# Minikube > Follow these steps to create a [Minikube](https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube) cluster for your Agones install. --- LLMS index: [llms.txt](/site/llms.txt) --- ## Installing Minikube First, [install Minikube][minikube], which may also require you to install a virtualisation solution, such as [VirtualBox][vb] as well. [minikube]: https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/start/ [vb]: https://www.virtualbox.org ## Starting Minikube Minikube will need to be started with the supported version of Kubernetes that is supported with Agones, via the `--kubernetes-version` command line flag. Optionally, we also recommend starting with an `agones` profile, using `-p` to keep this cluster separate from any other clusters you may have running with Minikube. ```bash minikube start --kubernetes-version v1.34.6 -p agones ``` For testing scenarios that require multiple nodes, you can add the `--nodes` parameter to create a multi-node cluster. ```bash minikube start --kubernetes-version v1.34.6 -p agones --nodes 3 ``` Check the official [minikube start](https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/commands/start/) reference for more options that may be required for your platform of choice. ### Known working drivers Other operating systems and drivers may work, but at this stage have not been verified to work with UDP connections via Agones exposed ports. **Linux (amd64)** * Docker (default) * kvm2 **Mac (amd64)** * Docker (default) * Hyperkit **Windows (amd64)** * Docker (default) with [this workaround](#minikube-start---ports-docker-only) * VirtualBox: You might need [this command](https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/3900) to disable hardware virtualization checks before starting the VM. _If you have successfully tested with other platforms and drivers, please click "edit this page" in the top right hand side and submit a pull request to let us know._ ## Local connection workarounds Depending on your operating system and virtualization platform that you are using with Minikube, it may not be possible to connect directly to a `GameServer` hosted on Agones as you would on a cloud hosted Kubernetes cluster. If you are unable to do so, the following workarounds are available, and may work on your platform: ## Setting up LoadBalancer Support with `minikube tunnel` By default, Minikube doesn't provide LoadBalancer services that are externally available without some form of tunneling, which means services of type `LoadBalancer` will remain in a "Pending" state. For Agones, LoadBalancer services are used for the allocator and ping services to provide external access. [`minikube tunnel`](https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/handbook/accessing/) creates a network route on the host to the service CIDR of the cluster, which enables LoadBalancer services to receive external IP addresses and be accessible from your host machine. Run it in a terminal after starting Minikube: ```bash minikube tunnel -p agones ``` You may be prompted for your password, as it requires root privileges to add network routes. Keep this terminal window open for as long as you need access to the LoadBalancer services. ### minikube ip Rather than using the published IP of a `GameServer` to connect, run `minikube ip -p agones` to get the local IP for the minikube node, and connect to that address. ### minikube start \-\-ports (Docker only) Since you cannot connect to minikube's private IP on Windows, a more reliable option is to publish the `GameServer`'s port range directly through Docker by making use of Minikube's `--ports` option. Unfortunately, exposing Agones' entire default port range (7000-8000) may cause Minikube to crash upon startup, so you will likely need to set a narrower port range as shown below. This method requires a fresh Minikube cluster, so you may need to run `minikube delete -p agones` before continuing. ```bash minikube start --kubernetes-version v1.34.6 -p agones --ports 7000-7100:7000-7100/udp ``` When installing Agones on the new cluster (using [Helm](/site/docs/installation/install-agones/helm/)), update the port range accordingly: ```bash helm install my-release --namespace agones-system --create-namespace \ --set gameservers.minPort=7000,gameservers.maxPort=7100 agones/agones ``` Once you have a `GameServer` running, try connecting to its port either on 127.0.0.1 or WSL's IP (`wsl hostname -I`). ### Create a service This would only be for local development, but if none of the other workarounds work, creating a Service for the `GameServer` you wish to connect to is a valid solution, to tunnel traffic to the appropriate GameServer container. Use the following yaml: ```yaml apiVersion: v1 kind: Service metadata: name: agones-gameserver spec: type: LoadBalancer selector: agones.dev/gameserver: ${GAMESERVER_NAME} ports: - protocol: UDP port: 7000 # local port targetPort: ${GAMESERVER_CONTAINER_PORT} ``` Where `${GAMESERVER_NAME}` is replaced with the GameServer you wish to connect to, and `${GAMESERVER_CONTAINER_PORT}` is replaced with the container port GameServer exposes for connection. Running `minikube service list -p agones` will show you the IP and port to connect to locally in the `URL` field. To connect to a different `GameServer`, run `kubectl edit service agones-gameserver` and edit the `${GAMESERVER_NAME}` value to point to the new `GameServer` instance and/or the `${GAMESERVER_CONTAINER_PORT}` value as appropriate. ### Use a different driver If you cannot connect through the `Service`or use other workarounds, you may want to try a different [minikube driver](https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/), and if that doesn't work, connection via UDP may not be possible with minikube, and you may want to try either a [different local Kubernetes tool](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/) or use a cloud hosted Kubernetes cluster. ## Next Steps - Continue to [Install Agones](/site/docs/installation/install-agones/).