What is Colima used for?

Colima runs container runtimes such as Docker, containerd and Incus on macOS and Linux with a simple command-line setup. It is a good fit for Docker on a Mac without Docker Desktop, local Kubernetes testing on macOS and running Linux containers on Apple Silicon.

Is Colima open source?

Yes. Colima is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at abiosoft/colima and is written mainly in Go.

Yes. Colima is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

What is Colima an alternative to?

Colima is an open-source alternative to Docker Desktop and OrbStack. Other open-source alternatives to Docker Desktop include Podman Desktop, Lima and Rancher Desktop.

Is Colima actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Colima was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v0.10.3, published on 4 June 2026. The project has 31k stars on GitHub.

Colima: open-source alternative to Docker Desktop, OrbStack

About Colima

Colima gives you container runtimes on macOS and Linux without much configuration. It supports Intel and Apple Silicon Macs as well as Linux, and offers a command-line interface with sensible defaults, so a single start command gets a working Docker environment without a desktop application. It is written in Go, builds on Lima, and is released under the MIT license.

Colima starts with Docker as the default runtime, optionally with Kubernetes, and can instead use containerd with nerdctl or Incus for containers and virtual machines. It handles automatic port forwarding, volume mounts and multiple instances, and mentions GPU-accelerated containers for AI workloads. Settings can be supplied through flags or a config file. Colima is available from Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix and Mise, and the Docker or kubectl client is installed separately.

Key features

Docker, containerd and Incus runtimes
Optional Kubernetes with the --kubernetes flag
Automatic port forwarding and volume mounts
Multiple isolated instances
Intel and Apple Silicon macOS plus Linux
GPU-accelerated containers for AI workloads

Good fit for

→Docker on a Mac without Docker Desktop
→Local Kubernetes testing on macOS
→Running Linux containers on Apple Silicon

Built with: Go; Docker; Kubernetes
Tags: containers; docker; macos; lima; kubernetes; containerd; incus; developer-tools

Colima: questions and answers

What is Colima used for?: Colima runs container runtimes such as Docker, containerd and Incus on macOS and Linux with a simple command-line setup. It is a good fit for Docker on a Mac without Docker Desktop, local Kubernetes testing on macOS and running Linux containers on Apple Silicon.
Is Colima open source?: Yes. Colima is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at abiosoft/colima and is written mainly in Go.
Is Colima free?: Yes. Colima is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
What is Colima an alternative to?: Colima is an open-source alternative to Docker Desktop and OrbStack. Other open-source alternatives to Docker Desktop include Podman Desktop, Lima and Rancher Desktop.
Is Colima actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Colima was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v0.10.3, published on 4 June 2026. The project has 31k stars on GitHub.