colima

DevOps & Security

Guide to using Colima — container runtimes (Docker, containerd, Kubernetes, Incus) on macOS and Linux via lightweight Lima VMs. Use this skill whenever Colima is (or should be) the container backend: installing Colima; `colima start/stop/status/delete/ssh`; picking or switching a runtime; the `Cannot connect to the Docker daemon at unix:///var/run/docker.sock` error; Docker contexts and socket location; registry mirrors / insecure registries; buildx; bind or volume mounts that show up empty in the container; disk space recovery/resize; reachable VM IP; GPU / AI model workloads; config files, profiles and `COLIMA_HOME`; or a Colima VM that won't start. ALSO use it for **writing scripts that drive Colima** — bootstrap, dev-env, deploy, or CI scripts that bring Colima up non-interactively — because the skill has the correct flags, profile-specific socket paths, idempotent `colima start` guards, and readiness/teardown patterns that hand-written scripts routinely get wrong (e.g. inventing a non-existent flag or hardcoding the wrong docker socket). Prefer this over generic Docker advice whenever Colima is the daemon. This skill is specifically about **Colima** — not Docker Desktop, minikube, Kind, K3d, Rancher Desktop, OrbStack, Podman, or plain `limactl`.

QUICK START

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Colima

Colima runs container runtimes on macOS (and Linux) with minimal setup. It's a higher-level wrapper over Lima: it boots a small VM and provisions Docker, containerd, Kubernetes and/or Incus inside it, then wires up the host client so docker (etc.) "just works".

Scope: the canonical source is the repo's own docs (docs/INSTALL.md, docs/FAQ.md) plus README usage. Behavior is version-gated in many places — keep the vX.Y.Z notes when advising, since users run a range of versions. Check the user's version with colima version.

Quick start

brew install colima      # + docker client if using Docker runtime: brew install docker
colima start             # boots the VM, Docker runtime by default
docker run hello-world   # docker client works with no extra setup

Full install options (MacPorts, Nix, Arch, binary, source) → references/install.md.

Core commands

Command	What it does
`colima start [profile]`	Create/start the VM. Flags: `--runtime`, `--kubernetes`, `--cpu`, `--memory`, `--disk`, `--edit`, `--env`, `--dns`, `--network-address`, `--vm-type`, `--foreground`
`colima stop [--force]`	Stop the VM. `--force` recovers a `Broken` status
`colima status`	Show running status (incl. Docker socket path)
`colima list`	List profiles and their status/arch/cpus/mem/disk/runtime
`colima restart`	Stop + start (needed after editing mounts/config)
`colima delete [--data]`	Delete the VM. `--data` also deletes container data (since v0.9.0 data lives on a separate disk)
`colima ssh [-- <cmd>]`	Shell into the VM, or run one command
`colima start --edit`	Start while editing the YAML config (since v0.4.0)
`colima template`	Edit the default config template for new instances
`colima update`	Update the container runtime in place (since v0.7.6)
`colima nerdctl ...`	nerdctl wrapper for the containerd runtime
`colima model ...`	Set up / run AI models (GPU, krunkit; since v0.10.0)
`colima version`	Print the version (use it before applying version-gated advice)

Profiles isolate independent VMs: colima start work operates on the work profile; default is default. colima --help / colima start --help list everything.

Runtimes — chosen at `start`

Default is Docker. Switching the runtime requires re-creating the VM — a stop/start alone does not change it: colima delete --data && colima start --runtime <new>.

Docker (default): colima start → docker ... works directly. Needs the docker client (brew install docker).
Containerd: colima start --runtime containerd → use colima nerdctl ... (run colima nerdctl install to add a nerdctl alias to $PATH).
Kubernetes: colima start --kubernetes (needs kubectl). Shares images with the chosen container runtime.
Incus (v0.7.0+): colima start --runtime incus → incus ....
AI models / GPU (v0.10.0+, Apple Silicon, macOS 13+): colima start --runtime docker --vm-type krunkit then colima model run gemma3.

Per-runtime config, socket location, registry mirrors, buildx, nerdctl, AI model registries → references/runtimes.md.

Registry mirror (common task): colima start --registry-mirror <url> (repeatable) or --edit → add under docker.registry-mirrors. For the client to honor mirrors, the host ~/.docker/daemon.json may also need the same entries. Details → references/runtimes.md.

Customizing the VM

Defaults: 2 CPUs, 2 GiB memory, 100 GiB disk. Customize via flags or the config file.

colima start --cpu 4 --memory 8 --disk 100      # at create time
colima stop && colima start --cpu 4 --memory 8  # change an existing VM (disk can only grow)
colima start --vm-type=vz --vz-rosetta          # Rosetta 2 (v0.5.3+, Apple Silicon, macOS 13+)

Config files, profiles, COLIMA_HOME, passing env into the VM, Lima overrides → references/configuration.md.

Writing a bootstrap / CI / deploy script? See references/automation.md for non-interactive patterns: idempotent start (colima status guard), readiness wait (docker info loop), DOCKER_HOST wiring so the rest of the script targets Colima, --foreground for supervisors, teardown, and a GitHub Actions sketch.

Common gotchas (quick)

Cannot connect to the Docker daemon at unix:///var/run/docker.sock — an app isn't using Colima's Docker context. Point it at Colima's socket (export DOCKER_HOST="unix://$HOME/.colima/default/docker.sock") or relink the socket. Details + socket location by version → references/troubleshooting.md.
Broken status (e.g. after a macOS restart): colima stop --force, then colima start.
Docker bind mount shows empty — the host path must be under /Users/$USER, or add it to the mounts section of the config and colima restart. Paths with spaces are unsupported.
Won't start / fatal error — re-run with --verbose; common causes are no virtualization support or an x86_64 Homebrew/Colima on Apple Silicon. See references/troubleshooting.md.

Full troubleshooting (no internet/DNS, runc/cgroups error, disk recovery & resize, reachable IP, post-upgrade issues, deleting data) → references/troubleshooting.md.

References

references/install.md — all install methods (Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, binary, source).
references/configuration.md — config file & profiles, file locations & env vars, custom VM env, Lima overrides, autostart.
references/runtimes.md — Docker (socket/contexts/registries/buildx), Containerd, Kubernetes, Incus, AI models; comparisons to Lima/minikube/Kind/K3d.
references/troubleshooting.md — startup failures, networking, mounts, disk, updates, deleting data.
references/automation.md — non-interactive patterns for bootstrap / CI / deploy scripts.