# Kata Containers installation user guides * [Prerequisites](#prerequisites) * [Packaged installation methods](#packaged-installation-methods) * [Supported Distributions](#supported-distributions) * [Official packages](#official-packages) * [Automatic Installation](#automatic-installation) * [Snap Installation](#snap-installation) * [Scripted Installation](#scripted-installation) * [Manual Installation](#manual-installation) * [Build from source installation](#build-from-source-installation) * [Installing on a Cloud Service Platform](#installing-on-a-cloud-service-platform) * [Further information](#further-information) The following is an overview of the different installation methods available. All of these methods equally result in a system configured to run Kata Containers. ## Prerequisites Kata Containers requires nested virtualization or bare metal. See the [hardware requirements](../../src/runtime/README.md#hardware-requirements) to see if your system is capable of running Kata Containers. ## Packaged installation methods > **Notes:** > > - Packaged installation methods uses your distribution's native package format (such as RPM or DEB). | Installation method | Description | Distributions supported | |------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------| | [Automatic](#automatic-installation) |Run a single command to install a full system |[see table](#supported-distributions) | | [Using snap](#snap-installation) |Easy to install and automatic updates |any distro that supports snapd | | [Using official distro packages](#official-packages) |Kata packages provided by Linux distributions official repositories |[see table](#supported-distributions) | | [Scripted](#scripted-installation) |Generates an installation script which will result in a working system when executed |[see table](#supported-distributions) | | [Manual](#manual-installation) |Allows the user to read a brief document and execute the specified commands step-by-step |[see table](#supported-distributions) | ### Supported Distributions Kata is packaged by the Kata community for: |Distribution (link to installation guide) | Versions | |-----------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |[Debian](debian-installation-guide.md) | 9, 10 | |[SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)](sles-installation-guide.md)| SLES 12 SP3 | |[Ubuntu](ubuntu-installation-guide.md) | 16.04, 18.04 | #### Official packages Kata packages are provided by official distribution repositories for: |Distribution (link to packages) | Versions | |-------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |[CentOS](centos-installation-guide.md) | 8 | |[Fedora](fedora-installation-guide.md) | 32, Rawhide | |[openSUSE](opensuse-installation-guide.md) | [Leap 15.1](opensuse-leap-15.1-installation-guide.md)
Leap 15.2, Tumbleweed | ### Automatic Installation [Use `kata-manager`](installing-with-kata-manager.md) to automatically install Kata packages. ### Snap Installation [![Get it from the Snap Store](https://snapcraft.io/static/images/badges/en/snap-store-black.svg)](https://snapcraft.io/kata-containers) [Use snap](snap-installation-guide.md) to install Kata Containers from https://snapcraft.io. ### Scripted Installation [Use `kata-doc-to-script`](installing-with-kata-doc-to-script.md) to generate installation scripts that can be reviewed before they are executed. ### Manual Installation Manual installation instructions are available for [these distributions](#supported-distributions) and document how to: 1. Add the Kata Containers repository to your distro package manager, and import the packages signing key. 2. Install the Kata Containers packages. 3. Install a supported container manager. 4. Configure the container manager to use `kata-runtime` as the default OCI runtime. Or, for Kata Containers 1.5.0 or above, configure the `io.containerd.kata.v2` to be the runtime shim (see [containerd runtime v2 (shim API)](https://github.com/containerd/containerd/tree/master/runtime/v2) and [How to use Kata Containers and CRI (containerd plugin) with Kubernetes](../how-to/how-to-use-k8s-with-cri-containerd-and-kata.md)). > **Notes on upgrading**: > - If you are installing Kata Containers on a system that already has Clear Containers or `runv` installed, > first read [the upgrading document](../Upgrading.md). > **Notes on releases**: > - [This download server](http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/katacontainers:/releases:/) > hosts the Kata Containers packages built by OBS for all the supported architectures. > Packages are available for the latest and stable releases (more info [here](../Stable-Branch-Strategy.md)). > > - The following guides apply to the latest Kata Containers release > (a.k.a. `master` release). > > - When choosing a stable release, replace all `master` occurrences in the URLs > with a `stable-x.y` version available on the [download server](http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/katacontainers:/releases:/). > **Notes on packages source verification**: > - The Kata packages hosted on the download server are signed with GPG to ensure integrity and authenticity. > > - The public key used to sign packages is available [at this link](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kata-containers/tests/master/data/rpm-signkey.pub); the fingerprint is `9FDC0CB6 3708CF80 3696E2DC D0B37B82 6063F3ED`. > > - Only trust the signing key and fingerprint listed in the previous bullet point. Do not disable GPG checks, > otherwise packages source and authenticity is not guaranteed. ## Build from source installation > **Notes:** > > - Power users who decide to build from sources should be aware of the > implications of using an unpackaged system which will not be automatically > updated as new [releases](../Stable-Branch-Strategy.md) are made available. [Building from sources](../Developer-Guide.md#initial-setup) allows power users who are comfortable building software from source to use the latest component versions. This is not recommended for normal users. ## Installing on a Cloud Service Platform * [Amazon Web Services (AWS)](aws-installation-guide.md) * [Google Compute Engine (GCE)](gce-installation-guide.md) * [Microsoft Azure](azure-installation-guide.md) * [Minikube](minikube-installation-guide.md) * [VEXXHOST OpenStack Cloud](vexxhost-installation-guide.md) ## Further information * The [upgrading document](../Upgrading.md). * The [developer guide](../Developer-Guide.md). * The [runtime documentation](../../src/runtime/README.md).