container README

The project's README from github.com/apple/container. As one markdown file: README.md.

Containerization logo  container

container is a tool that you can use to create and run Linux containers as lightweight virtual machines on your Mac. It's written in Swift, and optimized for Apple silicon.

The tool consumes and produces OCI-compatible container images, so you can pull and run images from any standard container registry. You can push images that you build to those registries as well, and run the images in any other OCI-compatible application.

container uses the Containerization Swift package for low-level container, image, and process management.

introductory movie showing some basic commands

Get started

Requirements

You need a Mac with Apple silicon to run container. To build it, see the BUILDING document.

container is supported on macOS 26, since it takes advantage of new features and enhancements to virtualization and networking in this release. We do not support older versions of macOS and the container maintainers typically will not address issues that cannot be reproduced on macOS 26.

Initial install

Download the latest signed installer package for container from the GitHub release page.

To install the tool, double-click the package file and follow the instructions. Enter your administrator password when prompted, to give the installer permission to place the installed files under /usr/local.

Start the system service with:

container system start

Run your first container

container run --rm alpine echo hello

This pulls the alpine image, runs it in a lightweight Linux VM, prints hello, and removes the container when it exits. See the tutorial for a fuller walkthrough that builds and publishes an image of your own.

Upgrade or downgrade

For both upgrading and downgrading, you can manually download and install the signed installer package by following the steps from initial install or use the update-container.sh script (installed to /usr/local/bin).

If you're upgrading or downgrading, you must stop your existing container:

container system stop

To upgrade to the latest release, simply run the command below:

/usr/local/bin/update-container.sh

To downgrade, you must uninstall your existing container (the -k flag keeps your user data, while -d removes it):

/usr/local/bin/uninstall-container.sh -k
/usr/local/bin/update-container.sh -v 0.3.0

Start the system service with:

container system start

Uninstall

Use the uninstall-container.sh script (installed to /usr/local/bin) to remove container from your system. To remove your user data along with the tool, run:

/usr/local/bin/uninstall-container.sh -d

To retain your user data so that it is available should you reinstall later, run:

/usr/local/bin/uninstall-container.sh -k

Next steps

Contributing

Contributions to container are welcome and encouraged. Please see our main contributing guide for more information.

Project Status

The container project is under active development. Its release versions are product versions, not semantic versions.

The container CLI compatibility generally preserves backward compatibility within a major release (not breaking existing scripts), however, there may be the odd case where breaking compatibility may be necessary. Note: Features marked experimental (for example, the k8s subcommand) may change and do not guarantee backward compatibility.

The container-apiserver XPC API compatibility preserves forward and backward compatibility within a major version. Other non-public XPC helpers do not guarantee CLI or API compatibility across different versions.

The container application data provides forward compatibility only, guaranteed within one major version. Upgrading to a newer major version may require a specific upgrade path.

container (apple/container)

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50.7K ·GitHub
Container
What is this?A tool for creating and running Linux containers as lightweight virtual machines on a Mac, optimized for Apple silicon.
Is this a Docker replacement or something else?It is a CLI tool that consumes and produces OCI-compatible container images, so it works like Docker but each container runs in its own lightweight VM instead of sharing a kernel.
How do I install and run it?Download the latest signed installer package from the GitHub release page, double-click it, enter your admin password, then start the system service and run a container, e.g. pulling and running the alpine image.
What Mac do I need to run this?You need a Mac with Apple silicon; building from source requires following the separate BUILDING document.
Does it work on older macOS versions?No, it only supports macOS 26 since it relies on new virtualization and networking features in that release, and maintainers won't address issues that can't be reproduced there.
Does it run on Intel Macs too?No, it is built specifically for Apple silicon and does not support Intel Macs.
Can I push images I build to a registry?Yes, you can push images built with container to any standard registry and run them in any other OCI-compatible application.
How does it manage containers under the hood?It uses the Containerization Swift package for low-level container, image, and process management.
How do I upgrade or uninstall it?You can download a new signed installer, use the update-container.sh script for upgrades/downgrades, or run uninstall-container.sh (with -k to keep user data or -d to remove it).
Is the k8s subcommand stable?No, features marked experimental such as the k8s subcommand may change and do not guarantee backward compatibility.
What are similar projects?podman, runc, arcbox, grype, colima, tart, buildkit, lima
Which topics is it in?oci, virtualization, containers, apple-silicon, swift, devops, command-line-tool, docker, self-hosted, cli, macos, open-source
Creator
apple
Size
10 MB
Stars
50.7K
Updated
CommitOct 16Release1.5.0Sep 29
Age
1y
Commits · 90 Days