minikube start

minikube is local Kubernetes, focusing on making it easy to learn and develop for Kubernetes.

All you need is Docker (or similarly compatible) container or a Virtual Machine environment, and Kubernetes is a single command away: minikube start

What you’ll need

1Installation

Click on the buttons that describe your target platform. For other architectures, see the release page for a complete list of minikube binaries.

Operating system

Linux macOS Windows

Architecture

x86-64 ARM64 ARMv7 ppc64 S390x

Release type

Stable Beta

Installer type

Binary download Debian package RPM package

Installer type

Binary download Debian package RPM package

Release type

Stable Beta

Installer type

Binary download Debian package RPM package

Installer type

Binary download Debian package RPM package

Release type

Stable Beta

Installer type

Binary download Debian package RPM package

Installer type

Binary download Debian package RPM package

Release type

Stable Beta

Installer type

Binary download Debian package RPM package

Installer type

Binary download Debian package RPM package

Release type

Stable Beta

Installer type

Binary download Debian package RPM package

Installer type

Binary download Debian package RPM package

Architecture

x86-64 ARM64

Release type

Stable Beta

Installer type

Binary download Homebrew

Installer type

Binary download

Release type

Stable Beta

Installer type

Binary download Homebrew

Installer type

Binary download

Architecture

x86-64

Release type

Stable Beta

Installer type

.exe download Windows Package Manager Chocolatey

Installer type

.exe download

To install the latest minikube stable release on x86-64 Linux using binary download:

  1. curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-linux-amd64
  2. sudo install minikube-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/minikube

To install the latest minikube beta release on x86-64 Linux using binary download:

  1. r=https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/minikube/releases
  2. curl -LO $(curl -s $r | grep -o 'http.*download/v.*beta.*/minikube-linux-amd64' | head -n1)
  3. sudo install minikube-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/minikube

To install the latest minikube stable release on x86-64 Linux using Debian package:

  1. curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube_latest_amd64.deb
  2. sudo dpkg -i minikube_latest_amd64.deb

To install the latest minikube beta release on x86-64 Linux using Debian package:

  1. r=https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/minikube/releases
  2. u=$(curl -s $r | grep -o 'http.*download/v.*beta.*/minikube_.*_amd64.deb' | head -n1)
  3. curl -L $u > minikube_beta_amd64.deb && sudo dpkg -i minikube_beta_amd64.deb

To install the latest minikube stable release on x86-64 Linux using RPM package:

  1. curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-latest.x86_64.rpm
  2. sudo rpm -Uvh minikube-latest.x86_64.rpm

To install the latest minikube beta release on x86-64 Linux using RPM package:

  1. r=https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/minikube/releases
  2. u=$(curl -s $r | grep -o 'http.*download/v.*beta.*/minikube-.*.x86_64.rpm' | head -n1)
  3. curl -L $u > minikube-beta.x86_64.rpm && sudo rpm -Uvh minikube-beta.x86_64.rpm

To install the latest minikube stable release on ARM64 Linux using binary download:

  1. curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-linux-arm64
  2. sudo install minikube-linux-arm64 /usr/local/bin/minikube

To install the latest minikube beta release on ARM64 Linux using binary download:

  1. r=https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/minikube/releases
  2. curl -LO $(curl -s $r | grep -o 'http.*download/v.*beta.*/minikube-linux-arm64' | head -n1)
  3. sudo install minikube-linux-arm64 /usr/local/bin/minikube

To install the latest minikube stable release on ARM64 Linux using Debian package:

  1. curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube_latest_arm64.deb
  2. sudo dpkg -i minikube_latest_arm64.deb

To install the latest minikube beta release on ARM64 Linux using Debian package:

  1. r=https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/minikube/releases
  2. u=$(curl -s $r | grep -o 'http.*download/v.*beta.*/minikube_.*_arm64.deb' | head -n1)
  3. curl -L $u > minikube_beta_arm64.deb && sudo dpkg -i minikube_beta_arm64.deb

To install the latest minikube stable release on ARM64 Linux using RPM package:

