working-with-colima

Docker daemon connection failures on macOS typically stem from Colima not running or misconfigured Docker contexts. Start Colima with `colima start`, verify the connection with `docker version`, then check the socket path using `colima status --json`. If needed, export `DOCKER_HOST` to the socket path returned by that command to establish the connection.

Colima is a container runtime for macOS that manages the Docker daemon lifecycle. macOS cannot run Linux containers natively, so Colima provisions and manages a lightweight VM to host Docker, eliminating the need for Docker Desktop and providing direct control over startup, shutdown, and resource allocation.

Create and manage Colima profiles using `colima start -p [profile-name]` and `colima stop -p [profile-name]`. Switch Docker contexts between profiles using `docker context ls` to list available contexts and `docker context use [context-name]` to activate the desired one, ensuring you're working with the correct container runtime.

Yes, Colima supports SSH agent forwarding for Docker builds on macOS. Configure agent forwarding during Colima startup or in profile settings to allow `docker build` commands to access SSH keys for private repository access during the build process.

Broken Colima status typically indicates lifecycle, DNS, or network issues. Run `colima status --json` to inspect detailed state, verify network connectivity, check DNS configuration, and review logs. Restart the Colima profile with `colima stop` followed by `colima start` to resolve most transient issues.

Manual `DOCKER_HOST` configuration is usually unnecessary if Colima and Docker contexts are properly initialized. However, if Docker commands fail to locate the daemon, you can explicitly set `DOCKER_HOST` to the socket path obtained from `colima status --json` to force connection to the correct Colima instance.