lima
Linux virtual machines, with a focus on running containers
Run Linux VMs on Mac with automatic file sharing and port forwarding, designed for container tools but works for any Linux workload.
Lima is a tool for running Linux virtual machines on a Mac, written in Go. It provides automatic file sharing between your Mac and the Linux VM, and port forwarding — similar to how WSL2 works on Windows. The original purpose was to make it easy for Mac users to run containerd and nerdctl (container tools popular in the cloud-native ecosystem), but Lima works for any Linux workload, not just containers.
Beyond containerd, Lima supports other container runtimes including Docker, Podman, and Kubernetes, and it also runs on Linux and NetBSD hosts. Starting a VM is just brew install lima and limactl start. It is an incubating project under the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF). Several popular tools are built on top of Lima, including Rancher Desktop, Colima, Finch, and Podman Desktop.
Where it fits
- Run containerized applications on Mac without Docker Desktop by using containerd and nerdctl.
- Develop and test Kubernetes workloads locally on a Mac with automatic file syncing.
- Use Podman or Docker inside a lightweight Linux VM for cloud-native development.
- Build tools like Rancher Desktop or Finch on top of Lima for simplified container management.