OrbStack is a native macOS application that replaces Docker Desktop, providing an all-in-one environment for running Docker containers, full Linux virtual machines, and local Kubernetes clusters. It runs Linux VMs directly on the macOS hypervisor framework for near-native performance, uses VirtioFS for fast bidirectional file sharing between macOS and Linux, and leverages Rosetta for near-native x86 emulation on Apple Silicon. The system assigns predictable local domain names to containers and VMs with automatic HTTPS certificate generation, forwards ports via event-driven updates, and stores Docker registry credentials securely in the macOS keychain.
The tool distinguishes itself through deep macOS integration and efficient resource management. It provides a native macOS menu bar interface and GUI for managing containers, volumes, images, and Kubernetes resources, alongside bundled Docker CLI tools that are kept up to date automatically. OrbStack supports running Docker Compose projects with automatic domain names, checkpointing and restoring running containers using CRIU, and running side-by-side with Docker Desktop or Colima using Docker contexts. It can spin up dozens of Linux machines with negligible additional CPU overhead, allocate CPU, memory, and disk on demand, and run multi-service stacks with lower energy consumption than alternative container runtimes.
The platform covers container lifecycle management, Linux virtual machine creation and management, local Kubernetes cluster management, and multi-architecture container support. It handles networking with unified bridge networking, host networking, IPv6 support, VPN integration, and automatic proxy forwarding. File sharing works bidirectionally between macOS and containers or Linux machines, with support for bind mounts, volumes, and direct access to image and volume files from the macOS file system. Security features include SSH agent forwarding, passwordless sudo, isolated sandbox environments for untrusted code, and automatic TLS certificate generation for container domains.