<p>On macOS there's Docker Desktop which comes with a kubectl, there's the Homebrew kubectl, then there's the gcloud kubectl.</p>
<p>I'm looking to use Minikube for local Kubernetes development and also GKE for production.</p>
<p>Which kubectl should I use? I'm thoroughly confused by all the various versions and how they differ from one another. Does it matter at all other than the version of the binary?</p>

damd
<p>It doesn't really matter from where you get an executable as long as it is a trusted source. Although you have to use a supported version (<a href="https://kubernetes.io/docs/setup/release/version-skew-policy/#kubectl" rel="nofollow noreferrer">documentation</a>):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>kubectl is supported within one minor version (older or newer) of kube-apiserver.</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<p>kube-apiserver is at 1.20
kubectl is supported at 1.21, 1.20, and 1.19</p>
</blockquote>
