When installing (or reinstalling) Docker Desktop with Kubernetes on a Windows system, don’t forget that Docker Desktop installs the relevant kubeconfig file only on your windows host, and not in the directory required for kubectl access within your WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) installation!

If you receive the error The connection to the server localhost:6445 was refused - did you specify the right host or port?, this may be your issue.

You can resolve the issue by copying the kubeconfig file to your WSL installation by running:

cp /mnt/c/Users/<YourUsername>/.kube/config ~/.kube/config