const http = require("http");
const PORT = 3000;
const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
res.end("Hello from Node.js running inside Kubernetes!");
});
server.listen(PORT, () => console.log(`Server running on port ${PORT}`));

FROM node:18-alpine
WORKDIR /usr/src/app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm install
COPY . .
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["node", "app.js"]

docker build -t node-k8s-demo .

apiVersion: apps/v1
k...

Minikube downloaded the base image (kicbase:v0.0.48) and booted a control-plane node.

Everything ran on Windows Home — no Hyper-V needed.

---

🐳 Step 2: Dockerize the Node.js App

I wrote a simple Node.js server (app.js):

const http = require("http");
const PORT = 3000;
const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
res.end("Hello from Node.js running inside Kubernetes!");
});
server.listen(PORT, () => console.log(`Server running on port ${PORT}`));

Then, I created a Dockerfile:

FROM node:18-alpine
WORKDIR /usr/src/app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm install
COPY . .
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["node", "app.js"]

Built the image:

docker build -t node-k8s-demo .

---

☸️ Step 3: Deploy on Kubernetes

Deployment YAML

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
name: node-k8s-deployment
spec:
replicas: 1
selector:
matchLabels:
app: node-k8s
template:
metadata:
labels:
app: node-k8s
spec:
containers:
- name: node-k8s
image: node-k8s-demo
ports:
- containerPort: 3000

Service YAML

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
name: node-k8s-service
spec:
type: NodePort
selector:
app: node-k8s
ports:
- port: 3000
targetPort: 3000
nodePort: 30080

Applied configs:

kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml
kubectl apply -f service.yaml

---

🌐 Step 4: Expose and Access the App

Used Minikube to expose it externally:

minikube service node-k8s-service

✅ Output:

NAMESPACE │       NAME       │ TARGET PORT │            URL
default   │ node-k8s-service │ 3000        │ http://192.168.49.2:30080

Then, visiting http://192.168.49.2:30080 opened my app 🎉

---

🧪 Step 5: Version Verification (ISO Test Concept)

From a real Minikube test example (iso_test.go):

{
"iso_version": "v1.37.0-1758198818-20370",
"kicbase_version": "v0.0.48",
"minikube_version": "v1.37.0",
"commit": "a4f96d0469d67330691be52a99ff1f91e31ba77f"
}

I learned how build metadata (ISO version, commit IDs) ensures consistency in CI/CD — just like in real production releases.

---

🔧 Step 6: Debugging, Logs & Restarts

Things didn’t always go perfectly.

• Sometimes the tunnel didn’t start → fixed by restarting Minikube
• Verified pods using kubectl get pods
• Checked logs with kubectl logs <pod>
• Cleaned up with kubectl delete -f <file>

This taught me real DevOps problem-solving, not just running commands.

---

🧾 Step 7: Git & Documentation

I documented everything in Git and GitHub:

git init
git add .
git commit -m "Node.js Kubernetes demo setup"
git branch -M main
git remote add origin https://github.com/<your-username>/<repo>.git
git push -u origin main

Also added .gitignore and this detailed README.md (you’re reading the same content now 😉).

---

💡 What I Learned

• Kubernetes architecture & Minikube internals
• Docker image creation & reusability
• YAML configuration & rolling updates
• Exposing services via NodePort
• Debugging tunnels and IP routing
• CI version validation (version.json check)
• Proper Git commits and repo structuring
• Documenting DevOps work cleanly

---

📚 Full Stack of What I Explored

✅ Minikube lifecycle

✅ Docker build, run, inspect

✅ Kubernetes Deployments & Services

✅ NodePort & local networking

✅ ISO versioning and metadata validation

✅ Windows compatibility handling

✅ Git workflows

✅ Debugging tunnels and pods

✅ CI/CD thinking & test verification

---

🧠 Final Thoughts

This wasn’t just a “Minikube tutorial.”

It was my complete DevOps learning journey — from writing code to deploying and validating it inside a Kubernetes cluster, all on Windows.

I learned that real DevOps is not about memorizing commands — it’s about understanding how every piece connects.

---

🧑‍💻 Author

Sheik

💡 DevOps | Kubernetes | Docker | Git | Cloud Automation

📦 Hands-on with containers, clusters, and CI/CD pipelines

📬 Connect: GitHub | LinkedIn

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If you found this post helpful, drop a ❤️ or comment your Minikube experience!