Docker Compose for Apple’s container.

Homebrew

Installs container too if it’s missing, and adds a shorter compose command that keeps the plugin registered across brew upgrade.

Copybrew install RobertDeRose/tap/container-compose-plugin
container system start
compose --help

mise

Installs container and the plugin with no elevated privileges, and adds the compose command. It registers the plugin with mise’s container on first use, and again after mise upgrade.

Copymise use -g container 'github:RobertDeRose/container-compose-plugin[bin_path=cli,strip_components=1]'
container system start
compose --help

Apple’s installer

Apple’s package installs under /usr/local, so the installer asks for your password. Download with gh or curl, not a browser: release builds aren’t notarized.

Copygh release download --repo RobertDeRose/container-compose-plugin --pattern '*-darwin-arm64.tar.gz*'
shasum -a 256 -c container-compose-plugin-*-darwin-arm64.tar.gz.sha256
tar -xzf container-compose-plugin-*-darwin-arm64.tar.gz
container system start
./compose/install.sh

This route doesn’t add the compose command. Type container compose wherever this page says compose, and run the installer again after upgrading container.

From source

Needs Swift 6.2 or newer.

Copygit clone https://github.com/RobertDeRose/container-compose-plugin.git
cd container-compose-plugin
container system start
make install

This route doesn’t add the compose command. Type container compose wherever this page says compose, and run make install again after upgrading container.

Arcane

Arcane manages containers, images, volumes, networks, and Compose projects, closest to the dashboard in Docker Desktop. Source on GitHub, BSD-3-Clause.

Arcane encrypts what it stores with a key of your own. This creates one, and leaves an existing key alone:

Copymkdir -p ~/arcane && cd ~/arcane
[ -f .env ] || { key=$(openssl rand -hex 32) && printf 'ARCANE_ENCRYPTION_KEY=%s\n' "$key" > .env; }

Save this as ~/arcane/compose.yaml:

Copyservices:
  arcane:
    image: ghcr.io/getarcaneapp/manager:latest
    ports:
      - "3552:3552"
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - arcane-data:/app/data
    environment:
      APP_URL: http://localhost:3552
      ENCRYPTION_KEY: ${ARCANE_ENCRYPTION_KEY}
      ANALYTICS_DISABLED: "true"   # Arcane sends usage analytics unless this is set
    cgroup: host
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  arcane-data:

Run compose up -d in ~/arcane, open localhost:3552, and sign in as arcane with password arcane-admin. Arcane asks you to change it, and has no setting to skip signing in. Keep ~/arcane/.env with any backup of Arcane’s data: its key decrypts the credentials Arcane stores. For a projects folder on your Mac, more users, or single sign-on, see Arcane’s docs.

Dockge

Dockge focuses on Compose stacks: write, start, stop, and update them, with live logs and a terminal. Each stack stays a plain folder with a compose.yaml, so compose in that folder sees the same project. MIT licensed.

Copymkdir -p ~/dockge/stacks && cd ~/dockge

Save this as ~/dockge/compose.yaml:

Copyservices:
  dockge:
    image: louislam/dockge:1
    ports:
      - "5001:5001"
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - ./data:/app/data
      - ${HOME}/dockge/stacks:${HOME}/dockge/stacks
    environment:
      DOCKGE_STACKS_DIR: ${HOME}/dockge/stacks
    restart: unless-stopped

Run compose up -d in ~/dockge, open localhost:5001, and create your admin account. Dockge is reachable only from this Mac, so if you’d rather not sign in, turn it off under Settings → Security → Disable Auth. For everything else, see Dockge’s README.

Other

Anything that speaks the Docker API can manage your Compose projects, through the Docker socket the plugin provides.

Apps on your Mac, such as the docker CLI, lazydocker, VS Code’s Container Tools, JetBrains IDEs, and Testcontainers, connect through DOCKER_HOST. Add this to your shell profile:

Copyexport DOCKER_HOST="$(compose --socket-path)"

For an app that has its own Docker connection setting, paste the address compose --socket-path prints. The socket listens once any compose command has run since you logged in, and your shell profile takes care of that.

Web dashboards, such as Portainer or the log viewer Dozzle, run like Arcane and Dockge above: mount /var/run/docker.sock in their compose.yaml and publish their port.