Quick EKS Cluster Setup with eksctl: A Step-by-Step Guide

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Introduction

Most EKS tutorials either go too deep or stay too high level.

You’ll see:

• Long Terraform setups
• Complex IAM explanations
• Too many AWS details

But in reality, getting started with EKS comes down to a simple flow:

👉 Create cluster → Add nodes → Deploy app

This guide focuses on that exact flow using real commands.

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1. What you need before starting

Before creating an EKS cluster, make sure you have:

• AWS account ✅
• AWS CLI installed ✅
• kubectl installed ✅
• eksctl installed ✅

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Basic verification commands

aws --version
kubectl version --client
eksctl version

If these work → you’re ready.

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For eksctl installation, please follow below steps

2. Installing eksctl (Simple Setup Guide)

Before creating an EKS cluster, you need the eksctl CLI, which is the official tool used to create and manage EKS clusters.

It simplifies a complex setup into a few commands.

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✅ Prerequisite: AWS CLI configured

First, make sure AWS CLI is installed and configured.

aws --version

If not configured, run:

aws configure

Enter:

• Access Key
• Secret Key
• Default region

👉 eksctl relies on AWS credentials to create clusters [docs.aws.amazon.com]

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Install eksctl based on your system

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💻 Linux (quick install)

curl --silent --location "https://github.com/eksctl-io/eksctl/releases/latest/download/eksctl_$(uname -s)_amd64.tar.gz" | tar xz -C /tmp
sudo mv /tmp/eksctl /usr/local/bin

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🍎 macOS (recommended)

brew tap weaveworks/tap
brew install weaveworks/tap/eksctl

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🪟 Windows (simple approach)

Download the latest version from GitHub and:

• Extract the zip file
• Add it to your system PATH

OR install using:

choco install eksctl

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✅ Verify installation

After installation, confirm eksctl is working:

eksctl version

✅ If you see a version → installation successful

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✅ Quick test command

You can run:

eksctl get cluster

👉 If no error appears, your setup is ready for cluster creation.

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✅ Why eksctl matters

Without eksctl, setting up EKS requires:

• VPC configuration
• IAM setup
• Node group creation
• Networking setup

With eksctl:

👉 A single command can create a full cluster

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2. Creating your first EKS cluster

The easiest way is using eksctl.

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Command to create cluster

eksctl create cluster \
--name infradecode-cluster \
--region us-west-2 \
--node-type t3.medium \
--nodes 2

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What this does

This single command:

• Creates EKS control plane (managed by AWS)
• Creates 2 worker nodes (EC2)
• Configures networking automatically

👉 This is why EKS is powerful — setup is simplified.

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3. Connecting to your cluster

After cluster creation, configure kubectl:

aws eks --region us-west-2 update-kubeconfig --name infradecode-cluster

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Verify cluster access

kubectl get nodes

✅ You should see your nodes in Ready state

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4. Deploy your first application

Now we test if everything works.

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Create a simple deployment

kubectl create deployment nginx --image=nginx

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Expose service

kubectl expose deployment nginx --type=LoadBalancer --port=80

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Check resources

kubectl get pods
kubectl get svc

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👉 Your application is now running inside EKS.

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5. How EKS actually works behind the scenes

Even though setup looks simple, internally:

• AWS manages control plane (API server, etcd)
• You manage nodes and workloads
• Kubernetes schedules Pods automatically

👉 You still use normal Kubernetes commands.

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6. Common issues beginners face

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❌ Nodes not visible

Check:

kubectl get nodes

If empty → kubeconfig issue

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❌ Pods stuck in Pending

Check:

kubectl describe pod <pod-name>

Usually:

• Resource issue
• Networking issue

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❌ Service not accessible

Check:

kubectl get svc

Wait for external IP (LoadBalancer can take time).

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7. Cleaning up (IMPORTANT to avoid costs)

Always delete cluster after testing.

eksctl delete cluster --name infradecode-cluster --region us-west-2

👉 Otherwise AWS will keep charging.

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8. When should you use EKS?

Use EKS when:

• You want Kubernetes without managing control plane
• You are working in AWS ecosystem
• You need production-ready cluster

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🚀 InfraDecode Takeaway

EKS simplifies Kubernetes setup by managing the control plane for you.
But you still manage nodes, applications, and debugging.
Think of EKS as reducing setup complexity, not Kubernetes complexity.
Learn core Kubernetes first, then EKS becomes much easier to use.