Two different shapes of the same job
Colima describes itself as “container runtimes on macOS (and Linux) with minimal setup”, and its name means Containers on Lima. You install it, run colima start, and it boots a Linux virtual machine through Lima with Docker, containerd or Incus inside. You manage it from the terminal. It is a clean, well-liked tool for people who live in the terminal and want nothing else.
Oxcart is a Mac app first. It runs its own Docker-compatible engine, built against public protocols and upstream components (containerd, BuildKit, runc), and ships everything the docker command needs in one notarized DMG: docker 29.9.0, Docker Compose 5.6.0, Buildx 0.38.0 and the Keychain credential helper. You get a main window for containers, images, volumes, networks and disk usage, a menu bar that costs 0.0004 % of a core with 20 containers running (the app itself), and a terminal workflow that is exactly what you already type.
Side by side
| Feature | Oxcart | Colima |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Native Mac app with its own Docker-compatible engine | Command-line tool that runs container runtimes in a Lima Linux virtual machine |
| Platforms | macOS 26 or later, Apple silicon | macOS (Intel and Apple silicon) and Linux |
| License and price | Proprietary; free for 60 days, then $20 per user per major version | MIT, free |
| Runtimes | Docker-compatible engine (Docker API 1.40 to 1.54) | Docker, containerd, Incus |
| Kubernetes | Not built in | Optional: colima start --kubernetes |
| How you use it | Mac app (main window, inspector with logs, stats, terminal and files, menu bar) and the docker CLI | The colima command and the docker CLI |
| Included tools | docker 29.9, Compose 5.6, Buildx 0.38, Keychain credential helper | The runtime; the CLI tools are your choice |
Where Oxcart pulls ahead
Speed you feel on every command
Oxcart's engine was built for the commands you repeat all day. On one Apple silicon Mac, with each runtime set to 8 CPUs and 12 GiB and run one at a time, Oxcart was the fastest of the three runtimes we tested (Oxcart, OrbStack and Docker Desktop) at the container lifecycle:
| Operation | Oxcart | vs next fastest |
|---|---|---|
docker run --rm … true | 42 ms | 3.4× |
8 concurrent docker run --rm | 96 ms | 3.9× |
docker stop | 19 ms | 5.6× |
| Stop and remove 20 containers | 77 ms | 8.9× |
| API create (Testcontainers, SDKs) | 2.5 ms | 7× |
| Build, cached | 121 ms | 1.2× |
Oxcart 0.1.2 measured 2026-10-10 with its bundled docker 29.9 client; OrbStack 2.2.3 and Docker Desktop 4.94.0 measured earlier the same day, on the same Mac and harness, with docker 29.4. Colima was not measured. Full table: all comparisons.
An app that explains itself
The Ports view groups every published port by repository, worktree and branch, and says why a port isn't answering: address in use, a server listening only on 127.0.0.1 inside the container, or nothing listening. Compose projects show as groups with group actions. When everything works, you see containers, not infrastructure; when something breaks, a banner explains it in one sentence.
Built for coding agents
Oxcart includes oxcart mcp, a local MCP server with 13 tools. A crash diagnosis comes back in 159 tokens instead of the 2,014 an agent reads from docker inspect plus docker logs. Agents start read-only; you raise them to Manage or Full, or Block them, per agent. The levels are a guard, not a sandbox: an agent with a shell can still run docker itself. There are setup steps for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code with Copilot and 14 more. See Docker for AI coding agents.
Locked down by default
Published and outbound TCP between your Mac and the engine travels in TLS 1.3, pinned to a certificate made fresh at every start. The Docker API lives on a private Unix socket only. The app is Developer ID signed and notarized, updates must carry a valid EdDSA signature, and setup makes no network connections. Outbound connections are opened by the Mac itself, so your VPN, split DNS and Little Snitch rules apply to containers.
Where Colima is the better fit
- You need it free. Colima is MIT-licensed and costs nothing.
- You run Kubernetes locally.
colima start --kubernetesgives you a cluster; Oxcart has none built in. - You are on an Intel Mac, an older macOS, or Linux. Colima runs there; Oxcart needs Apple silicon and macOS 26.
- You want containerd or Incus directly. Colima offers both runtimes.
Moving from Colima to Oxcart
Your Compose files, Dockerfiles and scripts don't change: Oxcart runs the same docker CLI. Install Oxcart, then point the docker command at it with docker context use oxcart. Images live in each engine's own storage, so pull or rebuild what you need, or move an image with docker save and docker load. Your Colima context stays where it was, so you can switch back with one command. The full walkthrough is in switching to Oxcart.
Questions
Is Oxcart a Colima alternative?
Yes. Both give you a Docker-compatible engine on a Mac that the docker CLI and Docker Compose talk to. Colima is a free command-line tool that runs a Linux virtual machine through Lima. Oxcart is a native Mac app with its own engine, a menu bar, a Ports view, a local MCP server for coding agents and the docker CLI, Compose and Buildx in the box.
Is Colima free?
Yes. Colima is open source under the MIT license and free for any use, as of October 2026. Oxcart is free for 60 days and then $20 per user, per major version: not a subscription.
Which is faster, Oxcart or Colima?
We have not benchmarked Colima, so we do not publish a number for it. Against the two runtimes we did measure on the same Mac, Oxcart was the fastest of the three at starting, stopping and building containers: docker run --rm in 42 ms and stopping and removing 20 containers in 77 ms. Run the same commands on your own Mac with both installed and compare.
Does Oxcart support Kubernetes like Colima does?
Colima includes an optional local cluster through colima start --kubernetes. Oxcart gives you fast local containers, privileged containers and image builds for your Kubernetes workflow. Use kubectl and k9s on your Mac to work with the cluster in your kubeconfig; see Kubernetes on a Mac.
Can I run Oxcart and Colima on the same Mac?
Yes. Each has its own Docker context. Oxcart adds an oxcart context and makes it current only if the current one is default with nothing answering, so it does not take over a Colima context you are using. Switch with docker context use.
Does Colima run on Intel Macs? Does Oxcart?
Colima supports Intel and Apple silicon Macs, and Linux. Oxcart requires a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 26 or later.
Do I need Homebrew to install Oxcart?
No. Oxcart is a notarized DMG that includes docker 29.9, Docker Compose 5.6 and Buildx 0.38. Setup makes no network connections and asks for one administrator password, for the helper that links the command-line tools.
Sources and method
- Oxcart speed: Oxcart 0.1.2, 2026-10-10, Apple M5 Max (36 GiB), macOS 27.2, 8 CPUs and 12 GiB, one product at a time, medians of five samples after a warmup. OrbStack 2.2.3 and Docker Desktop 4.94.0 measured earlier the same day on the same Mac and harness with docker 29.4.
- Menu bar cost and MCP answer sizes: measured on Oxcart, 2026-10-09 and 2026-10-10.
- Colima: https://github.com/abiosoft/colima (description, platforms, MIT license, runtimes,
--kubernetes), checked 2026-10-10. - Lima: https://github.com/lima-vm/lima, checked 2026-10-10.