Overview
Get an overview of ArcBox Desktop, the all-in-one app for running containers, sandboxes, and Linux machines.
What is ArcBox Desktop?
ArcBox Desktop is a native macOS application for managing containers, Linux virtual machines, and sandboxes. It replaces Docker Desktop with a faster, lighter alternative built specifically for Apple Silicon.
Everything runs locally. There is no account required, no background daemon phoning home, and no feature gates on the free tier.
What You Get
Containers
Full Docker-compatible container management. Pull images, run containers, view logs, open a terminal, inspect state. Compose projects are grouped automatically.
Machines
Lightweight Linux VMs with SSH access and adjustable resources. Useful when you need a full Linux environment beyond what containers provide.
Sandboxes
Isolated development environments created from templates. Start a preconfigured workspace in seconds.
Kubernetes
View and manage pods and services running in your local cluster.
How It Works
ArcBox Desktop communicates with the ArcBox daemon over gRPC. The daemon manages the underlying virtual machines, container runtime, and networking.
You interact with the GUI. The daemon does the heavy lifting.
Performance
ArcBox is designed to stay out of your way.
| Metric | ArcBox | Docker Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Cold start | ~300ms | ~1,200ms |
| Warm start | ~90ms | ~490ms |
| Idle memory | <150MB | ~200MB+ |
| File I/O | >90% native | 75–95% native |
These numbers come from real benchmarks on Apple Silicon hardware. See Benchmarks for methodology.