run docker on mac without docker desktop

Inside the Docker Desktop product is a lightweight hypervisor running a virtual Linux instance. The game plan for running Docker on macOS or Windows without using Docker Desktop In other words, there is a worthwhile alternative to Docker Desktop, which is worth exploring. Where it used to be difficult to set up Docker on macOS or Windows using a virtual machine, it is now very easy. Docker is still free, but parts of the Docker ecosystem requires a fee.Ĭhoosing to use Docker Desktop is affected by another fact. It’s important to note that Docker is not no longer free. But, there are those of us who wonder what they can use instead of Docker Desktop.

Since Docker provides excellent business value, there’s a good argument to be made for paying the fee. Some of us might shy away from paying $5 per month (or so) for Docker Desktop. The fees also include services on Docker Hub. The short story is that organizations above a certain size are expected to pay $5 (or so) per month per developer. For details, see: Docker Inc squeezing money from Docker Desktop and other Docker tools. Throughout its history, Docker Desktop has been free, but in August 2021 Docker Inc announced the new freemium model. It comes with a nice GUI for managing the local Docker instance with mouse clicks. Using Docker Desktop was a huge simplification, since everything for Docker is installed as a normal application. In the olden days that meant using VirtualBox, which is a heavy-weight virtual machine system.

Since Docker runs natively on Linux, a Linux virtual machine can be installed and install on it Docker Engine for Linux. In the old days of Docker, getting it installed on a macOS or Windows machine was a major feat. What we’ll discuss is using Multipass, or other virtual machine, to avoid those fees. However, Docker Inc has switched to a freemium model for the Docker Desktop application, which will lead some to avoid using it and instead seek an alternative to avoid paying the fee. It’s worth using, because of how easy it makes to use Docker.

Docker is open source software, and Docker Desktop is a spiffy GUI application to simplify installing Docker on a macOS or Windows machine.

Run docker on mac without docker desktop