  1. curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-latest.aarch64.rpm
  2. sudo rpm -Uvh minikube-latest.aarch64.rpm

To install the latest minikube beta release on ARM64 Linux using RPM package:

  1. r=https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/minikube/releases
  2. u=$(curl -s $r | grep -o 'http.*download/v.*beta.*/minikube-.*.aarch64.rpm' | head -n1)
  3. curl -L $u > minikube-beta.aarch64.rpm && sudo rpm -Uvh minikube-beta.aarch64.rpm

To install the latest minikube stable release on ppc64 Linux using binary download:

  1. curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-linux-ppc64le
  2. sudo install minikube-linux-ppc64le /usr/local/bin/minikube

To install the latest minikube beta release on ppc64 Linux using binary download:

  1. r=https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/minikube/releases
  2. curl -LO $(curl -s $r | grep -o 'http.*download/v.*beta.*/minikube-linux-ppc64le' | head -n1)
  3. sudo install minikube-linux-ppc64le /usr/local/bin/minikube

To install the latest minikube stable release on ppc64 Linux using Debian package:

  1. curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube_latest_ppc64le.deb
  2. sudo dpkg -i minikube_latest_ppc64le.deb

To install the latest minikube beta release on ppc64 Linux using Debian package:

  1. r=https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/minikube/releases
  2. u=$(curl -s $r | grep -o 'http.*download/v.*beta.*/minikube_.*_ppc64le.deb' | head -n1)
  3. curl -L $u > minikube_beta_ppc64le.deb && sudo dpkg -i minikube_beta_ppc64le.deb

To install the latest minikube stable release on ppc64 Linux using RPM package:

  1. curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-latest.ppc64el.rpm
  2. sudo rpm -Uvh minikube-latest.ppc64el.rpm

To install the latest minikube beta release on ppc64 Linux using RPM package:

  1. r=https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/minikube/releases
  2. u=$(curl -s $r | grep -o 'http.*download/v.*beta.*/minikube-.*.ppc64el.rpm' | head -n1)
  3. curl -L $u > minikube-beta.ppc64el.rpm && sudo rpm -Uvh minikube-beta.ppc64el.rpm

To install the latest minikube stable release on S390x Linux using binary download:

  1. curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-linux-s390x
  2. sudo install minikube-linux-s390x /usr/local/bin/minikube

To install the latest minikube beta release on S390x Linux using binary download:

  1. r=https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/minikube/releases
  2. curl -LO $(curl -s $r | grep -o 'http.*download/v.*beta.*/minikube-linux-s390x' | head -n1)
  3. sudo install minikube-linux-s390x /usr/local/bin/minikube

To install the latest minikube stable release on S390x Linux using Debian package:

  1. curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube_latest_s390x.deb
  2. sudo dpkg -i minikube_latest_s390x.deb

To install the latest minikube beta release on S390x Linux using Debian package:

  1. r=https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/minikube/releases
  2. u=$(curl -s $r | grep -o 'http.*download/v.*beta.*/minikube_.*_s390x.deb' | head -n1)
  3. curl -L $u > minikube_beta_s390x.deb && sudo dpkg -i minikube_beta_s390x.deb

To install the latest minikube stable release on S390x Linux using RPM package:

  1. curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-latest.s390x.rpm
  2. sudo rpm -Uvh minikube-latest.s390x.rpm

To install the latest minikube beta release on S390x Linux using RPM package:

  1. r=https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/minikube/releases
  2. u=$(curl -s $r | grep -o 'http.*download/v.*beta.*/minikube-.*.s390x.rpm' | head -n1)
  3. curl -L $u > minikube-beta.s390x.rpm && sudo rpm -Uvh minikube-beta.s390x.rpm

To install the latest minikube stable release on ARMv7 Linux using binary download:

  1. curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-linux-arm
  2. sudo install minikube-linux-arm /usr/local/bin/minikube

To install the latest minikube beta release on ARMv7 Linux using binary download:

