Apple Container Manager for VS Code

A VS Code extension for macOS that provides visual management for Apple’s native container environment (container CLI). It enables viewing images and containers, starting and stopping services, viewing logs, and checking for container CLI updates — all without Docker Desktop.

Features

Activity Bar view: “Apple Containers” with System, Images, and Containers trees
Images view surfaces repository and tag details for quick version checks, including removal for unused images
Containers view now supports inline start / stop / remove controls with rich hover summaries (image, CPU / memory, ports)
Opt-in log streaming per container with hover action, configurable timestamps, severity filters, and inline keyword highlighting in the Output channel
Dedicated System view with start / stop controls and update awareness
One-click “+” toolbar button launches a two-step container creation wizard (image & resources, then ports / volumes / extra args)
Real-time views that clear stale data and prompt to start the system service when it is offline
Detects container CLI version, checks GitHub for the latest release, and surfaces inline upgrade actions
Optional workspace-level auto-start of the system service
Lightweight, native, no external dependencies

System Requirements

macOS 26+ (Apple Silicon)
Apple container CLI installed and available in PATH
VS Code 1.95+

Installation

Install the extension from a packaged .vsix file or the Marketplace (when available).
Ensure the Apple container CLI is installed and executable (container --version).

Quick Start

Open VS Code. The “Apple Containers” view appears in the Activity Bar.
If the system service is not running, start it from the System view.
Use context menus or the Command Palette to manage containers and images, or create a container from the Containers view toolbar.

Configuration

Add settings in your user or workspace settings:

{
  "appleContainer.update.mode": "notify",
  "appleContainer.update.checkIntervalHours": 24,
  "appleContainer.system.autoStartOnWorkspaceOpen": false,
  "appleContainer.pollIntervalMs": 5000,
  "appleContainer.logs.showTimestamps": true,
  "appleContainer.logs.highlightKeywords": true,
  "appleContainer.logs.minimumLevel": "info"
}

Commands

appleContainer.system.start: Start the container system service
appleContainer.system.stop: Stop the container system service
appleContainer.system.refresh: Refresh service status and version information
appleContainer.container.create: Launch the container creation wizard
appleContainer.container.start: Start a selected container
appleContainer.container.stop: Stop a selected container
appleContainer.container.logs.start: Begin streaming logs for a running container to the Output panel
appleContainer.container.logs.stop: Stop streaming logs for a running container
appleContainer.container.remove: Remove a stopped container
appleContainer.image.remove: Remove an unused image
appleContainer.containers.refresh: Refresh the containers list (disabled when the service is stopped)
appleContainer.images.refresh: Refresh the images list (disabled when the service is stopped)
appleContainer.refresh: Refresh all views (System, Images, Containers)
appleContainer.system.upgrade: Open the latest GitHub release for the container CLI
appleContainer.update.check: Check for a new CLI version

Roadmap (High Level)

M0: CLI interface validation and system control — in progress
M1: TreeView, Status Bar, auto-start — planned
M2: Version detection and download prompts — planned
M3: Full container operations and Marketplace release — planned

Troubleshooting

CLI not found: Verify container is installed and on PATH, then restart VS Code.
Service not running: Use the System view Start action; check Output panel for logs.
Permission prompts: Elevated operations require explicit user approval via macOS.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. The goal is to make managing macOS native containers as convenient as working with Docker Desktop, directly within VS Code.

Release Notes

See CHANGELOG.md for a versioned history of notable changes.

Apple Container Manager

Awei