I've been experiencing frustrating issues with the Docker desktop app on my Mac. I use an M1 Max with 64GB of RAM and ample hard drive space. The problem is that when the Docker app is running along with my containers, it frequently crashes my entire system. It starts with my internet slowing down—though it doesn't notify me—as the websites become sluggish and unresponsive. Eventually, my Mac becomes more and more unresponsive until I have to force a reboot. This seems to happen randomly; sometimes it occurs right after I start Docker and a container, while other times everything runs smoothly for days or even weeks before the crash happens. My usage isn't heavy, just running open-webui for some small LLMs and doing some WordPress development. Typically, the container CPU usage stays under 1% (with 10 CPUs available), and RAM usage fluctuates between 0.75GB to 1.5GB out of a total of 7.57GB. I've noticed this issue on both macOS versions 12.6.1 and 15.7.1, with the latest version of Docker Desktop (currently 4.47.0).
3 Answers
Have you thought about switching from Docker Desktop to something like Lima or Colima via Homebrew? I’ve been unimpressed with Docker Desktop, and using the command line can be more straightforward. Just a heads-up, though—the command line for `container` is quite different from Docker’s, so there’s a bit of a learning curve!
Maybe just uninstall Docker Desktop altogether and try Orbstack? Their setup looks pretty promising. But keep in mind, it’s crucial to have reliable software if you're hosting services that need to be up 24/7.
I can relate to your struggle! I've had similar problems with my Mac Mini M4, and I noticed that it crashes around the 20-hour mark when running Docker Desktop, Colima, or OrbStack. It's super frustrating!
True, but using alternatives like Lima or Colima makes sense if you're looking for performance, especially with your specs. Running diagnostics on your system might help you figure things out too!