Docker & virtualization

Because your Mac is bare metal (not itself a VM), you can run virtualization layers on top of macOS with full performance.

Docker

Install Docker Desktop (GUI) or Colima (lightweight, CLI-first):

brew install colima docker
colima start --cpu 4 --memory 8
docker run hello-world

Note

Linux containers run inside a lightweight Linux VM on Apple Silicon — that’s normal for Docker on macOS. You cannot run Intel-only images natively at full speed; use multi-arch (arm64) images where possible.

macOS VMs (Anka, Tart)

For ephemeral, reproducible macOS build environments:

• Tart — open-source macOS/Linux VMs on Apple Silicon:

  brew install cirruslabs/cli/tart
  tart clone ghcr.io/cirruslabs/macos-sonoma-xcode:latest sonoma
  tart run sonoma

• Anka (Veertu) — commercial macOS virtualization for build farms.

Licensing & limits

Caution

Apple’s macOS licensing permits a limited number of macOS VMs per physical host. You have the whole machine, so this is yours to manage — stay within Apple’s SLA terms.

This pairs well with self-hosted runners for clean-room builds per job.