The builtin in "nat" is faster and has no dependencies, but it does not support multi-nodes clusters, or access between single node clusters.
For reference, in qemu we prefer socket_vment if it is installed, or fallback to builtin network (user network).
Compared to socket_vment, instaling vment-helper on macOS 26 is easier, no root required.
To fix the dependency issue, minikube brew package can depend the on vmnet-helper package. We need to wait until vmnet-helper is available in main brew repo, currently it is instal from nirs/vmnet-helper tap.
Suggested change
minikube start --driver vfkit
Use --network "vmnet-shared" if vmnet-helper if installed, or fallback to --network "nat".
If using "nat", recommend to install vmnet-helper for full functionality.
minikube start --driver vfkit --network nat
Use "nat" network. recommend to install vmnet-helper for full functionality.
minikube start --driver vfkit --network vmnet-shared
Use vmnet-helper, no warnings.
The builtin in "nat" is faster and has no dependencies, but it does not support multi-nodes clusters, or access between single node clusters.
For reference, in qemu we prefer socket_vment if it is installed, or fallback to builtin network (user network).
Compared to socket_vment, instaling vment-helper on macOS 26 is easier, no root required.
To fix the dependency issue, minikube brew package can depend the on vmnet-helper package. We need to wait until vmnet-helper is available in main brew repo, currently it is instal from nirs/vmnet-helper tap.
Suggested change
minikube start --driver vfkitUse --network "vmnet-shared" if vmnet-helper if installed, or fallback to --network "nat".
If using "nat", recommend to install vmnet-helper for full functionality.
minikube start --driver vfkit --network natUse "nat" network. recommend to install vmnet-helper for full functionality.
minikube start --driver vfkit --network vmnet-sharedUse vmnet-helper, no warnings.