How to Install Minikube on Ubuntu Linux (2025 Guide)

Minikube is a lightweight tool that lets you run a Kubernetes cluster locally. It’s perfect for developers who want to test and learn Kubernetes without needing a cloud provider. In this guide, you’ll learn how to install Minikube, Docker, and kubectl on Ubuntu Linux—all in under five minutes!

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

• ✅ Ubuntu (or any Debian-based distribution)
• ✅ Sudo access
• ✅ Minimum 2 CPUs
• ✅ At least 2GB RAM
• ✅ 20GB of available disk space
• ✅ Internet connection

Step 1: Install Docker on Ubuntu

Minikube can use Docker as a driver to run your Kubernetes cluster, so let’s install Docker first.

🔧 1. Update system and install dependencies

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y ca-certificates curl

🔑 2. Add Docker’s official GPG key

sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo tee /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc > /dev/null
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc

📦 3. Add the Docker repository

echo \
  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] \
  https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
  $(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_CODENAME") stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

💻 4. Install Docker Engine

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io

👤 5. Add your user to the Docker group

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

🔁 Log out and log back in, or use newgrp docker to apply the group change.

Step 2: Install Minikube

📥 1. Download the latest Minikube binary

wget https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-linux-amd64

📦 2. Move the binary to your system path

sudo cp minikube-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/minikube
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/minikube

Step 3: Install kubectl (Kubernetes CLI)

kubectl is the command-line tool to interact with your Kubernetes cluster.

⬇️ 1. Download the latest kubectl

curl -LO "https://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-release/release/$(curl -s https://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-release/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl"

🔧 2. Make it executable and move it

chmod +x kubectl
sudo mv kubectl /usr/local/bin/

Step 4: Start Minikube

Now that Docker, Minikube, and kubectl are set up, let’s fire up the Kubernetes cluster:

minikube start --driver=docker --force

Step 5: Verify the Cluster

Check if your cluster is up and running:

kubectl get nodes

You should see an output like:

NAME       STATUS   ROLES           AGE   VERSION
minikube   Ready    control-plane   1m    v1.xx.x

That’s It!

You now have a fully functional Kubernetes cluster running locally on Ubuntu using Minikube. You can start deploying pods, services, and even full applications!