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The best alternative to Docker Desktop on macOS is to abandon the GUI entirely use colima to create the linux VM. brew install colima docker docker-buildx
by y0ssar1an 7mo ago
The best alternative to Docker Desktop on macOS is to abandon the GUI entirely use colima to create the linux VM.
brew install colima docker docker-buildx docker-completion docker-compose
export DOCKER_HOST="$HOME/.colima/docker.sock" >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc
colima start --cpus 8 --vz-rosetta --ssh-agent --mount $HOME:w
then add this line to your $HOME/.docker/config.json
"cliPluginsExtraDirs": ["/opt/homebrew/lib/docker/cli-plugins"],
that will get you a fast virtiofs VM with the latest docker, including compose and buildx. it may seem scary to replace an officially blessed tool like Docker Desktop, but i have had zero issues with colima. it isn't "docker compatible". it's docker. just need to run `brew upgrade` and `colima update` every once in a while to keep it up to date.
- jaimehrubiks 7mo agoDoes this support volume bind mounts and port forwarding?
- Alifatisk 7mo agoYou can see the command above mounting a volume ”—mount $HOME:w”
- eknkc 7mo agoI’ve been using OrbStack instead of Docker Desktop and gotta say, I’d not replace it with anything else. So if anyones looking for a more automated alternative, check out OrbStack.
- cathalc 7mo agoI hear great things about OrbStack; unfortunately the licensing tied to their free offering doesn't play nicely with corporate environments (and we're cheap!). I switched to Colima instead and couldn't be happier.
- stock_toaster 7mo agoI you fancy needing a GUI, rancher desktop is decent.
- seemaze 7mo agoIf you're going full CLI on macOS, I've had the best experience with: brew install podman Podman manages the linux vm for you automatically. I've come to enjoy podman more than docker on my linux hosts anway; the default runtime (crun) is lighter than docker (runc), podman-kube-play is great for managing multi-container pods and is compatible with kubernetes. It also integrates very neatly with systemd. Of course there is the whole daemon-less and rootless side of the things as well..
- hmokiguess 7mo agoSame, been running on colima for years now and haven't had a single issue with it
- jpalmer 7mo agoI've been using Finch (https://runfinch.com/ https://runfinch.com/) for the last few years, it basically is a managed Lima, nerdctl, containerd and BuildKit. I just alias docker to finch and it just works.
- a456463 7mo agoThank you!!! Been struggling with time skew on Podman desktop for around a year now with no fix in sight. At least in the initial test since I saw your comment a few hours ago, this is working great!
- raulparada 7mo agoTried Podman about a month ago; UI was kinda meh, 'compose' was beyond unusable... then tried Colima (+ lazydocker, a lightweight, beautiful TUI providing the little overview I need) and haven't looked back for a single second.