# rpk redpanda start

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/llms.txt). Component-specific: [streaming-full.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming-full.txt)

---
title: rpk redpanda start
latest-redpanda-tag: v25.3.11
latest-console-tag: v3.7.3
latest-operator-version: v26.1.4
# EOL = End-of-Life (support lifecycle status)
page-is-nearing-eol: "false"
page-is-past-eol: "false"
page-eol-date: November 19, 2026
latest-connect-version: 4.93.0
docname: rpk/rpk-redpanda/rpk-redpanda-start
page-component-name: streaming
page-version: "25.3"
page-component-version: "25.3"
page-component-title: Streaming
page-relative-src-path: rpk/rpk-redpanda/rpk-redpanda-start.adoc
page-edit-url: https://github.com/redpanda-data/docs/edit/v/25.3/modules/reference/pages/rpk/rpk-redpanda/rpk-redpanda-start.adoc
page-git-created-date: "2023-05-17"
page-git-modified-date: "2025-11-19"
support-status: supported
---

<!-- Source: https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/25.3/reference/rpk/rpk-redpanda/rpk-redpanda-start.md -->

> ❗ **IMPORTANT**
>
> This command is not supported on macOS, Windows.

Start Redpanda.

## [](#setting-up-a-mode)Setting up a mode

It’s possible to setup a mode for redpanda to start. Currently we support the mode `dev-container`.

To set up the mode `dev-container` run:

```bash
rpk redpanda start --mode dev-container
```

Mode uses well-known configuration properties for development or tests environments:

Bundled flags:

-   `--overprovisioned`

-   `--reserve-memory 0M`

-   `--check=false`

-   `--unsafe-bypass-fsync`


Bundled cluster properties:

-   `write_caching_default: true`

-   `auto_create_topics_enabled: true`

-   `group_topic_partitions: 3`

-   `storage_min_free_bytes: 10485760 (10MiB)`

-   `topic_partitions_per_shard: 1000`

-   `fetch_reads_debounce_timeout: 10`


After redpanda starts you can modify the cluster properties using:

```bash
rpk config set <key> <value>
```

## [](#usage)Usage

```bash
rpk redpanda start [flags]
```

## [](#flags)Flags

| Value | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| --advertise-kafka-addr | strings | A comma-separated list of Kafka addresses to advertise.<scheme>:<host>:<port>|<name> |
| --advertise-pandaproxy-addr | strings | A comma-separated list of Pandaproxy addresses to advertise.<scheme>:<host>:<port>|<name> |
| --advertise-rpc-addr | string | The advertised RPC address<host>:<port> |
| --check | - | When set to false, will disable system checking before starting redpanda (default true). |
| -h, --help | - | Help for start. |
| --install-dir | string | Directory where redpanda has been installed. |
| --kafka-addr | strings | A comma-separated list of Kafka listener addresses to bind to.<scheme>:<host>:<port>|<name> |
| --mode | string | Sets well-known configuration properties for development or test environments; use --mode help for more info. |
| --node-tuner-state-path | string | Alternative path to read the node tuner state file from (if exists). |
| --pandaproxy-addr | strings | A comma-separated list of Pandaproxy listener addresses to bind to.<scheme>:<host>:<port>|<name> |
| --rpc-addr | string | The RPC address to bind to.<host>:<port> |
| --schema-registry-addr | strings | A comma-separated list of Schema Registry listener addresses to bind to.<scheme>:<host>:<port>|<name> |
| -s, --seeds | strings | A comma-separated list of seed nodes to connect to.<scheme>:<host>:<port>|<name> |
| --timeout | duration | The maximum time to wait for the checks and tune processes to complete. The value passed is a sequence of decimal numbers, each with optional fraction and a unit suffix, such as 300ms, 1.5s or 2h45m. Valid time units are ns, us (or µs), ms, s, m, h (default 10s). |
| --tune | - | When present will enable tuning before starting redpanda. |
| --well-known-io | string | The cloud vendor and VM type, in the format<vendor>:<vm-type>:<storage-type> |
| --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. |