There is no binary release yet.

System requirements

Build from source

The exact command sequence from a fresh clone to a working docker run / docker compose setup, taken directly from README.md and mise.toml.

1. Clone and build

mise refuses to even read an untrusted config, so the very first command on a fresh clone must be literal mise trust before anything else — not a task, since tasks live inside the config that isn't trusted yet.

git clone <this repository>
cd morbstack
mise trust && mise install   # one-time: pulls the pinned Rust toolchain
mise run build                # builds morbstackd, morb, and morbinit
mise run test                 # runs the Swift and Rust test suites

2. Check host readiness

morb doctor works without a running daemon — it tells you what setup is still outstanding.

./mac/.build/debug/morb doctor

3. Fetch and verify the guest assets

Hash-verifies the pinned guest kernel, the static Docker engine binaries, the Alpine minirootfs, the guest fsutils, and the host docker-compose CLI plugin — see NOTICE for exactly what these are and where they come from.

./scripts/fetch-guest-assets.sh

4. Assemble the bootable guest image

Cross-compiles morbinit and assembles the bootable initramfs (kernel + morbinit-as-/init + Alpine rootfs + Docker engine binaries + fsutils).

mise run guest-image

5. Start the daemon

Builds, ad-hoc codesigns morbstackd with the entitlements it needs to open a VM, and runs it in the foreground. The VM itself doesn't boot until the first client connects — socket activation.

mise run run-daemon

6. Point Docker tooling at Morbstack

These steps build Morbstack's own binaries; they do not install a docker client, which the commands below assume is already on your PATH. Morbstack does not bundle one yet — a pinned, hash-verified docker/docker compose/docker buildx shipped inside the app is tracked as the "single-path install" gate for the first public release (docs/roadmap.md, L1) and is not built yet. In another terminal:

export DOCKER_HOST=unix://$HOME/.morbstack/run/docker.sock
docker ps
docker run --rm hello-world
docker run -d -p 8080:80 nginx
curl -fsS http://127.0.0.1:8080   # nginx welcome page, from the Mac

Or register a persistent docker context instead of exporting DOCKER_HOST every time:

docker context create morbstack --docker host=unix://$HOME/.morbstack/run/docker.sock
docker context use morbstack

7. Wire up docker compose

This repo fetches and verifies the plugin binary but does not install it for you — a one-time symlink:

mkdir -p ~/.docker/cli-plugins
ln -sf "$(pwd)/dist/host-bin/docker-compose" ~/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose
docker compose version

8. Optional: build the SwiftUI app

Assembles and ad-hoc signs Morbstack.app into dist/, then launches it. The app bundles morbstackd and morb alongside it, so it can start the engine without anything installed on PATH.

mise run app
open dist/Morbstack.app

Full detail, including troubleshooting the credsStore/docker-credential-desktop hang and the port-forwarder retry behavior, lives in the repository's CONTRIBUTING.md and docs/architecture.md. See also Troubleshooting on the docs page.

Planned distribution

Packaging and signed releases are being built out separately (see docs/RELEASING.md). Neither of the commands below works yet — they're shown greyed out, exactly as planned, so this page stays honest about what exists today.

# not available yet
curl -LO https://TODO-real-domain/Morbstack.dmg

# not available yet
brew install --cask morbstack