Use when Docker commands fail with "Cannot connect to Docker daemon", when starting/stopping container environments, or when managing multiple Docker contexts on macOS - provides Colima lifecycle management, profile handling, and troubleshooting
This skill inherits all available tools. When active, it can use any tool Claude has access to.
README.mddocs/finding-test-sessions.mddocs/test-cases.mdreferences/colima-upstream/FAQ.mdreferences/colima-upstream/INSTALL.mdreferences/colima-upstream/README.mdreferences/common-options.mdreferences/docker-contexts.mdreferences/profile-management.mdreferences/troubleshooting.mdColima provides container runtimes (Docker, Containerd) on macOS with minimal setup. It runs a Linux VM and exposes Docker via contexts.
Use this skill when:
Not for: Docker Compose, Kubernetes clusters, or Linux environments.
| Operation | Command |
|---|---|
| Start | colima start or colima start <profile> |
| Start with SSH agent | colima start <profile> -s |
| Stop | colima stop or colima stop --force |
| Status | colima status -p <profile> |
| List profiles | colima list |
| SSH into VM | colima ssh or colima ssh -- <cmd> |
| Get socket path | colima status -p <profile> --json | jq -r .docker_socket |
Colima creates Docker contexts per profile:
default → context colimawork → context colima-work# Switch context (global - affects all terminals)
docker context use colima-work
# Override per-session
export DOCKER_CONTEXT=colima-work
# Override per-command
docker --context colima-work ps
For details, see references/docker-contexts.md.
Docker daemon not connecting?
colima status - is it running?docker context list - right context selected?references/troubleshooting.md for moreNeed more VM resources?
colima stop && colima start --cpu 4 --memory 8
"Broken" status after restart?
colima stop --force && colima start
references/docker-contexts.md - Context switching, DOCKER_HOST, socket pathsreferences/profile-management.md - Creating, configuring, deleting profilesreferences/troubleshooting.md - Common issues and solutionsreferences/common-options.md - Flags, VM types, resource configurationLocal copies of official Colima docs (from github.com/abiosoft/colima):
references/colima-upstream/README.md - Official README with features and usagereferences/colima-upstream/FAQ.md - Official FAQ and troubleshootingreferences/colima-upstream/INSTALL.md - Installation options