Minikube generals

Minikube runs Kubernetes locally in a VM or container. It’s fast, lightweight, and ideal for dev, testing, and learning.

Quick Start

minikube start                # default
minikube start --driver=docker
minikube start --cpus=4 --memory=8192
minikube status               # check status
kubectl cluster-info          # info
minikube stop                 # stop
minikube delete               # delete
minikube dashboard            # UI
minikube ip                   # get IP
minikube ssh                  # shell

Deploy app:

kubectl create deployment hello-minikube --image=kicbase/echo-server:1.0
kubectl expose deployment hello-minikube --type=NodePort --port=8080
kubectl get svc
minikube service hello-minikube

Driver

Docker: Fast, low overhead, easy setup, works on Linux/macOS/Windows. Needs Docker running. Best for dev and CI.

minikube start --driver=docker

KVM: Full VM isolation, higher resource use, Linux only, slower start, more setup. Best for prod-like tests and strong isolation.

sudo apt-get install libvirt-clients libvirt-daemon-system
minikube start --driver=kvm2

Feature	Docker	KVM
Startup	Fast	Slow
Overhead	Low	High
Isolation	Medium	Strong
Platforms	All	Linux
Setup	Easy	Complex

Tip: Use Docker for most cases. Use KVM for strict isolation or prod-like needs on Linux.

Features

Add-ons:

minikube addons list
minikube addons enable ingress

Volumes:
```
minikube mount /local/path:/vm/path
```
Docker env:
```
eval $(minikube docker-env)
```

Use Cases

App dev
Learn/test k8s
Debug configs
CI/CD pipeline

Persisting Data Across Restarts

Quick: mount a host dir into Minikube, then expose it to Kubernetes via a PV/PVC. --mount makes the host path visible inside Minikube; Kubernetes needs a PV to claim it.

Commands:

mkdir -p /data/pv1
minikube start --driver=docker --mount --mount-string="/data/pv1:/data/pv1"

PV and PVC (use pv.yaml and pvc.yaml):

apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolume
metadata:
  name: pv-hostpath
spec:
  capacity:
    storage: 1Gi
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce
  hostPath:
    path: /data/pv1
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: pvc-hostpath
spec:
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 1Gi

Example Deployment using the PVC (deploy-with-pvc.yaml):

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: nginx-pv
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: nginx-pv
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: nginx-pv
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: nginx
        image: nginx:stable
        volumeMounts:
        - name: data
          mountPath: /usr/share/nginx/html
      volumes:
      - name: data
        persistentVolumeClaim:
          claimName: pvc-hostpath

Apply and verify:

kubectl apply -f pv.yaml
kubectl apply -f pvc.yaml
kubectl apply -f deploy-with-pvc.yaml
kubectl get pv,pvc
kubectl get pods

Notes:

If /data/pv1 is a host directory (mounted with --mount or a hostPath that points to the real host), the host files persist after minikube stop, minikube start, and even after minikube delete — Minikube does not remove host directories. If the path is inside the Minikube VM (not a host mount), minikube delete removes the VM and that data.
Ensure host permissions (chown) so the container can write the directory.
On SELinux systems, you may need chcon -Rt svirt_sandbox_file_t /data/pv1.
For CI or ephemeral setups prefer Docker driver mounts; for stricter isolation prefer KVM with a remote storage solution.