Install Aerospike Backup Control (absctl)

This page describes how to install Aerospike Backup Control (absctl) and run from a container for testing or production.

Aerospike Backup Control is the command-line tool for on-demand Aerospike backup and restore operations. Use absctl backup to create backup files and absctl restore to restore or validate those backups.

For a guided end-to-end example, see the Aerospike Backup Control Quickstart.

Choose an installation method

Select a method based on your environment and whether you require a managed, containerized, or custom build:

• Pre-built downloads for a standard local installation
• Docker to run absctl without installing the tool on your host
• Build from source if you need a development build or want to modify the tool for your use case

Pre-built downloads

Download pre-built release files from GitHub Releases. Select your platform and architecture:

Linux x86_64

Each Linux package is built for a specific distribution. Choose the file whose distribution tag matches your system. The examples use el9. The available tags are el8, el9, el10, and amzn2023 for RPM, and ubuntu22.04, ubuntu24.04, ubuntu26.04, debian11, debian12, and debian13 for DEB.

# Download
wget https://github.com/aerospike/absctl/releases/download/v1.2.0/absctl-1.2.0-1.el9.x86_64.rpm

# Install (RHEL/CentOS/Fedora)
sudo rpm -i absctl-1.2.0-1.el9.x86_64.rpm

Linux aarch64

Each Linux package is built for a specific distribution. Choose the file whose distribution tag matches your system. The examples use el9. The available tags are the same as for Linux x86_64.

# Download
wget https://github.com/aerospike/absctl/releases/download/v1.2.0/absctl-1.2.0-1.el9.aarch64.rpm

# Install (RHEL/CentOS/Fedora)
sudo rpm -i absctl-1.2.0-1.el9.aarch64.rpm

macOS arm64

absctl 1.2.0 adds a macOS installer package for Apple silicon. The package is signed and notarized, so it installs without a Gatekeeper prompt. The installer places absctl in /usr/local/bin.

# Download
curl -LO https://github.com/aerospike/absctl/releases/download/v1.2.0/absctl-1.2.0-macos-arm64.pkg

# Install
sudo installer -pkg absctl-1.2.0-macos-arm64.pkg -target /

The package file name uses the version without the leading v, unlike the release tag in the download URL.

macOS x86_64

The absctl macOS installer supports Apple silicon only. Intel Macs are not supported. On an Intel Mac, run absctl from the Docker image or build it from source.

Docker

Run absctl from a Docker container without installing locally.

docker run -it --rm \
-v ./data:/data/backup \
aerospike/absctl:1.2.0 \
absctl --help

See the quickstart for a complete Docker example.

Build from source

Build absctl from source when you need custom modifications or the latest development version.

1. Clone the absctl GitHub repository.

   git clone https://github.com/aerospike/absctl.git

2. Navigate to the repository root.

   cd absctl

3. Build absctl.

   make build

4. Optionally, build .rpm and .deb packages for supported Linux architectures (linux/amd64, linux/arm64).

   make packages

   The generated packages and their sha256 checksum files appear in the /target directory.

To verify that absctl is available after installation, run:

absctl --help

Get started

• Follow the absctl quickstart to test out the tools.
• For backup instructions, see Backup (absctl backup).
• For restore instructions, see Restore (absctl restore).
• For Secret Agent integration, see Secret usage with backup and restore.