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Kiri

Kiri is a lightweight, free replacement for Docker Desktop and OrbStack, written in Rust.

  • Development
  • Infrastructure
Kiri is a lightweight, free replacement for Docker Desktop and OrbStack, written in Rust. It runs Docker containers in one small Linux VM (or straight on the kernel on Linux) and speaks the Docker Engine API, so the docker CLI, Compose and buildx you already use just work. It's aimed at developers who want fast, low-footprint containers on Mac, Windows or Linux.

Platform availability

Available on 3 of 9 platforms

  • Unraid (not listed)
  • TrueNAS (not listed)
  • Umbrel (not listed)
  • ZimaOS (not listed)
  • Proxmox (not listed)
  • Helm (not listed)
  • Mac
  • Windows
  • Linux

Health score?A 0-100 score computed nightly from four factors: maintained (40%: recent commits and steady activity), popular (25%: GitHub stars, log scale), easy to install (20%: platforms, install notes, setup guides, Docker image) and light to run (15%: minimum RAM, ARM support). When the source code has been checked, a fifth factor, security check (20%: automated scan for committed secrets, unsafe desktop-app settings, known-vulnerable dependencies and project hygiene; any serious finding caps it at 20), is added. Factors without data are left out and the rest are rescaled.

60/100 Good

Maintained
72last commit 0 days ago
Popular
45172 GitHub stars
Easy to install
453 install platforms, install notes
Light to run
No data
Security check
72no serious findings, 3 minor, tests

Based on 4 of 5 factors.

GitHub stars
172
Open issues
5
Last commit
2026-11-04
Latest release
v0.1.17
License
Apache-2.0
Activity
rising

Checked today - source: GitHub (libracoder/kiri)

Resources & Compatibility

Requirements not published yet.

First-install notes

  • Install & first launch Download Kiri for Mac, Windows or Linux from its website. On first launch it automatically creates a kiri Docker context and self-updates, verifying each new release's signature before applying it. source

Fetched today - each note links to its source

Alternatives

No alternatives collected yet.

Common questions

Do I need to change my docker or Compose commands to use Kiri?

Kiri creates a Docker context named kiri on first launch. You can target it with --context kiri, and Kiri commands such as kiri run or kiri compose also target Kiri directly.

How can I move existing workloads from Docker Desktop or OrbStack?

Run kiri import to bring images, volumes, and containers over from OrbStack or Docker Desktop.

Where can I find container files for inspection or backup?

On macOS, Kiri exposes container files in Finder at ~/Kiri. Your SSH agent can also reach inside containers.

How do containers get local URLs and HTTPS?

Containers get local domains, and HTTPS is served from Kiri's own certificate authority.

Does Kiri manage its own updates?

Yes, Kiri self-updates and verifies each new release's signature before applying it.

How do I run Kubernetes in Kiri?

Run kiri k8s start to create a single-node Kubernetes cluster. It is available as the kiri kubectl context.

Answers sourced from docs.runkiri.com, github.com, runkiri.com

Community

Collected today - public community threads