  1. r=https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/minikube/releases
  2. curl -LO $(curl -s $r | grep -o 'http.*download/v.*beta.*/minikube-linux-arm' | head -n1)
  3. sudo install minikube-linux-arm /usr/local/bin/minikube

To install the latest minikube stable release on ARMv7 Linux using Debian package:

  1. curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube_latest_armhf.deb
  2. sudo dpkg -i minikube_latest_armhf.deb

To install the latest minikube beta release on ARMv7 Linux using Debian package:

  1. r=https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/minikube/releases
  2. u=$(curl -s $r | grep -o 'http.*download/v.*beta.*/minikube_.*_armhf.deb' | head -n1)
  3. curl -L $u > minikube_beta_armhf.deb && sudo dpkg -i minikube_beta_armhf.deb

To install the latest minikube stable release on ARMv7 Linux using RPM package:

  1. curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-latest.armv7hl.rpm
  2. sudo rpm -Uvh minikube-latest.armv7hl.rpm

To install the latest minikube beta release on ARMv7 Linux using RPM package:

  1. r=https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/minikube/releases
  2. u=$(curl -s $r | grep -o 'http.*download/v.*beta.*/minikube-.*.armv7hl.rpm' | head -n1)
  3. curl -L $u > minikube-beta.armv7hl.rpm && sudo rpm -Uvh minikube-beta.armv7hl.rpm

To install the latest minikube stable release on x86-64 macOS using Homebrew:

If the Homebrew Package Manager is installed:

  1. brew install minikube

If which minikube fails after installation via brew, you may have to remove the old minikube links and link the newly installed binary:

  1. brew unlink minikube
  2. brew link minikube

To install the latest minikube stable release on x86-64 macOS using binary download:

  1. curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-darwin-amd64
  2. sudo install minikube-darwin-amd64 /usr/local/bin/minikube

To install the latest minikube beta release on x86-64 macOS using binary download:

  1. r=https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/minikube/releases
  2. curl -LO $(curl -s $r | grep -o 'http.*download/v.*beta.*/minikube-darwin-amd64' | head -n1)
  3. sudo install minikube-darwin-amd64 /usr/local/bin/minikube

To install the latest minikube stable release on ARM64 macOS using binary download:

  1. curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-darwin-arm64
  2. sudo install minikube-darwin-arm64 /usr/local/bin/minikube

To install the latest minikube stable release on ARM64 macOS using Homebrew:

If the Homebrew Package Manager is installed:

  1. brew install minikube

If which minikube fails after installation via brew, you may have to remove the old minikube links and link the newly installed binary:

  1. brew unlink minikube
  2. brew link minikube

To install the latest minikube beta release on ARM64 macOS using binary download:

  1. r=https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/minikube/releases
  2. curl -LO $(curl -s $r | grep -o 'http.*download/v.*beta.*/minikube-darwin-arm64' | head -n1)
  3. sudo install minikube-darwin-arm64 /usr/local/bin/minikube

To install the latest minikube stable release on x86-64 Windows using Windows Package Manager:

If the Windows Package Manager is installed, use the following command to install minikube:

  1. winget install minikube

To install the latest minikube stable release on x86-64 Windows using Chocolatey:

If the Chocolatey Package Manager is installed, use the following command:

  1. choco install minikube

To install the latest minikube stable release on x86-64 Windows using .exe download:

  1. Download the latest release.

    Or if using PowerShell, use this command:

    1. New-Item -Path 'c:\' -Name 'minikube' -ItemType Directory -Force
    2. Invoke-WebRequest -OutFile 'c:\minikube\minikube.exe' -Uri 'https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/latest/download/minikube-windows-amd64.exe' -UseBasicParsing

  2. Add the binary in to your PATH.

    Make sure to run PowerShell as Administrator.

    1. $oldPath = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('Path', [EnvironmentVariableTarget]::Machine)
    2. if ($oldPath.Split(';') -inotcontains 'C:\minikube'){ `
    3.   [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('Path', $('{0};C:\minikube' -f $oldPath), [EnvironmentVariableTarget]::Machine) `
    4. }

    If you used a CLI to perform the installation, you will need to close that CLI and open a new one before proceeding.

