OrbStack Best Practices

OrbStack is a fast, lightweight Docker and Linux VM runtime for macOS. Replaces Docker Desktop with better performance and seamless macOS integration.

Core Commands

# Start/stop
orb                           # Start + open default machine shell
orb start                     # Start OrbStack
orb stop                      # Stop OrbStack

# Machine management
orb list                      # List machines
orb create ubuntu             # Create with latest version
orb create ubuntu:jammy myvm  # Specific version + name
orb create --arch amd64 ubuntu intel  # x86 on Apple Silicon
orb delete myvm               # Delete machine