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Kubernetes Minikube for Local Development
Getting started with Kubernetes typically involves provisioning and managing a multi-node cluster â a process that can be resource-intensive and complex, especially for development or testing purposes. That's where Minikube comes in; it provides a streamlined solution by running a single-node Kubernetes cluster locally using a virtual machine or container runtime. It simulates a real Kubernetes environment on our workstation, allowing us to build, test, and debug workloads without needing external infrastructure.
In this chapter, we will explain how to install and use Minikube effectively. Whether we're deploying an app or experimenting with Ingress, this setup gives us a safe playground without needing a cloud provider.
Why Minikube?
Minikube is ideal when:
- We want a simple and quick Kubernetes environment for development.
- We're trying out new manifests or Helm charts before deploying to production.
- We're working offline or prefer not to incur cloud costs.
- It supports most Kubernetes features, including LoadBalancer services, Ingress controllers, persistent volumes, and even GPU support if needed.
Prerequisites
Before we dive in, let's make sure we have the following:
- A machine with at least 2 CPUs, 4GB of RAM, and 20GB of free disk space.
- A supported OS with Kubernetes Cluster Running.
- A container runtime like Docker, containerd, or CRI-O.
This guide assumes you're on Ubuntu Linux for this walkthrough, but the steps are quite similar across platforms.
Install Minikube
Let's download and install Minikube:
$ curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-linux-amd64 $ sudo install minikube-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/minikube
Output
% Total % Received % Xferd Average Speed Time Time Time Current Dload Upload Total Spent Left Speed 100 119M 100 119M 0 0 27.0M 0 0:00:04 0:00:04 --:--:-- 29.8M
To verify:
$ minikube version
Output
minikube version: v1.35.0 commit: dd5d320e41b5451cdf3c01891bc4e13d189586ed-dirty
Start Minikube
Minikube uses different âdriversâ to run Kubernetes: Docker, VirtualBox, KVM, etc. In this case we'll use containerd:
$ sudo minikube start --driver=none --container-runtime=containerd
Output
* Verifying Kubernetes components... - Using image gcr.io/k8s-minikube/storage-provisioner:v5 * Enabled addons: default-storageclass, storage-provisioner * Done! kubectl is now configured to use "minikube" cluster and "default" namespace by default
Alternatively, on systems with lower RAM (like 4GB), we can tweak the resource usage:
$ minikube start --memory=2048 --cpus=2 --driver=docker
We can confirm everything is working:
$ minikube status
Output
minikube type: Control Plane host: Running kubelet: Running apiserver: Running kubeconfig: Configured
Deploy a Sample Application
Let's test things out by deploying a basic app. We'll use an NGINX web server.
$ kubectl create deployment nginx --image=nginx
Output
deployment.apps/nginx created
$ kubectl expose deployment nginx --port=80 --type=NodePort
Output
service/nginx exposed
To access it, we can ask Minikube to open a browser:
$ minikube service nginx
Output
|-----------|-------|-------------|--------------------------| | NAMESPACE | NAME | TARGET PORT | URL | |-----------|-------|-------------|--------------------------| | default | nginx | 80 | http://172.16.16.5:30669 | |-----------|-------|-------------|--------------------------| * Opening service default/nginx in default browser... http://172.16.16.5:30669
This launches our default browser and opens the service. Behind the scenes, it maps a NodePort to the container port.
Alternatively, we can get the URL manually:
$ minikube service nginx --url
Output
http://172.16.16.5:30669
Enable the Kubernetes Dasard
Minikube comes with a built-in dasard that makes cluster management visual.
To launch it:
$ minikube dasard
Output
* Verifying dasard health ... * Launching proxy ... * Verifying proxy health ... http://127.0.0.1:40481/api/v1/namespaces/kubernetes-dasard/services/http:kubernetes-dasard:/proxy/
This opens a web UI where we can view pods, deployments, services, logs, and more â without writing a single kubectl command.
To confirm if the dasard is running, run:
$ kubectl get pods -n kubernetes-dasard
Output
NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE dasard-metrics-scraper-5d59dccf9b-mht4k 1/1 Running 0 15m kubernetes-dasard-7779f9b69b-rv85m 1/1 Running 0 15m
Enable Addons
Minikube includes a variety of useful addons. Let's enable a few commonly used ones.
