Background
I have written many blog posts detailing how to run containerised Oracle database workloads using Docker, Podman and Kubernetes on a Mac.
But we now have another new exciting, simpler and potentially faster option.
At WWDC 2025, Apple announced its containerisation framework platform. Apple’s Containerisation framework runs each Linux container inside its own lightweight virtual machine (VM), providing hardware-level isolation instead of relying on traditional namespace-based container runtimes, such as Docker or Podman.
The Container Framework is optimised for Apple Silicon, written in Swift, and is fully Open Source available from the Apple GitHub Container Repo.
Container Installation
Install the Container using the Homebrew package manager, using brew install container
Installation using Homebrew
Container Commands
MacOS Container provides a similar set of commands to Docker / Podman which can be accessed using the container Command Line Interface (CLI).
A full list of the available options can be found at the Apple GitHub Repo.
Check version using container system status, for example.
% container system status --version
container CLI version 0.4.1 (build: release, commit: 4ac18b5)
Start Container
To start the container environment type container system start, the first time run you will be prompted to pull the recommended default kernel.
Container Image Pull
Use container image pull container-registry.oracle.com/database/free:latest to pull the latest Oracle 23ai Free image, for example:
Run Database Container
To run a container we use the container run command passing any required environmental variables, volumes, network settings, and image, for example:
container run --detach --cpus 4 --memory 8g \
--env ORACLE_PWD=Welcome123 \
--env ORACLE_CHARACTERSET=AL32UTF8 \
--env ENABLE_ARCHIVELOG=true \
--env ENABLE_FORCE_LOGGING=true \
--mount type=bind,source="$(pwd)",target=/:/opt/oracle/oradata \
--name oracle23ai --label version=23.9 --publish 1521:1521 \
container-registry.oracle.com/database/free:latest
Use container ls to check for a running container, if STATE is running, you are ready to connect to your new Oracle Database 23ai FREE database running in a MacOS container, enjoy.
Note: Podman and container do not share the same container images, or use the same location for volumes, so monitor space usage.
Clean-Up
If you no longer require your Oracle Database 23ai, stop the database container using container stop <container name> and to delete the database container use container rm <container name>.
Summary
Mac containers shows a lot of promise, and is definitely rapid, however if you struggle with the CLI, then the Podman Desktop may still be the best option for you.
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