Container runtimes on macOS (and Linux)

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Get Started GitHub

Quick Start

Install with Homebrew (macOS / Linux)

brew install colima

Docker

colima start
docker run hello-world
docker ps

Kubernetes

colima start --kubernetes
kubectl run caddy --image=caddy
kubectl get pods

Containerd

colima start --runtime containerd
nerdctl run hello-world
nerdctl ps

Incus

colima start --runtime incus
incus launch images:alpine/edge
incus list

Documentation

Features

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Docker Compatible

Full Docker compatibility. Use your existing Docker workflows and tools without any changes.

Containerd Runtime

Native containerd support with nerdctl for a Docker-like CLI experience.

Kubernetes

Built-in Kubernetes support. Start a local k3s cluster with a single command.

Incus Support

Run system containers and VMs with Incus.

Lightweight

Runs with sensible defaults without becoming a burden on the CPU.

AI Workloads

GPU-accelerated AI on Apple Silicon. Run models from HuggingFace and Ollama.

Resource Control

Customize CPU, memory, and disk allocation for your instances.

Multiple Profiles

Run multiple isolated instances with different configurations simultaneously.

What Users Say

"Colima is an art of simplicity. It should be really hard behind the scenes to achieve this level of simplicity."
goura
"I keep recommending Colima to my colleagues as a perfect replacement for Docker Desktop on Mac. It's not only open-source, it actually provides better user experience."
Matvei Antipov
"Colima is incredible, reliable, and easy to use. I use it primarily for hosting on my home servers and it's rock solid."
Hunter H
"Great product. Docker Desktop is not an option for me, and Colima makes Docker usage on Mac effortless."
pavl_ro
"Thank you for an awesome project - use this via DDEV for all my Drupal dev work!"
@rachel
"it just works!"
Neil Quinn
"always nice for someone to give to the community!"
cayossarian
"I have a license to use Docker Desktop on my Mac, but Colima is much better."
Colima User

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