> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://linuxhandbook.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Install and Setup MiniKube on Ubuntu - URL: https://linuxhandbook.com/install-minikube-ubuntu/ - Published: 2023-12-27T07:26:55.000Z - Updated: 2024-04-12T11:46:04.000Z - Description: Deploy Kubernetes cluster on your local Ubuntu system with minikube and start exploring Kubernetes. - Author: LHB Community - Tags: Using Kubernetes Kubernetes is an in-demand skill. Learning it can help you land a lucrative job offer. For developers or students who are just starting to learn Kubernetes and explore its features, the challenge is that you may not be able to afford a real test server setup to test and learn. Sure, cloud servers like [Linode](https://www.linode.com/lp/refer/?r=19db9d1ce8c1c91023c7afef87a28ce8c8c067bd&ref=linuxhandbook.com) and [DigitalOcean](https://m.do.co/c/d58840562553?ref=linuxhandbook.com) provide easy Kubernetes deployment but it costs money and not everyone can afford that. [DigitalOcean – The developer cloudHelping millions of developers easily build, test, manage, and scale applications of any size – faster than ever before.![](https://m.do.co/_next/static/media/android-chrome-512x512.5f2e6221.png)Explore our products![](https://www.digitalocean.com/_next/static/media/social-share-default.e8530e9e.jpeg)](https://m.do.co/c/d58840562553?ref=linuxhandbook.com) Get started on DigitalOcean with a $100, 60-day credit for new users. A better solution is to install and use a Kubernetes cluster locally without needing to pay any extra money just to learn and test. And that's where MiniKube comes into picture. ## What is Minikube? [Minikube](https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/?ref=linuxhandbook.com) or mini-Kubernetes is a Kubernetes cluster that allows you to run a single node Kubernetes cluster locally for developing and testing purposes. It's easy to install, and behind the scenes, it runs Kubernetes on a virtual machine (VM) using a hypervisor like VirtualBox or Hyper-V. 📋 An alternative to Minikube is [Kind](https://kind.sigs.k8s.io/?ref=linuxhandbook.com). Kind runs Kubernetes inside a Docker container and lets you run run multiple containers, but it needs more resources compared to Minikube. ## Requirements to Install Minikube on Ubuntu Before you start the installation, you should know a few things on the requirement. As you'll use Docker in this tutorial, you need to have Docker installed on your machine. Minikube needs some disk space (20 GB or more) to host Docker containers, And lastly, Minikube takes some memory, so make sure your computer has 4 GB or more RAM to use it smoothly. - [Docker installed on the Ubuntu system](https://linuxhandbook.com/install-docker-ubuntu/) - At least 20 GB of free disk space - At least 4 GB of RAM ## Installing Minikube on Ubuntu Please ensure that the package cache is updated. ```bash sudo apt update ``` Next, install Curl and apt-transport-https with the following command: ```bash sudo apt install -y curl apt-transport-https ``` [Curl](https://linuxhandbook.com/curl-command-examples/) is a tool that allows to request data over a URL, and apt-transport-https allows to download and access repositories using the secure HTTP protocol (HTTPS). Now you are ready. The next step is to download the latest Minikube binary files using: ```bash curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-linux-amd64 ``` Then install it with: ```bash sudo install minikube-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/minikube ``` To verify that we installed Minikube successfully, we can check the version by the command: ```bash minikube version ``` ![Check Minikube version](https://linuxhandbook.com/content/images/2023/12/minikube-version.png) ## Install Kubectl Kubectl is a CLI (Command Line Interface) tool to interact with the Kubernetes cluster. It is used to deploy and manage applications running on a Kubernetes cluster. To install Kubectl, first, as usual, update the system and install the CA certificate: ```bash sudo apt update && sudo apt install ca-certificates ``` Add Google Cloud's public signing key: ```bash sudo curl -fsSLo /etc/apt/keyrings/kubernetes-archive-keyring.gpg https://packages.cloud.google.com/apt/doc/apt-key.gpg ``` Add the Kubernetes APT repository: ```bash echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/kubernetes-archive-keyring.gpg] https://apt.kubernetes.io/ kubernetes-xenial main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/kubernetes.list ``` Next, update the system and install Kubectl: ```bash sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y kubectl ``` Congratulations! You have just installed Kubectl. Verify it: ```bash kubectl version --client --short ``` ![Check Kubectl version](https://linuxhandbook.com/content/images/2023/12/kubectl-version.png) ## Start Minikube Check the status of Minikube if it's started or not: ```bash minikube status ``` ![Check minikube status](https://linuxhandbook.com/content/images/2023/12/minikube-status.png) In this case, Minikube is stopped so you need to start it with the command: ```bash minikube start ``` ![Start minikube](https://linuxhandbook.com/content/images/2023/12/minikube-start.png) ## Use Minikube Dashboard You can use the command `minikube dashboard` to launch Minikube Dashboard, which is a web interface that is used to manage Kubernetes clusters. You can scale up or down deployments, and add or delete as many instances as the application needs. ![Minikube dashboard](https://linuxhandbook.com/content/images/2023/12/minikube-dash.png) The dashboard will show us all the Kubernetes components that you can manage from the web interface. ## Conclusion This guide was a quick introduction to how you can install and use Minikube on an Ubuntu Linux system. With Minikube, developers and students can explore the features and capabilities of Kubernetes without incurring additional costs, making it an ideal solution for those who want to learn and test Kubernetes in a development or testing environment. ✍️ The tutorial has been contributed by Mead Naji, a web developer and an old-school Linux developer.