---
title: Install Minikube
content_template: templates/task
weight: 20
card:
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---

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This page shows you how to install [Minikube](/docs/tutorials/hello-minikube), a tool that runs a single-node Kubernetes cluster in a virtual machine on your personal computer.

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{{< tabs name="minikube_before_you_begin" >}}
{{% tab name="Linux" %}}
To check if virtualization is supported on Linux, run the following command and verify that the output is non-empty:
```
grep -E --color 'vmx|svm' /proc/cpuinfo
```
{{% /tab %}}

{{% tab name="macOS" %}}
To check if virtualization is supported on macOS, run the following command on your terminal.
```
sysctl -a | grep -E --color 'machdep.cpu.features|VMX' 
```
If you see `VMX` in the output (should be colored), the VT-x feature is enabled in your machine.
{{% /tab %}}

{{% tab name="Windows" %}}
To check if virtualization is supported on Windows 8 and above, run the following command on your Windows terminal or command prompt.
```
systeminfo
```
If you see the following output, virtualization is supported on Windows.
```
Hyper-V Requirements:     VM Monitor Mode Extensions: Yes
                          Virtualization Enabled In Firmware: Yes
                          Second Level Address Translation: Yes
                          Data Execution Prevention Available: Yes
```

If you see the following output, your system already has a Hypervisor installed and you can skip the next step.
```
Hyper-V Requirements:     A hypervisor has been detected. Features required for Hyper-V will not be displayed.
```


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# Installing minikube

{{< tabs name="tab_with_md" >}}
{{% tab name="Linux" %}}

### Install kubectl

Make sure you have kubectl installed. You can install kubectl according to the instructions in [Install and Set Up kubectl](/docs/tasks/tools/install-kubectl/#install-kubectl-on-linux).

### Install a Hypervisor

If you do not already have a hypervisor installed, install one of these now:

• [KVM](https://www.linux-kvm.org/), which also uses QEMU

• [VirtualBox](https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads)

{{< note >}}
Minikube also supports a `--vm-driver=none` option that runs the Kubernetes components on the host and not in a VM. Using this driver requires [Docker](https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop) and a Linux environment but not a hypervisor. It is recommended to use the apt installation of docker from [Docker](https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop), when using the none driver. The snap installation of docker does not work with minikube.
{{< /note >}}

### Install Minikube using a package

There are *experimental* packages for Minikube available; you can find Linux (AMD64) packages
from Minikube's [releases](https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases) page on GitHub.

Use your Linux's distribution's package tool to install a suitable package.

### Install Minikube via direct download

If you're not installing via a package, you can download a stand-alone
binary and use that.

```shell
curl -Lo minikube https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-linux-amd64 \
  && chmod +x minikube
```

Here's an easy way to add the Minikube executable to your path:

```shell
sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/bin/
sudo install minikube /usr/local/bin/
```

### Install Minikube using Homebrew

As yet another alternative, you can install Minikube using Linux [Homebrew](https://docs.brew.sh/Homebrew-on-Linux):

```shell
brew install minikube
```

{{% /tab %}}
{{% tab name="macOS" %}}
### Install kubectl

Make sure you have kubectl installed. You can install kubectl according to the instructions in [Install and Set Up kubectl](/docs/tasks/tools/install-kubectl/#install-kubectl-on-macos).

### Install a Hypervisor

If you do not already have a hypervisor installed, install one of these now:

• [HyperKit](https://github.com/moby/hyperkit)

• [VirtualBox](https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads)

• [VMware Fusion](https://www.vmware.com/products/fusion)

### Install Minikube
The easiest way to install Minikube on macOS is using [Homebrew](https://brew.sh):

```shell
brew install minikube
```

You can also install it on macOS by downloading a stand-alone binary:

```shell
curl -Lo minikube https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-darwin-amd64 \
  && chmod +x minikube
```

Here's an easy way to add the Minikube executable to your path:

```shell
sudo mv minikube /usr/local/bin
```

{{% /tab %}}
{{% tab name="Windows" %}}
### Install kubectl

Make sure you have kubectl installed. You can install kubectl according to the instructions in [Install and Set Up kubectl](/docs/tasks/tools/install-kubectl/#install-kubectl-on-windows).

### Install a Hypervisor

If you do not already have a hypervisor installed, install one of these now:

• [Hyper-V](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/hyperv_on_windows/quick_start/walkthrough_install)

• [VirtualBox](https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads)

{{< note >}}
Hyper-V can run on three versions of Windows 10: Windows 10 Enterprise, Windows 10 Professional, and Windows 10 Education.
{{< /note >}}

### Install Minikube using Chocolatey

The easiest way to install Minikube on Windows is using [Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org/) (run as an administrator):

```shell
choco install minikube
```

After Minikube has finished installing, close the current CLI session and restart. Minikube should have been added to your path automatically.

### Install Minikube using an installer executable

To install Minikube manually on Windows using [Windows Installer](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/msi/windows-installer-portal), download [`minikube-installer.exe`](https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/latest/download/minikube-installer.exe) and execute the installer.

### Install Minikube via direct download

To install Minikube manually on Windows, download [`minikube-windows-amd64`](https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/latest), rename it to `minikube.exe`, and add it to your path.

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* [Running Kubernetes Locally via Minikube](/docs/setup/learning-environment/minikube/)

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## Confirm Installation

To confirm successful installation of both a hypervisor and Minikube, you can run the following command to start up a local Kubernetes cluster:

{{< note >}}

For setting the `--vm-driver` with `minikube start`, enter the name of the hypervisor you installed in lowercase letters where `<driver_name>` is mentioned below. A full list of `--vm-driver` values is available in [specifying the VM driver documentation](https://kubernetes.io/docs/setup/learning-environment/minikube/#specifying-the-vm-driver).

{{< /note >}}

```shell
minikube start --vm-driver=<driver_name>
```

Once `minikube start` finishes, run the command below to check the status of the cluster:

```shell
minikube status
```

If your cluster is running, the output from `minikube status` should be similar to:

```
host: Running
kubelet: Running
apiserver: Running
kubeconfig: Configured
```

After you have confirmed whether Minikube is working with your chosen hypervisor, you can continue to use Minikube or you can stop your cluster. To stop your cluster, run:

```shell
minikube stop
```

## Clean up local state {#cleanup-local-state}

If you have previously installed Minikube, and run:
```shell
minikube start
```

and `minikube start` returned an error:
```
machine does not exist
```

then you need to clear minikube's local state:
```shell
minikube delete
```