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NewFor Apple Silicon Macs

Containers on your Mac. Your Docker workflow intact.

EZGH DevRun is a lightweight alternative to Docker Desktop: a desktop app and CLI that run your containers in a Linux VM on Apple Silicon. Your Docker CLI, Compose files and Buildx builds keep working.

Download for MacUse it with Docker

macOS 13 or later · Apple Silicon · CLI · SHA-256

The DevRun app listing six containers with their images, states and published ports, and the VM's CPU, memory and disk usage in the status bar

Features

One runtime for the app, the CLI and Docker.

The desktop app, the devrun CLI and your Docker clients see the same containers, images and volumes. Use whichever is closest to hand.

Docker and Compose

Point the Docker CLI at DevRun with one command. Compose projects, named networks with service aliases, logs, exec and events keep working.

Builds with Buildx

docker build and compose up --build run on a BuildKit builder inside the VM. Images load straight into DevRun and the cache survives restarts.

Your files, mounted

Bind-mount anything under your home folder or /tmp, and share more folders when you need them. Edits on your Mac show up in your containers.

Ports on localhost

Published TCP ports listen on 127.0.0.1 on your Mac, so localhost:8080 is your container. Nothing is exposed to your network.

Real terminals

Open a shell from the app, or run devrun container exec -it. Resizing, Ctrl-C, detach and exit codes behave the way they should.

Storage that gives back

Named volumes keep their data across container removal and restarts. The disk is sparse and trimmed hourly, so deleted images free space on your Mac.

Docker and Compose

Keep the commands you already know.

Install the devrun CLI and set up DevRun's builder once, then point any shell at DevRun. docker, docker compose and docker buildx talk to it like any other engine.

  1. Install the devrun CLI

    One command. It’s the same CLI the app uses, for Apple Silicon.

  2. Install the Docker CLI and Buildx

    Buildx 0.14 or newer. No Docker Engine or Docker Desktop.

  3. Point a shell at DevRun

    devrun builder-setup once, then devrun docker-env in each shell. Your saved Docker contexts stay as they are.

zsh
# once$ sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/bin$ curl -fsSL https://devrun.app/download/cli | \    sudo tar -xz -C /usr/local/bin devrun$ devrun builder-setup# in each shell$ eval "$(devrun docker-env)"$ docker compose up --build[+] Building 10.4s (14/14) FINISHED ✔ Container app-postgres-1  Started ✔ Container app-redis-1     Started ✔ Container app-api-1       Started$ curl localhost:8080/health{"ok":true}

The desktop app

See and control everything in one window.

Open DevRun and the VM starts on its own. Close it and your containers keep running for the CLI.

A container's logs open in DevRun's details panel, with Stop, Restart, Pause and Kill actions

  • Containers, images and volumes

    One list each, with state, image and ports at a glance.

  • Logs, details and a shell

    Open any container for its logs, its configuration or an interactive terminal.

  • Build from a folder

    Pick a directory, a Dockerfile and a tag; follow the progress, or cancel.

  • Live usage

    CPU, memory and disk for the VM, always in the status bar.

zsh
$ devrun container run --name db \    -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=dev -p 5432:5432 \    -v pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data postgres:17$ devrun container exec -it db psql -U postgrespostgres=# select 1;

The devrun CLI

Scriptable, on the same runtime.

The CLI covers containers, images, volumes and builds, with --json on every command. It talks to the same VM as the app, so everything you start shows up in both.

Virtual machine
Native, on Apple silicon
Runtime
containerd, BuildKit
Disk
256 GiB, sparse

Guides

Docker on the Mac, explained.

All guides

Questions

Frequently asked questions.

Do I need Docker Desktop or Docker Engine?
No. DevRun runs containers with containerd in its own VM. To use docker and docker compose commands, install the Docker CLI and the Buildx plugin; DevRun is the engine they talk to.
macOS asks me to confirm opening DevRun. Why?
DevRun isn’t notarized by Apple yet. The first time you open it, go to System Settings › Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway. You only do this once.
Which Macs does DevRun support?
Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 13 Ventura or later. Intel Macs aren’t supported.
Where do published ports listen?
On 127.0.0.1 on your Mac. TCP ports are supported; UDP publishing isn’t yet.
Which folders can containers mount?
Your home folder and /tmp by default. Add more under File sharing in the app or with devrun share configure; new folders apply after the VM restarts.
Do file watchers see changes from my Mac?
Edits from your Mac don’t raise inotify events inside containers, so set dev servers to poll, for example Vite’s server.watch.usePolling.
What can I build?
ARM64 images from a local folder, with alternate Dockerfiles, multi-stage targets, build arguments, several tags and --no-cache. Pushing images and private registry credentials aren’t supported yet.
What happens when I close the app?
The VM keeps running in the background, so the devrun CLI and your Docker clients keep working. Opening the app again picks up where you left off.
Does it change my Docker setup?
No. devrun docker-env only sets variables in the shell you run it in. Your saved Docker contexts, default builder and credentials stay as they are.

Run your first container in a minute.

Download the app, open it, and the VM starts. Your Docker CLI is one command away.

Download for Mac