apple/container

Gantry is a first-class UI for Apple's container runtime — manage its background services, machines, and local DNS without dropping to a terminal.

Setup

Install the container CLI 1.0+ from Apple's official signed installer. Gantry detects it automatically and, if it's missing or outdated, offers a guided setup. Then add an Apple Container host from Add Host….

Heads up
Use the official signed installer rather than the Homebrew bottle — the bottle omits the machine API server, so container machine cannot run.

Background services

apple/container relies on background services that must be running for any container to work. Start or stop them from the menu-bar strip or Settings → Apple.

What's different from Docker

  • Every container gets its own routable IP on your Mac — no port publishing needed to reach it.
  • Containers can resolve by name through local DNS domains.
  • Machines are long-lived Linux VMs (comparable to OrbStack machines) — see Machines.
  • Compose files can be brought up directly on an apple host.