Why I Ditch Docker Desktop: A Practical Guide to Lightweight Alternatives
Tired of Docker Desktop's memory use and licensing headaches? Practical, tested alternatives (Podman, Colima, nerdctl) and migration tips for Indian devs.
Written by: Rohan Deshpande
Two years ago I hit the tipping point: Docker Desktop was using 3GB of RAM before I opened a single container, and our small startup suddenly had to talk about license compliance. I wanted something lighter, cheaper, and more transparent. I switched — and I don’t miss it much.
If you’re reading this because “Docker Desktop alternative” is suddenly a project in your backlog, here’s a pragmatic playbook that actually works in day‑to‑day development (especially useful if you work on modest machines or in Indian startups where every rupee and CPU cycle counts).
Why replace Docker Desktop
- It eats RAM and CPU even idle. On 8GB laptops, that’s noticeable.
- License changes mean hidden costs for some teams.
- On macOS/Windows it runs a whole VM layer; builds and mounts can be clunky.
I take a clear position: for most individual developers and small teams, using a lighter, open alternative is better. You trade a bit of convenience for faster machines, fewer bills, and fewer surprises.
What I switched to (and why it worked)
- On Linux: Podman (rootless), plus buildah for builds. Podman gives a near‑drop‑in replacement for the docker CLI, runs rootless by default, and integrates well with systemd.
- On macOS: Colima (Lima + containerd) or Rancher Desktop. Colima feels minimal, keeps resource footprints small, and supports docker‑compatible commands via nerdctl or the docker CLI shim.
- On Windows: WSL2 with a Linux distro and Podman or Colima inside WSL. Avoid running heavyweight Windows VMs when possible.
Main keyword: Docker Desktop alternative — use these:
- Podman is the go‑to Docker Desktop alternative on Linux. Alias docker=podman and install podman‑docker to reduce friction. Example (Ubuntu/Debian):
- sudo apt install podman podman-docker buildah
- podman login registry.hub.docker.com
- Colima is my macOS pick for a Docker Desktop alternative. Install with Homebrew:
- brew install colima docker
- colima start —cpu 4 —memory 4 # starts a lightweight VM with containerd
- docker ps # works because colima exposes a Docker socket
Practical migration tips (things that actually saved me hours)
- Aliases and shims: Create an alias so scripts using docker keep working (alias docker=podman). Some edge cases exist with compose.
- Compose compatibility: Use the Docker Compose v2 plugin (docker compose) or install the standalone compose plugin (docker‑compose‑plugin) — Colima supports this well. Podman supports “podman-compose” but it isn’t 100% compatible; for Compose v2 files, run the official Compose binary.
- Volumes and mounts: On macOS, file system mounts in the VM can be slower than Docker Desktop. For dev, prefer sync strategies (rsync/unison) for large file trees, or keep code in the VM filesystem and edit via SSHFS/VS Code remote.
- Local registries: If your workflow requires pushing images locally, run a tiny registry container (registry:2) and point podman/docker to it. Authentication works the same.
- Kubernetes: If you rely on Docker Desktop’s built‑in Kubernetes, replace it with k3s/k3d or kind. Rancher Desktop provides k3s out of the box; Colima works with k3d.
Real tradeoffs you’ll encounter
- Not everything is plug‑and‑play. Some GUI conveniences and “it just works” behaviors are gone. Expect to debug a mount permission here or a compose quirk there.
- Kubernetes experience varies: Docker Desktop integrated single‑click Kubernetes, while alternatives require a small amount of orchestration (k3d, kind, or k9s).
- Windows users on non‑WSL setups may still find Docker Desktop easier. There’s friction if teammates insist on Windows-native tooling.
India-specific note on costs and teams For small startups in India, licensing and VM overhead matter. Docker Desktop’s paid tiers are fine for larger orgs, but when your bench includes low‑cost laptops or shared CI, the savings from a lightweight setup are real — less RAM → fewer crashes, less cloud spend for developer test instances, and no surprise commercial license conversations.
One realistic constraint: onboarding new hires When I switched, the biggest practical problem wasn’t tech — it was onboarding. New joiners expect Docker Desktop screenshots and a GUI. Invest one afternoon creating a README and a shell script that sets up Colima/Podman and your common aliases. It pays off.
Quick checklist to get started (my personal minimum)
- Choose: Podman (Linux) or Colima (macOS).
- Install docker CLI or aliases so existing scripts keep working.
- Test builds: docker build / podman build — verify image layers and tags.
- Validate compose: docker compose up or the official compose binary.
- Add a short setup script in the repo and a “Known Issues” section for mounts/Kubernetes.
Final take If you value a responsive laptop, predictability, and lower recurring costs, moving away from Docker Desktop is worth the one‑time setup pain. You’ll trade some convenience and a few GUI niceties for faster iteration, smaller resource use, and full control. For small teams and individual devs in India juggling modest hardware and tight budgets, that trade is often the sensible one.
If you want, I can give the exact install commands for your OS and a short setup script you can drop into your repos. Want the Linux or the macOS script first?