Limitations

• Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later only.
• arm64 images only. amd64 images don't run. Apple is ending support for Rosetta 2.
• No built-in Kubernetes.
• No IPv6 inside the VM.
• You can't reach a container by its IP address from your Mac. Publish a port instead.
• SSH agent forwarding into docker build doesn't work yet.
• If you touch a file only to change its timestamp, file watchers inside containers don't see it. Saving or editing the file works.
• A process that holds on to memory after it's done, for example Node after a large build, keeps the VM's memory up until it lets go.
• A schedule inside an app's own process, such as node-cron, doesn't count as use, so its project can go to sleep. Label it barely.sleep=false, see Sleep and hibernate.

Questions

Can I run amd64 images?

No. arm64 images only, no Rosetta. An image built only for Intel and AMD (amd64) won't run.

Does it work on an Intel Mac?

No. Barely runs on Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later.

Do file watchers and hot reload work in containers?

Yes. Saving a file on your Mac fires the watcher in the container. Only a touch that changes nothing but the timestamp goes unseen.