[[🌎**Web site**]](https://lima-vm.io/)
[[📖**Documentation**]](https://lima-vm.io/docs/)
[[👤**Slack (`#lima`)**]](https://slack.cncf.io)
# Lima: Linux Machines
[](https://deepwiki.com/lima-vm/lima)
[](https://www.bestpractices.dev/projects/6505)
[](https://scorecard.dev/viewer/?uri=github.com/lima-vm/lima)
[Lima](https://lima-vm.io/) launches Linux virtual machines with automatic file sharing and port forwarding (similar to WSL2).
The original goal of Lima was to promote [containerd](https://containerd.io) including [nerdctl (contaiNERD ctl)](https://github.com/containerd/nerdctl)
to Mac users, but Lima can be used for non-container applications as well.
Lima also supports other container engines (Docker, Podman, Kubernetes, etc.) and non-macOS hosts (Linux, NetBSD, etc.).
## Getting started
Set up (Homebrew):
```bash
brew install lima
limactl start
```
To run Linux commands:
```bash
lima uname -a
```
To run containers with containerd:
```bash
lima nerdctl run --rm hello-world
```
To run containers with Docker:
```bash
limactl start template:docker
export DOCKER_HOST=$(limactl list docker --format 'unix://{{.Dir}}/sock/docker.sock')
docker run --rm hello-world
```
To run containers with Kubernetes:
```bash
limactl start template:k8s
export KUBECONFIG=$(limactl list k8s --format 'unix://{{.Dir}}/copied-from-guest/kubeconfig.yaml')
kubectl apply -f ...
```
See for the further information.
## Software Bill of Materials (SBOM)
The "sbom" download contains SBOM in the CycloneDX format since v2.3.
There are both "app" \*.bom.json and "mod" bom.json files:
- SBOMs generated with "app" include only those modules that the target application
actually depends on. Modules required by tests or packages that are not imported
by the application are not included. Build constraints are evaluated, which enables
a very detailed view of what's really compiled into an application's binary.
- SBOMs generated with "mod" include the aggregate of modules required by all
packages in the target module. This optionally includes modules required by
tests and test packages. Build constraints are NOT evaluated, allowing for
a "whole picture" view on the target module's dependencies.
## Contributing
We welcome contributions! Please see our [Contributing Guide](https://lima-vm.io/docs/community/contributing/) for details on:
- **Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO)**: All commits must be signed off with `git commit -s`
- Code licensing and pull request guidelines
- Testing requirements
## Community
### Adopters
Container environments:
- [Rancher Desktop](https://rancherdesktop.io/): Kubernetes and container management to the desktop
- [Colima](https://github.com/abiosoft/colima): Docker (and Kubernetes) on macOS with minimal setup
- [Finch](https://github.com/runfinch/finch): Finch is a command line client for local container development
- [Podman Desktop](https://podman-desktop.io/): Podman Desktop GUI has a plug-in for Lima virtual machines
GUI:
- [Lima xbar plugin](https://github.com/unixorn/lima-xbar-plugin): [xbar](https://xbarapp.com/) plugin to start/stop VMs from the menu bar and see their running status.
- [lima-gui](https://github.com/afbjorklund/lima-gui): Qt GUI for Lima
### Communication channels
- [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/lima-vm/lima/discussions)
- `#lima` channel in the CNCF Slack
- New account:
- Login:
- Community meetings on Zoom (tentatively monthly)
- Meeting notes & agenda proposals: https://github.com/lima-vm/lima/discussions/categories/meetings
- Calendar: https://zoom-lfx.platform.linuxfoundation.org/meetings/lima
### Social media accounts
Follow us for project updates, release announcements, and community news:
- https://x.com/thelimaproject
- https://mastodon.social/@TheLimaProject
### Code of Conduct
Lima follows the [CNCF Code of Conduct](https://github.com/cncf/foundation/blob/main/code-of-conduct.md).
- - -
**We are a [Cloud Native Computing Foundation](https://cncf.io/) incubating project.**
The Linux Foundation® (TLF) has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of TLF trademarks, see [Trademark Usage](https://www.linuxfoundation.org/legal/trademark-usage).