Show HN: OrbStack beta – fast, light, simple Docker and Linux on macOS
orbstack.dev
orbstack.dev
Seems really fast so far. I was concerned it didn't contain some of the perf improvements like VirtioFS even that appears to be built in.
Love having competition here!
Highlight features:
- Native macOS app written in Swift, including Docker GUI
- It's fast. Starts in 2 seconds, optimized networking (34 Gbps) and disk, and Rosetta x86 emulation on Apple Silicon. Bind mounts use VirtioFS with optimizations.
- Lightweight. Low CPU and disk usage, and works with lower memory limits. Average long-term background CPU usage is ~0.1% on M1 (1-5 wakeups per second), compared to 25% with Docker Desktop (180-4600 wakeups/s).
- Simple and easy to use. Minimal setup, drop-in replacement for Docker Desktop, 2-way CLI integration for Linux machines, Docker volumes and file access from Mac and Linux, SSH server for remote VS Code, and SSH agent forwarding out of the box. Network respects VPN and DNS settings.
- Powerful features. Runs Docker containers and full Linux distros side-by-side (plus Kubernetes soon). No admin/root required. Network works with IPv6, ICMP, ping/traceroute, etc. Docker host networking is also supported for most use cases.
If you're curious about how it works, you might find the docs interesting: https://docs.orbstack.dev/architecture
I've been working on OrbStack since December. It's been in early access since February. During early access I onboarded 550 people who have generally given excellent feedback, so I'm excited to share the public beta with everyone!