Run the Civo CLI in Docker with persistent config and Kubernetes support

Civo's CLI utility can be run inside a Docker container, allowing you to keep your host system clean while still managing your infrastructure.

Step 1: Prepare configuration files

Create the required configuration files and directories:

1mkdir -p $HOME/.kube
2touch $HOME/.civo.json
3touch $HOME/.kube/config

The .civo.json file stores your API key, and the kubeconfig file enables Kubernetes access via kubectl.

Step 2: Run the Civo CLI in Docker

To persist your API key across runs, mount the config file into the container:

1docker run -it --rm \
2  -v $HOME/.civo.json:/.civo.json \
3  civo/cli:latest

Step 3: Enable Kubernetes support (kubectl included)

The Civo CLI image includes kubectl. To use it, mount your kubeconfig file into the container:

1docker run -it --rm \
2  -v $HOME/.civo.json:/.civo.json \
3  -v $HOME/.kube/config:/root/.kube/config \
4  civo/cli:latest

Without this mount, Kubernetes commands will not work because the container cannot access your cluster configuration.

Step 4: Set up a convenient alias

To simplify usage, you can create an alias so civo behaves like a locally installed CLI.

1alias civo="docker run -it --rm \
2  -v $HOME/.civo.json:/.civo.json \
3  -v $HOME/.kube/config:/root/.kube/config \
4  civo/cli:latest"

Add this line to your shell config file:

• ~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_profile
• ~/.zshrc

Then reload your shell:

1source ~/.bashrc

Step 5: Initialize your API key

On first run, you’ll need to add your API key:

1civo apikey add

This will populate your mounted .civo.json file so credentials persist between runs.

Step 6: Example usage

Once the alias is set up, you can use the CLI normally:

1civo sshkey list
2civo instance list
3civo instance create --size g4s.xsmall
4civo k8s list

Summary

By running the Civo CLI in Docker with mounted config files, you get:

• Persistent authentication
• Built-in Kubernetes tooling via kubectl
• A clean host environment with no local installation required