Testing Kubernetes v1.35 with minikube: A Step-by-Step Guide for multi-node cluster

In every Kubernetes release cycle, the release candidates (RCs) play a big role. They help maintainers, contributors, platform engineers, and curious folks like us validate upcoming changes before the final release drops. Testing RC builds early helps catch regressions, check integrations, and update documentation or automation before production adopters hit the new version.

Kubernetes 1.35 is almost here, with general availability landing on 17 December 2025. The release cycle kicked off in mid-September and has already passed all major freeze milestones, and with the RC out now, it’s a good time to spin up a local cluster and try the new features before GA.

Prerequisites

• Minikube installed
• VirtualBox (or Podman/Docker)
• Basic Kubernetes knowledge
• Your user-installed minikube binary located at: ~/.local/bin/minikube

Update Minikube First

Check the current version:

$ minikube update-check

If you see something like:

$ minikube update-check
CurrentVersion: v1.35.0
LatestVersion: v1.37.0

Update your user-local binary:

$ curl -Lo ~/.local/bin/minikube   https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-linux-amd64
$ chmod +x ~/.local/bin/minikube

Verify:

$ minikube version

Start a Multi-Node Kubernetes v1.35.0-rc.0 Cluster (VirtualBox)

$ minikube start \
    --driver=podman \
    --nodes 3 \
    --cni calico \
    --cpus=2 \
    --memory=2g \
    --kubernetes-version=v1.35.0-rc.0 \
    --container-runtime=containerd \
    --profile k8s-1-35-rc

What these flags mean

• --nodes 3: three-node cluster, 1st node will become the controller/master node.
• --driver=podman: use Podman container as Kubernetes nodes. Use --driver=virtualbox if you want to use VirtualBox VMs as the backend
• --cni calico → networking via Calico
• --profile k8s-1-35-rc → keeps this cluster separate from others
• --kubernetes-version=v1.35.0-rc.0 → explicitly test the RC release

As Minikube starts, you’ll see logs confirming RC lookup, node creation, control plane boot, CNI setup, and worker node join workflow.

Verify the Cluster

$ kubectl get nodes
NAME              STATUS   ROLES           AGE     VERSION
k8s-1-35-rc       Ready    control-plane   2m34s   v1.35.0-rc.0
k8s-1-35-rc-m02   Ready    <none>          2m12s   v1.35.0-rc.0
k8s-1-35-rc-m03   Ready    <none>          117s    v1.35.0-rc.0

At this point you have a full multi-node Kubernetes v1.35 RC cluster running locally.

Managing Multiple Minikube Profiles

List all profiles:

$ minikube profile list

Switch profiles:

$ minikube profile k8s-1-35-rc
✅  minikube profile was successfully set to k8s-1-35-rc

Stop a cluster:

$ minikube stop --profile=k8s-1-35-rc

Start again if needed:

$ minikube start --profile=k8s-1-35-rc

Delete once testing finished

$ minikube delete --profile=k8s-1-35-rc

Wrap-up

You now have a repeatable way to test Kubernetes v1.35.0-rc.0 and other versions using Minikube, either with Podman or VirtualBox.This is the ideal setup for trying new features, checking compatibility, and preparing for the final GA release in December 2025.