- Installation of additional controllers for networking and storage

Turning the Kubernetes server on or off in Docker Desktop does not affect your other workloads.

## Install and turn on Kubernetes

1. Open the Docker Desktop Dashboard and navigate to **Settings**.
2. Select the **Kubernetes** tab.
3. Toggle on **Enable Kubernetes**.
4. Choose your [cluster provisioning method](#cluster-provisioning-method).
5. Select **Apply & Restart** to save the settings.

This sets up the images required to run the Kubernetes server as containers, and installs the `kubectl` command-line tool on your system at `/usr/local/bin/kubectl` (Mac) or `C:\Program Files\Docker\Docker\resources\bin\kubectl.exe` (Windows).

   > [!NOTE]
   >
   > Docker Desktop for Linux does not include `kubectl` by default. You can install it separately by following the [Kubernetes installation guide](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/install-kubectl-linux/). Ensure the `kubectl` binary is installed at `/usr/local/bin/kubectl`.

When Kubernetes is enabled, its status is displayed in the Docker Desktop Dashboard footer and the Docker menu.

You can check which version of Kubernetes you're on with:

```console
$ kubectl version
```

### Cluster provisioning method

Docker Desktop Kubernetes can be provisioned with either the `kubeadm` or `kind`
provisioners.

`kubeadm` is the older provisioner. It supports a single-node cluster, you can't select the kubernetes
version, it's slower to provision than `kind`, and it's not supported by [Enhanced Container Isolation](/manuals/security/for-admins/hardened-desktop/enhanced-container-isolation/index.md) (ECI),
meaning that if ECI is enabled the cluster works but it's not protected by ECI.

`kind` is the newer provisioner, and it's available if you are signed in and are
using Docker Desktop version 4.38 or later. It supports multi-node clusters (for
a more realistic Kubernetes setup), you can choose the Kubernetes version, it's
faster to provision than `kubeadm`, and it's supported by ECI (i.e., when ECI is
enabled, the Kubernetes cluster runs in unprivileged Docker containers, thus
making it more secure). Note however that `kind` requires that Docker Desktop be
configured to use the [containerd image store](containerd.md) (the default image
store in Docker Desktop 4.34 and later).

The following table summarizes this comparison.

| Feature | `kubeadm` | `kind` |
| :------ | :-----: | :--: |
| Availability | Docker Desktop 4.0+ | Docker Desktop 4.38+ (requires sign in) |
| Multi-node cluster support | No | Yes |
| Kubernetes version selector | No | Yes |
| Speed to provision | ~1 min | ~30 seconds |
| Supported by ECI | No | Yes |
| Works with containerd image store | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Docker image store | Yes | No |

## Using the kubectl command

Kubernetes integration automatically installs the Kubernetes CLI command
at `/usr/local/bin/kubectl` on Mac and at `C:\Program Files\Docker\Docker\Resources\bin\kubectl.exe` on Windows. This location may not be in your shell's `PATH`
variable, so you may need to type the full path of the command or add it to
the `PATH`.

If you have already installed `kubectl` and it is
pointing to some other environment, such as `minikube` or a Google Kubernetes Engine cluster, ensure you change the context so that `kubectl` is pointing to `docker-desktop`:

```console
$ kubectl config get-contexts
$ kubectl config use-context docker-desktop
```

> [!TIP]
>
> If the `kubectl` config get-contexts command returns an empty result, try:
>
> - Running the command in the Command Prompt or PowerShell.
> - Setting the `KUBECONFIG` environment variable to point to your `.kube/config` file.

### Verify installation

To confirm that Kubernetes is running, list the available nodes:

```console
$ kubectl get nodes
NAME                 STATUS    ROLES            AGE       VERSION
docker-desktop       Ready     control-plane    3h        v1.29.1
```

If you installed `kubectl` using Homebrew, or by some other method, and