Apple Container Setup — Install & Run First Container in 10 Minutes

Prerequisites

You need

macOS 26 or later
Apple Silicon Mac (M1/M2/M3/M4)
Homebrew installed
Terminal access

You don't need

Docker Desktop (uninstall it now, or keep both — they coexist)
Xcode or developer tools beyond what Homebrew requires
A paid license — Apple Container is free

Step 1: Install Apple Container

brew install container

This installs the container CLI. Verify with:

container version

Expected output: version string with build info. If you see command not found, restart your terminal or run brew link container.

Step 2: Start the Container System

container system start

This initializes the Virtualization.framework backend. You'll be prompted for your password once — Apple Container needs it to create VMs. After the first run, it starts automatically on login (configurable via launchd).

Verify the system is running:

container system status

Step 3: Configure DNS

Apple Container uses its own DNS domain for inter-container communication. Set it once:

container system property set dns.domain dev.internal

This means containers can reach each other at container-name.dev.internal — no port mapping needed. Each container gets its own IP on the virtual network.

Key difference from Docker: No -p 8080:80 port mapping. In Apple Container, each container has its own IP. You access it directly at <container-ip>:80 or via DNS at <name>.dev.internal:80.

Step 4: Pull and Run Your First Container

Pull an image from Docker Hub (OCI compatible):

container pull nginx:latest

Run it:

container run --name my-nginx nginx:latest

Check it's running:

container ps
CONTAINER ID   NAME       IMAGE          STATUS    IP
abc123def456   my-nginx   nginx:latest   running   10.0.0.2

Access it at http://10.0.0.2 or http://my-nginx.dev.internal — you should see the Nginx welcome page.

Docker → Apple Container Command Cheat Sheet

Action	Docker	Apple Container
List containers	`docker ps`	`container ps`
Run a container	`docker run -d --name X image`	`container run --name X image`
Stop a container	`docker stop X`	`container stop X`
Remove a container	`docker rm X`	`container rm X`
View logs	`docker logs X`	`container logs X`
Execute in container	`docker exec -it X sh`	`container exec X sh`
Pull an image	`docker pull image`	`container pull image`
List images	`docker images`	`container images`
Bind mount	`-v /host/path:/container/path`	`--mount type=bind,src=/host/path,dst=/container/path`
Named volume	`-v vol_name:/path`	`--mount type=volume,src=vol_name,dst=/path`
Environment variable	`-e KEY=val`	`--env KEY=val`

Next: Solve the Compose Problem

You've got a single container running. Now let's handle multi-container setups — without compose.

Compose Alternative →

Install Apple Container & Run Your First Container