Docs Self-Managed Reference rpk Commands rpk container rpk container start rpk container start Start a local container cluster. This command uses Docker to initiate a local container cluster. Use the --nodes (or the shorthand version -n) flag to specify the number of brokers. The initial broker starts on default ports, with subsequent brokers' ports offset by 1000. You can use the following flags to specify listener ports: --kafka-ports --admin-ports --rpc-ports --schema-registry-ports --proxy-ports Each flag accepts a comma-separated list of ports for your listeners. Use the --any-port flag to let rpk randomly select an available port on the host machine. In case of IP address pool conflict, you may specify a custom subnet and gateway using the --subnet and --gateway flags respectively. By default, this command uses the redpandadata/redpanda:latest Redpanda container image. You can specify a container image by using the --image flag. See the available images at Docker Hub. Usage rpk container start [flags] Examples Start a three-broker cluster: rpk container start -n 3 Start a single-broker cluster, selecting random ports for every listener: rpk container start --any-port Start a 3-broker cluster, selecting the seed kafka and console port only: rpk container start --kafka-ports 9092 --console-port 8080 Start a three-broker cluster, specifying the Admin API port for each broker: rpk container start --admin-ports 9644,9645,9646 Flags Value Type Description --admin-ports strings Redpanda Admin API ports to listen on; check help text for more information. --any-port - Opt in for any (random) ports in all listeners. --console-image string An arbitrary Redpanda Console container image to use (default redpandadata/console:latest). --console-port string Redpanda Console ports to listen on; check help text for more information (default 8080). --gateway string Gateway IP address for the subnet. Must be in the subnet address range (default 172.24.1.1). -h, --help - Help for start. --image string An arbitrary container Redpanda image to use (default redpandadata/redpanda:v24.3.1). --kafka-ports strings Kafka protocol ports to listen on; check help text for more information. --no-profile - If true, rpk will not create an rpk profile after creating a cluster. -n, --nodes uint The number of brokers (nodes) to start (default 1). --proxy-ports strings HTTP Proxy ports to listen on; check help text for more information. --pull - Force pull the container image used. --retries uint The amount of times to check for the cluster before considering it unstable and exiting (default 10). --rpc-ports strings RPC ports to listen on; check help text for more information. --schema-registry-ports strings Schema Registry ports to listen on; check help text for more information. --subnet string Subnet to create the cluster network on (default 172.24.1.0/24). --config string Redpanda or rpk config file; default search paths are /var/lib/redpanda/.config/rpk/rpk.yaml, $PWD/redpanda.yaml, and /etc/redpanda/redpanda.yaml. -X, --config-opt stringArray Override rpk configuration settings. See rpk -X or execute rpk -X help for inline detail or rpk -X list for terser detail. --profile string Profile to use. See rpk profile for more details. -v, --verbose - Enable verbose logging. See also QuickStart - Deploy Redpanda to Docker with a Single Broker QuickStart - Deploy Redpanda to Docker with Three Nodes Back to top × Simple online edits For simple changes, such as fixing a typo, you can edit the content directly on GitHub. Edit on GitHub Or, open an issue to let us know about something that you want us to change. Open an issue Contribution guide For extensive content updates, or if you prefer to work locally, read our contribution guide . Was this helpful? thumb_up thumb_down group Ask in the community mail Share your feedback group_add Make a contribution rpk container purge rpk container status