Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

OrbStack VS runc

Compare OrbStack VS runc and see what are their differences

OrbStack logo OrbStack

Fast, light, simple Docker & Linux on macOS

runc logo runc

CLI tool for spawning and running containers according to the OCI specification - opencontainers/runc
  • OrbStack Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-22
  • runc Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-21

OrbStack features and specs

  • Performance
    OrbStack is optimized for high performance, providing faster boot times and efficient resource usage compared to other virtualization platforms.
  • User Interface
    The platform offers an intuitive and user-friendly interface that simplifies management and set up of virtual machines and containers.
  • Integration
    OrbStack integrates well with various development tools and environments, enhancing workflow efficiency for developers.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    It supports multiple platforms, making it versatile and accessible for users across different operating systems.
  • Security
    The platform is designed with robust security features to protect virtualized environments and ensure data integrity.

Possible disadvantages of OrbStack

  • Limited Documentation
    Some users might find the available documentation scarce, making it harder to find solutions to specific issues or advanced configurations.
  • Learning Curve
    While the interface is user-friendly, there may still be a learning curve for users who are new to virtualization technologies.
  • Pricing
    Depending on the licensing model, OrbStack can be costly for individual developers or small teams with limited budgets.
  • Resource Intensity
    Though efficient, the platform may require significant system resources, which could be a drawback for users with less powerful hardware.
  • Compatibility Issues
    While OrbStack supports various platforms, there might be occasional compatibility issues with specific hardware or software configurations.

runc features and specs

  • Standardization
    runc is part of the Open Containers Initiative (OCI), promoting standardization across container runtimes. This ensures interoperability and broad community support.
  • Lightweight
    As a lightweight and fast CLI tool, runc provides a minimal runtime for environments where resource efficiency is critical.
  • Security
    runc adheres to principles of secure software development and incorporates Linux kernel features like namespaces and cgroups to enhance security.
  • Broad Adoption
    As the reference implementation for OCI, runc is widely adopted and tested in production environments, ensuring reliability.
  • Flexibility
    runc offers the flexibility to handle low-level container configurations, making it suitable for advanced users needing granular control.

Possible disadvantages of runc

  • Complexity for Beginners
    The low-level nature of runc can be daunting for beginners who might prefer higher-level tools like Docker that abstract away complexities.
  • Minimalist Design
    While its simplicity is an advantage, runc lacks some of the advanced features and orchestration capabilities found in other container platforms.
  • Manual Configurations
    Users need to manually handle configurations, which can be error-prone and time-consuming compared to automated solutions.
  • Ecosystem Integration
    runc does not provide direct integration with tools and platforms by default, requiring additional setup for comprehensive ecosystem support.
  • Limited Features
    Compared to complete container platforms, runc offers fewer built-in features, requiring supplementary tools to achieve similar functionalities.

OrbStack videos

OrbStack: A Lightweight Alternative for Docker

More videos:

  • Review - Practices for Docker on Mac Mini M2 Pro with OrbStack #mac #orbstack #docker #container

runc videos

2/21/19 RunC Vulnerability Gives Root Access on Container Systems| AT&T ThreatTraq

More videos:

  • Review - Demo MONEY,TIME - RunC

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to OrbStack and runc)
Developer Tools
57 57%
43% 43
Web Servers
0 0%
100% 100
Design Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Web And Application Servers

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, OrbStack should be more popular than runc. It has been mentiond 23 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

OrbStack mentions (23)

  • Docker limits unauthenticated pulls to 10/HR/IP from Docker Hub, from March 1
    If you're on Mac worth checking out the commercial https://orbstack.dev/ Reasonable price for better dev efficiency. Free for personal use. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Build a data-intensive Next.js app with Tinybird and Cursor
    This is a Docker image, so you just need a Docker runtime on your machine (if you're using MacOS, I recommend OrbStack). - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Troubleshooting Docker Desktop: Tips and Alternatives for Developers
    OrbStack: Although it’s a paid tool, OrbStack promises faster, lighter, and simpler container and Linux management compared to Docker Desktop. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Docker Desktop Broken on Mac OS Update for over a Week
    How can update like this even happen and I'm still waiting for the post mortem on this. [0] Quite frankly a very basic intern mistake but done by "seniors". In the mean time, I'm using Orbstack. [1] Much faster, lightweight and native. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42695066. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Hosting HuggingFace Models with KoboldCpp and RunPod
    Simply run docker compose down or use GUIs such as Rancher Desktop, Docker Desktop, or OrbStack to shut down the containers. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
View more

runc mentions (11)

  • Setup multi node kubernetes cluster using kubeadm
    For kubeadm , kubetlet , kubectl should same version package in this lab I used v1.31 to have 1.31.7 References: Https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/networking/ports-and-protocols/ Https://kubernetes.io/docs/setup/production-environment/tools/kubeadm/install-kubeadm/ Https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/releases/... - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Comparing 3 Docker container runtimes - Runc, gVisor and Kata Containers
    Previously I wrote about the multiple variants of Docker and also the dependencies behind the Docker daemon. One of the dependencies was the container runtime called runc. That is what creates the usual containers we are all familiar with. When you use Docker, this is the default runtime, which is understandable since it was started by Docker, Inc. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • You run containers, not dockers - Discussing Docker variants, components and versioning
    Now we have dockerd which uses containerd, but containerd will not create containers directly. It needs a runtime and the default runtime is runc, but that can be changed. Containerd actually doesn't have to know the parameters of the runtime. There is a shim process between containerd and runc, so containerd knows the parameters of the shim, and the shim knows the parameters of runc or other runtimes. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • US Cybersecurity: The Urgent Need for Memory Safety in Software Products
    It's interesting that, in light of things like this, you still see large software companies adding support for new components written in non-memory safe languages (e.g. C) As an example Red Hat OpenShift added support for crun(https://github.com/containers/crun), which is written in C as an alternative to runc, which is written in Go( - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Why did the Krustlet project die?
    Yeah, runtimeClass lets you specify which CRI plugin you want based on what you have available. Here's an example from the containerd documentation - you could have one node that can run containers under standard runc, gvisor, kata containers, or WASM. Without runtimeClass, you'd need either some form of custom solution or four differently configured nodes to run those different runtimes. That's how krustlet did... Source: over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing OrbStack and runc, you can also consider the following products

Portainer - Simple management UI for Docker

Docker Hub - Docker Hub is a cloud-based registry service

Podman - Simple debugging tool for pods and images

Apache Thrift - An interface definition language and communication protocol for creating cross-language services.

Docker - Docker is an open platform that enables developers and system administrators to create distributed applications.

Eureka - Eureka is a contact center and enterprise performance through speech analytics that immediately reveals insights from automated analysis of communications including calls, chat, email, texts, social media, surveys and more.