Kiri Mac
In the lab Apple silicon · macOS 14 or later
Kiri for Mac.
One small Linux VM through Apple's Virtualization.framework, one Rust daemon inside it, and a native app on top. The docker CLI, Compose and buildx work as they do today, only faster.
Kiri runs, and these numbers were measured on it. The download isn't out yet.
Measured
14.2 ms to run a container.
alpine running true and removed, start to finish, all three engines driven by the same docker CLI.
| Measurement | Kiri | Docker Desktop | OrbStack |
|---|---|---|---|
docker run --rm alpine true | 14.2 ms | 243 ms | 442 ms |
| The same through the Docker Engine API | 2.55 ms | 213 ms | 380 ms |
Median of 30 runs on one Apple silicon Mac, Docker's default bridge network. Most of Kiri's CLI figure is the docker CLI starting up. Every figure and its caveats: benchmarks.
Mac
Built for the Mac, not ported to it.
A Mac app, not a web wrapper
AppKit and the system WebKit, so no Electron. Containers, images, volumes, networks and Compose projects, with live logs, a terminal and the files of each container.
Lives in the menu bar
Kiri stays in the menu bar when its window closes, with the VM's state and your running containers a click away.
Your containers in Finder
Every container's files appear at ~/Kiri in Finder, always current, read-only.
Intel images too
amd64 images run through Rosetta, and --platform is honoured.
Apps by name
Running apps open at myapp.kiri.local, with HTTPS from Kiri's own certificate authority, limited to Kiri's names.
Light when idle
A memory balloon hands unused memory back, and the VM sleeps after a minute idle. The daemon stays at about 15 MB; waking takes 0.15 s.
Kubernetes and Linux machines
kiri k8s start gives you a single-node cluster in about 20 s. kiri machine create dev gives you an Ubuntu shell with your user and /Users at the same path.
Bring your things over
Kiri moves your images, volumes and containers over from OrbStack or Docker Desktop, so you can switch without rebuilding.
Signed, notarized, updated safely
The app is signed with a Developer ID and notarized. Updates are checked by SHA-256 and signature before they install.
When it lands
What you'll need.
A Mac with Apple silicon
M1 or later, on macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Intel Macs aren't supported.
Nothing else
Kiri brings its own docker, Compose and buildx and adds a kiri docker context. Already have a docker? Kiri Lite leaves the tools out.
Coming from OrbStack or Docker Desktop?
Keep them installed while you try Kiri. It uses its own context and socket, and can import what you have.
Day one
Three steps to your first container.
Open the app
Open the disk image, drag Kiri to Applications and open it. It starts the VM and lives in the menu bar.
Open a new Terminal window
So it picks up the
kirianddockercommands Kiri just put on your PATH.Run something
$ kiri run --rm hello-worldYour usual
dockeranddocker composecommands now run on Kiri too.