt CLI

Install the latest akt release, verify the binary, and create your first context.

This guide walks you through installing the binary, running the first-time setup, and enabling shell completion.

Install akt

Select your operating system:

MacOS

Option 1: Homebrew (recommended)

brew tap akash-network/tap
brew install akt

Option 2: release archive

Releases ship a universal binary that runs on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs (curl, jq, and unzip required):

# Get the latest release tag and version
AKT_TAG="$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/akash-network/akt/releases/latest | jq -r '.tag_name')"
AKT_VERSION="${AKT_TAG#v}"

# Download and verify the universal macOS archive
AKT_ARCHIVE="akt_${AKT_VERSION}_darwin_all.zip"
curl -sfLO "https://github.com/akash-network/akt/releases/download/${AKT_TAG}/${AKT_ARCHIVE}"
curl -sfLO "https://github.com/akash-network/akt/releases/download/${AKT_TAG}/akt_${AKT_VERSION}_checksums.txt"
grep " ${AKT_ARCHIVE}$" "akt_${AKT_VERSION}_checksums.txt" | shasum -a 256 -c -

# Extract the binary
unzip "${AKT_ARCHIVE}" akt

Move the binary

sudo mv ./akt /usr/local/bin/

Verify the installation

akt version

The command prints the version, commit, and build date. Add --long for the Go version, platform, and build tags.

Linux

Download the release archive

Releases ship amd64 and arm64 binaries (curl, jq, and unzip required):

# Get the latest release tag and version
AKT_TAG="$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/akash-network/akt/releases/latest | jq -r '.tag_name')"
AKT_VERSION="${AKT_TAG#v}"

# Map machine type to release architecture
AKT_ARCH="$(uname -m | sed 's/x86_64/amd64/; s/aarch64/arm64/')"

# Download and verify
AKT_ARCHIVE="akt_${AKT_VERSION}_linux_${AKT_ARCH}.zip"
curl -sfLO "https://github.com/akash-network/akt/releases/download/${AKT_TAG}/${AKT_ARCHIVE}"
curl -sfLO "https://github.com/akash-network/akt/releases/download/${AKT_TAG}/akt_${AKT_VERSION}_checksums.txt"
grep " ${AKT_ARCHIVE}$" "akt_${AKT_VERSION}_checksums.txt" | sha256sum --check

# Extract the binary
unzip "${AKT_ARCHIVE}" akt

Move the binary

sudo mv ./akt /usr/local/bin/

Option: native package

Releases also include .deb and .rpm packages. Set AKT_TAG, AKT_VERSION, and AKT_ARCH as shown above, then install the package for your distribution:

# Debian / Ubuntu
curl -sfLO "https://github.com/akash-network/akt/releases/download/${AKT_TAG}/akt_${AKT_VERSION}_linux_${AKT_ARCH}.deb"
sudo dpkg -i akt_${AKT_VERSION}_linux_${AKT_ARCH}.deb

# Fedora / RHEL
curl -sfLO "https://github.com/akash-network/akt/releases/download/${AKT_TAG}/akt_${AKT_VERSION}_linux_${AKT_ARCH}.rpm"
sudo rpm -i akt_${AKT_VERSION}_linux_${AKT_ARCH}.rpm

Verify the installation

akt version

The command prints the version, commit, and build date. Add --long for the Go version, platform, and build tags.

From Source

The Go module resolves its Akash chain SDK dependency from go.mod. You only need the akt repository:

# Clone akt
git clone https://github.com/akash-network/akt

# Build
cd akt
GOWORK=off make akt

The binary is placed in .cache/bin/akt. Move it somewhere in your PATH:

sudo mv .cache/bin/akt /usr/local/bin/

Requirements:

Go 1.26+
make

Verify Installation

akt version

First Run

On the first interactive launch, akt fetches available networks from akash-network/net and asks which ones to configure:

akt version

If no config exists, the bootstrap wizard runs before the command. It creates ~/.config/akt/config.yaml, sets up the first context, and offers Akash Console onboarding. The selected network’s current high gas price becomes the transaction fee floor.

Everything akt stores, including config, context credentials, keyrings, and deployment state, lives under ~/.config/akt by default. Set AKT_HOME to move it.

Shell Completion

Generate a completion script for your shell:

# Bash
akt completion bash > /etc/bash_completion.d/akt

# Zsh
akt completion zsh > "${fpath[1]}/_akt"

# Fish
akt completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/akt.fish

Restart your shell for completion to take effect.

Next Steps

Now that you’re set up, you can:

Contexts & Configuration - Configure contexts, networks, and keys
Deployments - Deploy your first application with akt deploy
Commands Reference - Learn all available commands

Troubleshooting

`akt` is not found

The binary isn’t in your PATH. Try:

# Find where it's installed
which akt

# Add to PATH (Linux/macOS)
export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/akt

macOS blocks the binary

If macOS Gatekeeper refuses to run the downloaded binary, remove the quarantine attribute:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /usr/local/bin/akt

Bootstrap cannot fetch networks

The first-run wizard needs network access to fetch network definitions. If you are offline or behind a restrictive proxy, create a network manually instead:

akt context network create local --chain-id localnet-1 --rpc http://localhost:26657

Need Help?

Release notes - Published versions and checksums
Akash Discord - Get help from the community
GitHub Issues - Report bugs