oz - Colima: A lightweight alternative to Docker Desktop

Why I Switched from Docker Desktop to Colima

Docker Desktop started to feel bloated, slow, and required system reboots way too often. I wanted a lightweight, open alternative with fewer hiccups and better performance on macOS. Colima (powered by Lima + nerdctl) checked these boxes.

Uninstalling Docker Desktop

I used AppCleaner to ensure everything from Docker Desktop was fully removed:

brew uninstall --cask docker

Installing Colima + Docker CLI

brew install colima docker docker-compose

Make sure Docker CLI points to Colima’s socket:

echo 'export DOCKER_HOST="unix://$HOME/.colima/default/docker.sock"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Starting Colima

colima start --cpu 2 --memory 4 --disk 20 --arch aarch64 --mount-type virtiofs

virtiofs gave better performance than the default.

Optional for Intel compatibility:

colima start --rosetta

Re-creating My Postgres Container

Since Docker Desktop volumes don’t carry over to Colima:

docker run -d \
  --name example-dev-pg-container \
  -p 5432:5432 \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres \
  -v postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data \
  postgres:17

Getting DDEV to Work with Colima

DDEV detected Colima automatically. I ran:

cd ~/dev/php/laravel/laravel-9-app

# Reset and start DDEV
ddev poweroff
ddev start

It pulled fresh DDEV images (as expected) since Docker Desktop’s images were gone.

Then I launched the project:

ddev launch

Everything worked. Local site accessible at https://laravel-9-app.ddev.site.

Notes on Performance

Colima uses far less RAM than Docker Desktop
CLI commands feel snappier
Good support for DDEV, Postgres, Nginx, and more
Volumes and images are not shared with Docker Desktop, so a re-pull is required

Conclusion

Moving from Docker Desktop to Colima was smoother than expected. With just a few commands, I had my entire DDEV + PHP + Postgres workflow running, and it felt lighter and faster. Highly recommend it if you’re on macOS and want more control over your local development stack.