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Docker & Colima

Container runtime environment for RavenmaskOS on macOS.

Overview​

Colima provides a lightweight VM running Docker Engine on macOS, optimized for Apple Silicon.

PropertyValue
VM TypemacOS Virtualization Framework (vz)
ArchitectureARM64 (aarch64)
CPUs8 cores
Memory16GB
Disk100GB
Mount Typevirtiofs (native macOS)
Docker Socket/Users/ravenhelm/.colima/default/docker.sock

Configuration​

File: ~/.colima/default/colima.yaml

cpu: 8
memory: 16
disk: 100
arch: aarch64
runtime: docker
vmType: vz
mountType: virtiofs
network:
  address: true
  dns:
    - 192.168.50.31    # Pi-hole DNS

Network​

Docker Network​

All services run on a shared bridge network:

# Create network (one-time)
docker network create ravenhelm_net

External Access​

  • Traefik binds to host ports 80/443
  • GitLab SSH binds to host port 2222
  • All other services are internal-only

Quick Commands​

# Check Colima status
colima status

# Start Colima
colima start

# Stop Colima
colima stop

# Restart Colima
colima restart

# SSH into VM
colima ssh

# View resource usage
colima status --extended

# Check Docker socket
ls -la ~/.colima/default/docker.sock

# Set Docker context
export DOCKER_HOST=unix:///Users/ravenhelm/.colima/default/docker.sock

User Permissions​

CRITICAL: Services run under the ravenhelm user, not nate.

UserDocker SocketPurpose
ravenhelm/Users/ravenhelm/.colima/default/docker.sockAll services
nate/Users/nate/.colima/default/docker.sockPersonal use

To access containers as the correct user:

# SSH as ravenhelm
ssh ravenhelm@100.115.101.81

# Or from nate, use sudo
sudo -u ravenhelm docker ps

Resource Monitoring​

# Container resource usage
docker stats --no-stream

# Colima VM resources
colima status

# Disk usage
docker system df

# Clean up unused resources
docker system prune -a

Troubleshooting​

Docker Daemon Not Running​

Symptoms: Cannot connect to Docker daemon

Resolution:

colima status
colima start

Out of Disk Space​

Symptoms: Container builds fail, logs fill up

Resolution:

# Check disk usage
docker system df

# Clean up
docker system prune -a --volumes

# If needed, increase disk size
colima stop
# Edit ~/.colima/default/colima.yaml: disk: 150
colima start

Slow File System Performance​

Symptoms: Container operations slow, high CPU

Resolution:

  • Ensure using vz vmType with virtiofs mounts
  • Avoid mounting large directories from host
  • Use Docker volumes instead of bind mounts for databases

References​