What is minikube?
Minikube is a tool that quickly sets up a local Kubernetes cluster on macOS, Linux, and Windows. It can deploy as a VM, a container, or on bare metal.
Minikube is a pared-down version of Kubernetes that gives you all the benefits of Kubernetes with a lot less effort.
This makes it an interesting option for users who are new to containers, and also for projects in the world of edge computing and the Internet of Things.
Features of minikube
(a) Supports the latest Kubernetes release (+6 previous minor versions)
(b) Cross-platform (Linux, macOS, Windows)
(c) Deploy as a VM, a container, or on bare-metal
(d) Multiple container runtimes (CRI-O, containerd, docker)
(e) Direct API endpoint for blazing fast image load and build
(f) Advanced features such as LoadBalancer, filesystem mounts, FeatureGates, and network policy
(g) Addons for easily installed Kubernetes applications
(h) Supports common CI environments
Install minikube on your local
This guide provides step-by-step instructions for installing Minikube on Ubuntu. Minikube allows you to run a single-node Kubernetes cluster locally for development and testing purposes.
Pre-requisites
Ubuntu OS
sudo privileges
Internet access
Virtualization support enabled (Check with
egrep -c '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo, 0=disabled 1=enabled)
Step 1: Update System Packages
Update your package lists to make sure you are getting the latest version and dependencies.
sudo apt update
Step 2: Install Required Packages
Install some basic required packages.
sudo apt install -y curl wget apt-transport-https
Step 3: Install Docker
Minikube can run a Kubernetes cluster either in a VM or locally via Docker. This guide demonstrates the Docker method.
sudo apt install -y docker.io
Start and enable Docker.
sudo systemctl enable --now docker
Add current user to docker group (To use docker without root)
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER && newgrp docker
Now, logout (use exit command) and connect again.
Step 4: Install Minikube
First, download the Minikube binary using curl:
curl -Lo minikube https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-linux-amd64
Make it executable and move it into your path:
chmod +x minikube
sudo mv minikube /usr/local/bin/
Step 5: Install kubectl
Download kubectl, which is a Kubernetes command-line tool.
curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl"
Check above image ⬆️ Make it executable and move it into your path:
chmod +x kubectl
sudo mv kubectl /usr/local/bin/
Step 6: Start Minikube
Now, you can start Minikube with the following command:
minikube start --driver=docker
This command will start a single-node Kubernetes cluster inside a Docker container.
Step 7: Check Cluster Status
Check the cluster status with:
minikube status
You can also use kubectl to interact with your cluster:
kubectl get nodes
Step 8: Stop Minikube
When you are done, you can stop the Minikube cluster with:
minikube stop
Optional: Delete Minikube Cluster
If you wish to delete the Minikube cluster entirely, you can do so with:
minikube delete
That's it! You've successfully installed Minikube on Ubuntu, and you can now start deploying Kubernetes applications for development and testing.