How to install Podman on MAC

The rise of containers is intrinsically associated with Docker, to the point that many see them as synonyms. While not discrediting the great work done by Docker, I am happy there are alternatives like Podman pushing the technology and creating a diverse ecosystem. Podman offers everything Docker does, plus a great deal of flexibility and control, which I've learned to appreciate. 

 # 1. Install Podman using Brew. 

brew install podman 

 # 2. Check Podman's version. 

# (should be greater than 4.0.0) 

 podman --version 

 # 3. Start Podman's machine. 

podman machine init  --now 

podman machine start

 # 4. Run the hello-world container. 

podman run --rm  hello-world

Containers are a Linux technology.

"If containers are a Linux technology, how can I run them on Mac or Windows?"

The answer to this question is "well... you can't." When using other platforms, the only way to run containers is to rely on a Linux virtual machine (VM). There is no way around this.

Installing Podman Desktop on MacOS using Brew

Installation steps​

1. Open a terminal on your Mac.

2. Run the command mentioned below.

   brew install podman-desktop
   

   Brew will also install the Podman Engine along with the Podman Desktop application, in case you don't have it installed yet.

   After the command is executed, you can find the Podman Desktop Application within the Applications directory of the MacOS.

3. Initialize and run podman VM.