To install the latest minikube beta release on x86-64 Windows using .exe download:

  1. Download the latest beta release.

    Or if using PowerShell, use this command:

    1. New-Item -Path 'c:\' -Name 'minikube' -ItemType Directory -Force
    2. $response = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri 'https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/minikube/releases' -UseBasicParsing
    3. $json = $response.Content | ConvertFrom-Json
    4. $item = ($json | ?{ $_.prerelease -eq $true })[0].assets | ?{ $_.name -eq 'minikube-windows-amd64.exe' }
    5. Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $item.browser_download_url -OutFile 'c:\minikube\minikube.exe' -UseBasicParsing

  2. Add the binary in to your PATH.

    Make sure to run PowerShell as Administrator.

    1. $oldPath = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('Path', [EnvironmentVariableTarget]::Machine)
    2. if ($oldPath.Split(';') -inotcontains 'C:\minikube'){ `
    3.   [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('Path', $('{0};C:\minikube' -f $oldPath), [EnvironmentVariableTarget]::Machine) `
    4. }

    If you used a CLI to perform the installation, you will need to close that CLI and open a new one before proceeding.

2Start your cluster

From a terminal with administrator access (but not logged in as root), run:

  1. minikube start

If minikube fails to start, see the drivers page for help setting up a compatible container or virtual-machine manager.

3Interact with your cluster

If you already have kubectl installed, you can now use it to access your shiny new cluster:

  1. kubectl get po -A

Alternatively, minikube can download the appropriate version of kubectl and you should be able to use it like this:

  1. minikube kubectl -- get po -A

You can also make your life easier by adding the following to your shell config:

  1. alias kubectl="minikube kubectl --"

Initially, some services such as the storage-provisioner, may not yet be in a Running state. This is a normal condition during cluster bring-up, and will resolve itself momentarily. For additional insight into your cluster state, minikube bundles the Kubernetes Dashboard, allowing you to get easily acclimated to your new environment:

  1. minikube dashboard

4Deploy applications

Create a sample deployment and expose it on port 8080:

  1. kubectl create deployment hello-minikube --image=k8s.gcr.io/echoserver:1.4
  2. kubectl expose deployment hello-minikube --type=NodePort --port=8080

It may take a moment, but your deployment will soon show up when you run:

  1. kubectl get services hello-minikube

The easiest way to access this service is to let minikube launch a web browser for you:

  1. minikube service hello-minikube

Alternatively, use kubectl to forward the port:

  1. kubectl port-forward service/hello-minikube 7080:8080

Tada! Your application is now available at http://localhost:7080/.

You should be able to see the request metadata from nginx such as the CLIENT VALUES, SERVER VALUES, HEADERS RECEIVED and the BODY in the application output. Try changing the path of the request and observe the changes in the CLIENT VALUES. Similarly, you can do a POST request to the same and observe the body show up in BODY section of the output.

LoadBalancer deployments

To access a LoadBalancer deployment, use the “minikube tunnel” command. Here is an example deployment:

  1. kubectl create deployment balanced --image=k8s.gcr.io/echoserver:1.4  
  2. kubectl expose deployment balanced --type=LoadBalancer --port=8080

In another window, start the tunnel to create a routable IP for the ‘balanced’ deployment:

  1. minikube tunnel

To find the routable IP, run this command and examine the EXTERNAL-IP column:

  1. kubectl get services balanced

Your deployment is now available at <EXTERNAL-IP>:8080

5Manage your cluster

Pause Kubernetes without impacting deployed applications:

  1. minikube pause

Unpause a paused instance:

  1. minikube unpause

Halt the cluster:

  1. minikube stop

Increase the default memory limit (requires a restart):

  1. minikube config set memory 16384

Browse the catalog of easily installed Kubernetes services:

  1. minikube addons list

Create a second cluster running an older Kubernetes release:

  1. minikube start -p aged --kubernetes-version=v1.16.1

Delete all of the minikube clusters:

  1. minikube delete --all

Take the next step

Last modified November 19, 2021: Add macOS ARM64 Homebrew install option (266a5e38e)