> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.siderolabs.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quickstart

> A short guide on setting up a simple Talos Linux cluster locally with Docker.

export const k8s_release = '1.36.1';

export const release_v1_12 = 'v1.12.7';

export const VersionWarningBanner = () => {
  const latestVersion = "v1.13";
  const [latestUrl, setLatestUrl] = useState(null);
  const [currentVersion, setCurrentVersion] = useState(null);
  const [isBeta, setIsBeta] = useState(false);
  const parseVersion = v => v.replace("v", "").split(".").map(Number);
  const isGreaterVersion = (a, b) => {
    const [aMajor, aMinor] = parseVersion(a);
    const [bMajor, bMinor] = parseVersion(b);
    if (aMajor > bMajor) return true;
    if (aMajor === bMajor && aMinor > bMinor) return true;
    return false;
  };
  useEffect(() => {
    if (typeof window === "undefined") return;
    const {pathname, hash, search} = window.location;
    const match = pathname.match(/\/talos\/(v\d+\.\d+)\//);
    if (!match) return;
    const detectedVersion = match[1];
    if (detectedVersion === latestVersion) return;
    setCurrentVersion(detectedVersion);
    if (isGreaterVersion(detectedVersion, latestVersion)) {
      setIsBeta(true);
    }
    const newPath = pathname.replace(`/talos/${detectedVersion}/`, `/talos/${latestVersion}/`);
    setLatestUrl(`${newPath}${search}${hash}`);
  }, []);
  if (!latestUrl || !currentVersion) return null;
  return <div className="not-prose sticky top-6 z-50 my-6">
      <div className="border border-yellow-500/30 bg-yellow-500/10 px-4 py-3 rounded-xl">
        <div className="text-sm">
          {isBeta ? <>
              ⚠️ You are viewing a <strong>beta version</strong> of Talos ({currentVersion}).
              This version may be unstable.
              <a href={latestUrl} className="ml-2 underline text-yellow-400 hover:text-yellow-300 font-medium">
                View latest stable version {latestVersion} →
              </a>
            </> : <>
              ⚠️ You are viewing an older version of Talos ({currentVersion}).
              <a href={latestUrl} className="ml-2 underline text-yellow-400 hover:text-yellow-300 font-medium">
                View the latest version {latestVersion} →
              </a>
            </>}
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>;
};

<VersionWarningBanner />

This guide walks you through spinning up a local Talos Linux cluster using Docker and `talosctl` in a few minutes.

<iframe
  width="560"
  height="315"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IO2Yo3N46nk?si=Ry7mru1X7-oSzEx0"
  title="YouTube video player"
  frameborder="0"
  allow="accelerometer;
autoplay; clipboard-write;
encrypted-media; gyroscope;
picture-in-picture;
web-share"
  referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin"
  allowfullscreen
/>

## Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following tools installed:

* `talosctl`: On macOS or Linux, install `talosctl` by running the command below. For other systems, see the [talosctl documentation](./talosctl):

  ```bash theme={null}
  brew install siderolabs/tap/talosctl
  ```

* `kubectl`: Refer to the [Install kubectl documentation](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/install-kubectl/) for installation instructions.

## Create the cluster

With your prerequisites in place, run the following command to create a cluster on Docker:

```bash theme={null}
talosctl cluster create docker
```

<Note>
  If you are using Docker Desktop on macOS and encounter the error: *Cannot connect to the Docker daemon at unix:///var/run/docker.sock. Is the docker daemon running?*, you may need to manually create the Docker socket symlink:`sudo ln -s "$HOME/.docker/run/docker.sock" /var/run/docker.sock`
</Note>

Once the cluster is up, verify that you can reach Kubernetes by running:

```bash theme={null}
kubectl get nodes -o wide
```

You should see output similar to the following:

<CodeBlock lang="sh">
  {` NAME            STATUS   ROLES           AGE     VERSION             INTERNAL-IP   EXTERNAL-IP   OS-IMAGE                    KERNEL-VERSION   CONTAINER-RUNTIME\ntalos-cfx-nh0   Ready    <none>          2m53s   v${k8s_release}     10.5.13.47    <none>        Talos ${release_v1_12}      <host kernel>    containerd://2.1.6\ntalos-vb5-xfr   Ready    control-plane   2m51s   v${k8s_release}     10.5.13.46    <none>        Talos ${release_v1_12}      <host kernel>    containerd://2.1.6 `}
</CodeBlock>

From here, you can explore the Talos API using `talosctl`:

```bash theme={null}
talosctl --help
```

## Destroy the cluster

When you are done, run the following command to tear down the cluster and clean up all associated resources:

```bash theme={null}
talosctl cluster destroy
```