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Apache Cassandra

Installing Cassandra

Preview | Unofficial | For review only

Choose the install path that matches your goal. Docker is good for quick evaluation, tarballs are good for manual installs without root, and packages are the usual choice for production hosts.

Supported Platforms

Apache Cassandra runs on these Linux distributions:

  • AlmaLinux

  • Amazon Linux AMIs

  • Debian

  • RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

  • SUSE Enterprise Linux

  • Ubuntu

That list is not exhaustive. Test less common distributions before you use them in production.

Prerequisites

  • JDK 21 is recommended for Cassandra 6

  • JDK 17 is the minimum supported runtime

  • Python 3.8 to 3.11 is required for cqlsh

Choose an Installation Method

Method Best For Notes

Docker

Local evaluation and development

Fastest way to get a single node running.

Tarball

Development, labs, and hosts without package management

No root required. The archive unpacks into a versioned directory.

Package

Production installs on supported Linux distributions

Use your platform package manager and start Cassandra as a service.

Install with Docker

  1. Pull the image:

docker pull cassandra:latest

  1. Start Cassandra:

docker run --name cassandra -d -p 9042:9042 cassandra:latest

  1. Connect with cqlsh:

docker exec -it cassandra cqlsh

Install from a Tarball

  1. Download the tarball for the Cassandra release you want.

  2. Verify the archive if your process requires it.

  3. Unpack the archive:

tar -xzf apache-cassandra-<version>-bin.tar.gz

The files unpack into apache-cassandra-<version>/.

  1. Start Cassandra:

cd apache-cassandra-<version>
bin/cassandra -f

Install as a Package

  1. Add the Cassandra package repository for your distribution.

  2. Install the package with apt, yum, or your platform equivalent.

  3. Start Cassandra with your service manager.

After startup, verify the node with nodetool status and cqlsh.