Apple Containers

Apple container runs OCI containers inside lightweight VMs on macOS (hypervisor isolation, not just namespaces). Used for local dev environments with full Linux, SSH access via Tailscale, and Zed remote development.

Prerequisites

• macOS 26+ (Tahoe) on Apple silicon
• container CLI installed (via install.sh --apps)
• Daemon running: container system start
• A Tailscale auth key (from 1Password or provided by user)

Creating a Dev Container

Follow these steps in order. Do not skip any step.

1. Create and start the container