🚀 Minikube + Kubernetes Installation Guide (Ubuntu 24.04 LTS)

This guide explains how to set up Minikube (a lightweight Kubernetes) on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
It is beginner-friendly and includes small definitions for clarity.

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📋 Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:

• ✅ Ubuntu 24.04 (64-bit) system
• ✅ Internet access
• ✅ A non-root user (we’ll use kuberuser)
• ✅ Docker installed

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🐳 Step 1: Install Docker

Docker is required as the container runtime for Minikube.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker.io

Enable and start Docker:

sudo systemctl enable docker
sudo systemctl start docker

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👤 Step 2: Add a Non-Root User

It is safer to run Kubernetes as a non-root user.

sudo adduser kuberuser
sudo usermod -aG docker kuberuser

Now logout and login as kuberuser:

su - kuberuser

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⚙️ Step 3: Install kubectl (Kubernetes CLI)

kubectl is the official CLI to manage Kubernetes clusters.

curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/v1.33.1/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl"
chmod +x kubectl
sudo install -o root -g root -m 0755 kubectl /usr/local/bin/kubectl

Verify installation:

kubectl version --client

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📦 Step 4: Install Minikube

Minikube creates a local Kubernetes cluster.

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

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🚀 Step 5: Start Minikube

Start Minikube with Docker as the driver (as kuberuser):

minikube start --driver=docker

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✅ Step 6: Verify the Cluster

Check nodes and pods:

kubectl get nodes
kubectl get pods -A

Or use Minikube’s built-in kubectl:

minikube kubectl -- get nodes

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📊 Step 7: Launch Minikube Dashboard (Optional)

The dashboard provides a web UI to manage your cluster.

minikube dashboard

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🌐 Optional: Use Minikube Tunnel

To expose NodePort or LoadBalancer services on localhost:

minikube tunnel

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🔑 Common Commands

Here are some frequently used commands:

Command	Description
minikube start	Starts the cluster
minikube stop	Stops the cluster
minikube delete	Deletes the cluster
kubectl get pods -A	Lists all running pods
minikube ssh	SSH into the Minikube VM
minikube dashboard	Launch the web UI
minikube kubectl -- get nodes	Use bundled kubectl if path issues occur

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🎯 Conclusion

You now have a fully working Minikube + Kubernetes setup on Ubuntu 24.04.
This is perfect for learning, testing, and practicing Kubernetes locally before moving to cloud or production environments.

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