Containers

A modern, native macOS application for managing Linux containers using Apple's container runtime.

Getting Started

First Launch

1. Launch the Containers app from your Applications folder
2. The app will automatically initialize the container system on first launch
3. Once initialized, the dashboard will show the main interface with tabs for Containers and Images

Managing Images

1. Click the Images tab to view and manage container images
2. To pull a new image:
   • Click the Pull Image button
   • Enter the image reference (e.g., docker.io/library/nginx:latest, alpine:latest, ubuntu:latest)
   • Click Pull to download the image
3. View image details by clicking on an image name
4. Delete unused images with the trash icon

Creating and Running Containers

1. Click the Containers tab
2. Click Create Container to configure a new container:
   • Select an image from the dropdown (pull an image first if needed)
   • Configure resources (CPU cores, memory)
   • Add environment variables if needed
   • Set up port mappings to expose container services
   • Configure the command and arguments (optional - uses image defaults if not specified)
3. Click Create to create the container
4. Start the container using the play button
5. View container logs, details, and inspect configuration by clicking the container name

Menu Bar

The Containers app also runs in your menu bar, showing the current system status. Click the menu bar icon to:

• Quickly start/stop the container system
• Open the dashboard
• Access settings

System Requirements

• macOS 26.0 or later
• Apple Silicon Mac (M1/M2/M3/M4)

Contributing

This is a community-led effort, so we welcome as many contributors who can help. Read the Contribution Guide for more information.