Apple's container tool has reached stable version 1.0.0, a year after its WWDC 2025 debut. Built in Swift for Apple silicon, it runs each Linux container in its own lightweight micro-VM via the macOS Virtualization framework — a security-focused departure from Docker Desktop's shared-VM model. The 1.0 release adds a persistent Linux environment via 'container machine', file copying with 'container cp', and TOML-based configuration. Key limitations remain: no Docker Compose support, ~4x slower cold-start latency than Docker Desktop, limited small-file I/O performance, and full functionality requires Apple Silicon with macOS 26. For single-container workloads or teams wanting hardware-level isolation without Docker Desktop licensing costs, it's worth piloting now; multi-service workflows should wait for Compose support.
