Minikube in a (remote) Dev Container

Configure mkcert

Install mkcert on the physical host (the one with the Web Browser) then create a root CA:

# on physical host
mkcert -install

This command will add the CA in detected browsers (Chrome, Firefox, ...), system trust store, Java trust store, ...

If the Dev Container run on a remote host, copy the mkcert directory to this host:

# on physical host
VSCODE_SSH_HOST=user@my-ssh-host # can also reference a host from ~/.ssh/config
ssh $VSCODE_SSH_HOST -- 'mkdir -p ~/.local/share/mkcert'
scp -r ~/.local/share/mkcert $VSCODE_SSH_HOST:~/.local/share

Start the Dev Container

Start VSCode:

# on physical host
code .

If using a remote host, press Ctrl+Shift+P and select Remote-SSH: Connect to Host... to connect :

Clone this repository (press Ctrl+Shift+P and select Git: Clone) :

Press Ctrl+Shift+P and select Dev Containers: Rebuild and Reopen in Container :

Forward traffic

If the Dev Container run on a remote host, it is required to forward the traffic from the physical host (the one with the Web Browser) to the Dev Container running Minikube.

Create a dummy interface with the Minikube IP (192.168.49.2 by default):

# on physical host
sudo ip link add minikube type dummy
sudo ip addr add 192.168.49.2/32 dev minikube

Then forward only this IP:

# on physical host
MINIKUBE_IN_DOCKER_IP=$(ssh $VSCODE_SSH_HOST -- ip -4 neigh show dev docker0 | awk '{print $1}') # 172.17.0.2 in this example
sudo ssh $VSCODE_SSH_HOST -L 192.168.49.2:443:$MINIKUBE_IN_DOCKER_IP:443 -N

Verify you can ping the Minikube IP using nip.io:

# on physical host
ping 192.168.49.2.nip.io

If not, you might check on your router or ISP whether a DNS rebind protection is enabled.

Test with a deployment/service/ingress

Create a sample Deployment, expose it as a Service and create an Ingress to route the traffic from a hostname at Minikube IP:

# in Dev Container
kubectl create deployment web --image=gcr.io/google-samples/hello-app:1.0
kubectl expose deployment web --port 8080
kubectl create ingress web --rule="web.$(minikube ip).nip.io/*=web:8080"

The Web service is now available at https://web.192.168.49.2.nip.io