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Kubernetes (k8s) Minikube Installation Guide

This guide provides step-by-step instructions to install kubectl (Kubernetes CLI) and Minikube (local single-node Kubernetes cluster) on Linux, Windows, and macOS.

Linux Installation (Ubuntu/Debian)

Follow these steps to install kubectl and minikube using Docker as the driver engine.

Prerequisites

Update your existing list of packages and install required tools:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl gpg

Step 1: Install kubectl

curl -fsSL https://pkgs.k8s.io/core:/stable:/v1.30/deb/Release.key | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/kubernetes-apt-keyring.gpg
sudo chmod 644 /etc/apt/keyrings/kubernetes-apt-keyring.gpg

echo 'deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/kubernetes-apt-keyring.gpg] https://pkgs.k8s.io/core:/stable:/v1.30/deb/ /' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/kubernetes.list
sudo chmod 644 /etc/apt/sources.list.d/kubernetes.list

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y kubectl

Step 2: Install Minikube

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

Step 3: Start the Kubernetes Cluster

Ensure Docker is running, then start Minikube:

minikube start --driver=docker

Windows Installation

You can set up local Kubernetes using Winget package manager or via Docker Desktop.

Prerequisites

  • Windows 10/11 (64-bit).
  • Docker Desktop installed with WSL 2 enabled.

Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

Step 1: Install kubectl and Minikube

winget install Kubernetes.kubectl
winget install Kubernetes.minikube

Step 2: Start Minikube

Restart your PowerShell window and run:

minikube start

Option B: Enable Kubernetes via Docker Desktop

  1. Open Docker Desktop.
  2. Go to Settings (gear icon) -> Kubernetes.
  3. Check Enable Kubernetes and click Apply & restart.

macOS Installation

Use Homebrew to install Kubernetes tools on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

Prerequisites

Homebrew package manager installed (/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL [https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh))").

Step 1: Install kubectl and Minikube

Open Terminal and run:

brew install kubectl
brew install minikube

Step 2: Start Minikube Cluster

minikube start

Verification

To verify that kubectl and your local Kubernetes cluster are configured correctly on any operating system, open your terminal (or PowerShell) and run:

Check kubectl Version

kubectl version --client

Check Cluster Status

kubectl cluster-info

Check Cluster Nodes

kubectl get nodes

Run a Test Pod

kubectl run hello-minikube --image=registry.k8s.io/e2e-test-images/agnhost:2.39 -- /agnhost netexec --http-port=8080
kubectl get pods

Note: If the pod status changes to Running, your Kubernetes installation is complete and working correctly.