macOS host system configuration

Automatic installation using `install.py`

The install.py script will attempt to guide you through the installation of Docker and Docker Compose if they are not present. If that works, skip ahead to Configure docker daemon option in this section.

Install Homebrew

The easiest way to install and maintain docker on Mac is using the Homebrew cask. Execute the following in a terminal.

$ /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install.sh)"
$ brew install cask
$ brew tap homebrew/cask-versions

Install docker

$ brew install --cask docker

This will install the latest version of docker. It can be upgraded later using brew as well:

$ brew upgrade --cask --no-quarantine docker

You can now run Docker from the Applications folder.

Install docker compose

$ brew install docker-compose

This will install the latest version of the Docker Compose plugin. It can be upgraded later using [brew] as well:

$ brew upgrade --no-quarantine docker-compose

The brew formula for docker-compose notes has the following note about needing to symlink for Docker to find the compose plugin:

Compose is now a Docker plugin. For Docker to find this plugin, symlink it:
    mkdir -p ~/.docker/cli-plugins
    ln -sfn $HOMEBREW_PREFIX/opt/docker-compose/bin/docker-compose ~/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose

Configure docker daemon option

Some changes should be made for performance (this link gives a good succinct overview).

Resource allocation - For best results, Mac users should be running recent system with at least 16GB RAM and an SSD. In the system tray, select Docker → Preferences → Advanced. Set the resources available to Docker to at least 4 CPUs and at least 16GB RAM (even more is preferable).
Volume mount performance - Users can speed up performance of volume mounts by removing unused paths from Docker → Preferences → File Sharing. For example, if volumes are mounted under the home directory only, users could share /Users but remove other paths.

After making these changes, right-click on the Docker 🐋 icon in the system tray and select Restart.