Metrics Server (needed for HPA):
minikube addons enable metrics-server
Output
* metrics-server is an addon maintained by Kubernetes. For any concerns contact minikube on . You can view the list of minikube maintainers at: https://.com/kubernetes/minikube/blob/master/OWNERS - Using image registry.k8s.io/metrics-server/metrics-server:v0.7.2 * The 'metrics-server' addon is enabled
Ingress Controller:
$ minikube addons enable ingress
Output
* ingress is an addon maintained by Kubernetes. For any concerns contact minikube on . You can view the list of minikube maintainers at: https://.com/kubernetes/minikube/blob/master/OWNERS - Using image registry.k8s.io/ingress-nginx/controller:v1.11.3 - Using image registry.k8s.io/ingress-nginx/kube-webhook-certgen:v1.4.4 - Using image registry.k8s.io/ingress-nginx/kube-webhook-certgen:v1.4.4 * Verifying ingress addon... * The 'ingress' addon is enabled
To list all available addons:
$ minikube addons list
Output
|-----------------------------|----------|--------------|--------------------------------| | ADDON NAME | PROFILE | STATUS | MAINTAINER | |-----------------------------|----------|--------------|--------------------------------| | ambassador | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (Ambassador) | | amd-gpu-device-plugin | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (AMD) | | auto-pause | minikube | disabled | minikube | | cloud-spanner | minikube | disabled | Google | | csi-hostpath-driver | minikube | disabled | Kubernetes | | dasard | minikube | enabled â | Kubernetes | | default-storageclass | minikube | enabled â | Kubernetes | | efk | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (Elastic) | | freshpod | minikube | disabled | Google | | gcp-auth | minikube | disabled | Google | | gvisor | minikube | disabled | minikube | | headlamp | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (kinvolk.io) | | inaccel | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (InAccel | | | | | [[email protected]]) | | ingress | minikube | enabled â | Kubernetes | | ingress-dns | minikube | disabled | minikube | | inspektor-gadget | minikube | disabled | 3rd party | | | | | (inspektor-gadget.io) | | istio | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (Istio) | | istio-provisioner | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (Istio) | | kong | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (Kong HQ) | | kubeflow | minikube | disabled | 3rd party | | kubevirt | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (KubeVirt) | | logviewer | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (unknown) | | metallb | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (MetalLB) | | metrics-server | minikube | enabled â | Kubernetes | | nvidia-device-plugin | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (NVIDIA) | | nvidia-driver-installer | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (NVIDIA) | | nvidia-gpu-device-plugin | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (NVIDIA) | | olm | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (Operator Framework) | | pod-security-policy | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (unknown) | | portainer | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (Portainer.io) | | registry | minikube | disabled | minikube | | registry-aliases | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (unknown) | | registry-creds | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (UPMC Enterprises) | | storage-provisioner | minikube | enabled â | minikube | | storage-provisioner-gluster | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (Gluster) | | storage-provisioner-rancher | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (Rancher) | | volcano | minikube | disabled | third-party (volcano) | | volumesnapshots | minikube | disabled | Kubernetes | | yakd | minikube | disabled | 3rd party (marcnuri.com) | |-----------------------------|----------|--------------|--------------------------------|
These add-ons are great for testing production-like features locally.
Clean Up
When we're done, we can stop the cluster:
$ minikube stop
Output
* Stopping node "minikube" ...
To delete everything:
$ minikube delete
Output
* Uninstalling Kubernetes v1.32.0 using kubeadm ... * Deleting "minikube" in none ... * Removed all traces of the "minikube" cluster.
Troubleshooting Tips
Minikube won't start? Check if virtualization is enabled in BIOS or try a different driver (--driver=docker).
kubectl connection errors? Make sure your kubeconfig points to Minikube. Run kubectl config use-context minikube.
Dasard not loading? Some browsers block insecure content. Try another browser or manually copy the URL.
Conclusion
Minikube offers a practical and efficient way for us to develop and test Kubernetes applications locally, without the overhead of managing remote infrastructure. It brings the full power of a Kubernetes cluster to our local machine, letting us experiment freely, build s, and debug in a controlled environment.