Using Lando with Orbstack

Orbstack is a lightweight and ⚡️ lightning-fast Docker provider that can serve as a drop-in replacement for Docker Desktop. It is an excellent alternative for users who want to use Lando without Docker Desktop.

Switching from Docker Desktop is 100% seamless: just open OrbStack and get started.

Official support for swapping Docker providers will be available in Lando 4. In the meantime, you can use Orbstack as a drop-in replacement.

After installing Lando, follow these steps:

1. Kill all running containers, close Docker Desktop and ensure that auto-start is disabled in Docker Desktop settings.

You can do this by running the following command:

lando poweroff && docker stop $(docker ps -a -q)

2. Install Orbstack (You can migrate your existing containers easily; see below).

brew install orbstack

Lando only checks for the presence of the Docker.app client; it does not require Docker Desktop to be running. By opening Orbstack, it binds the necessary Docker CLI commands that Lando expects and uses. This allows you to run Lando seamlessly without relying on Docker Desktop.

3. Migrating Existing Containers

Orbstack will migrate your containers as soon you do a lando start but if you want to do it manually, and you have existing containers that you want to migrate to Orbstack, run the following command

orb migrate docker

Additional Commands

Manually symlink Docker CLI to Orbstack (Optional)

docker context use orbstack

If you have admin access, OrbStack will automatically update the /var/run/docker.sock symlink to point to its own Docker engine. This improves compatibility with some third-party tools.

More https://docs.orbstack.dev/install#docker-migration

Reverting to Docker Desktop

If you changed your mind, and you want to unlink Orbstack and use Docker Desktop again, you can do so by running the following command:

docker context use desktop-linux

For more detailed information on how to use Orbstack, please refer to the Orbstack documentation.

Enjoy extreme speed and performance with Orbstack! 🚀