How to Install and Configure doctl
Step 1: Install doctl
Install doctl following the directions for your package manager or operating system:
To install the latest version of doctl using Homebrew on macOS, run:
brew install doctl
To install the latest version of doctl using Snap on Ubuntu or other supported operating systems, run:
sudo snap install doctl
For security purposes, Snaps run in complete isolation and need to be granted permission to interact with your system’s resources. Some doctl commands require additional permissions:
- Using
doctl’s integration withkubectlrequires thekube-configpersonal-files interface. To enable it, run:
sudo snap connect doctl:kube-config
- Using
doctl compute sshrequires the core ssh-keys interface. To enable it, run:
sudo snap connect doctl:ssh-keys :ssh-keys
- Using
doctl registry loginrequires thedot-dockerpersonal-files interface. To enable it, run:
sudo snap connect doctl:dot-docker
Visit the Releases page for the doctl GitHub project and find the appropriate archive for your operating system and architecture. Download the archive from your browser or copy its URL and retrieve it to your home directory with wget.
For example, to download the most recent version of doctl for Linux with wget, run:
cd ~
wget https://github.com/digitalocean/doctl/releases/download/v1.119.0/doctl-1.119.0-linux-amd64.tar.gz
Next, extract the binary. For example, to do so using tar, run:
tar xf ~/doctl-1.119.0-linux-amd64.tar.gz
Finally, move the doctl binary into your path by running:
sudo mv ~/doctl /usr/local/bin
Visit the Releases page for the doctl GitHub project and find the appropriate archive for your operating system and architecture. Download the archive from your browser or copy its URL and retrieve using PowerShell.
For example, to download the most recent version of doctl, run:
Invoke-WebRequest https://github.com/digitalocean/doctl/releases/download/v1.119.0/doctl-1.119.0-windows-amd64.zip -OutFile ~\doctl-1.119.0-windows-amd64.zip
Next, extract the binary by running:
Expand-Archive -Path ~\doctl-1.119.0-windows-amd64.zip
Finally, in a PowerShell terminal opened with Run as Administrator, move the doctl binary into a dedicated directory and add it to your system’s path by running:
New-Item -ItemType Directory $env:ProgramFiles\doctl\
Move-Item -Path ~\doctl-1.119.0-windows-amd64\doctl.exe -Destination $env:ProgramFiles\doctl\
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable(
"Path",
[Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path",
[EnvironmentVariableTarget]::Machine) + ";$env:ProgramFiles\doctl\",
[EnvironmentVariableTarget]::Machine)
$env:Path = [System.Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path","Machine")
Step 2: Create an API token
Create a DigitalOcean API token for your account with read and write access from the Applications & API page in the control panel. The token string is only displayed once, so save it in a safe place.
Step 3: Use the API token to grant account access to doctl
Note
doctl using the Ubuntu Snap package, you may need to first create the user configuration directory if it does not exist yet by running mkdir ~/.config.Use the API token to grant doctl access to your DigitalOcean account. Pass in the token string when prompted by doctl auth init, and give this authentication context a name.
doctl auth init --context <NAME>
Authentication contexts let you switch between multiple authenticated accounts. You can repeat steps 2 and 3 to add other DigitalOcean accounts, then list and switch between authentication contexts:
doctl auth list
doctl auth switch --context <NAME>
Step 4: Validate that doctl is working
Now that doctl is authorized to use your account, try some test commands.
To confirm that you have successfully authorized doctl, review your account details by running:
doctl account get
If successful, the output looks like:
Email Droplet Limit Email Verified UUID Status
[email protected] 10 true 3a56c5e109736b50e823eaebca85708ca0e5087c active
To confirm that you have successfully granted write access to doctl,
create an Ubuntu 24.04 Droplet in the SFO2 region by running:
doctl compute droplet create --region sfo2 --image ubuntu-24-04-x64 --size s-1vcpu-1gb <DROPLET-NAME>
The output of that command includes an ID column with the new Droplet’s ID. For example:
ID Name Public IPv4 Private IPv4 Public IPv6 Memory VCPUs Disk Region Image Status Tags Features Volumes
187949338 droplet-name 1024 1 25 sfo2 Ubuntu 24.04 (LTS) x64 new
Use that value to delete the Droplet by running:
doctl compute droplet delete <DROPLET-ID>
When prompted, type y to confirm that you would like to delete the Droplet.
Step 5: Install Serverless Functions support (Optional)
To use doctl with our serverless Functions product, you must first install a software extension, then use it to connect to the development namespace.
To install the support for serverless Functions, run the serverless install subcommand:
doctl serverless install
This downloads and installs the extension, providing status updates along the way:
Downloading...Unpacking...Installing...Cleaning up...
Done
You are now ready to create a namespace and deploy your functions. See the Functions Quickstart to get started.