redwoodjs__local-ci/packages/cli/docs/docker-socket.md

Docker socket setup

local-ci launches GitHub Actions runners in Docker containers and bind-mounts the host's Docker socket into each runner so docker build / docker run steps work. For that bind-mount to survive Docker's mount layer (especially on macOS, where Docker runs inside a VM), local-ci needs a working Docker socket at /var/run/docker.sock.

If you see an error like local-ci couldn't use a Docker socket at /var/run/docker.sock, use the recipe below that matches your Docker provider.

Why /var/run/docker.sock specifically?

Docker's mount subsystem (both on native Linux and through Docker's macOS VM) treats /var/run/docker.sock as a canonical path. Provider-specific paths like ~/.orbstack/run/docker.sock or ~/.colima/<profile>/docker.sock:

• may be forwarded sockets that don't exist inside the provider's VM (so Docker can't bind-mount them),
• disappear the moment you stop that provider,
• may get shadowed when you switch providers (e.g. OrbStack creates /var/run/docker.sock as a symlink that dangles if you later swap to Colima).

Relying on /var/run/docker.sock as the single source of truth avoids all of that.

Recipes

Docker Desktop (macOS / Windows / Linux)

Docker Desktop 4.x ships with the default Docker socket disabled. Even with Docker Desktop running, /var/run/docker.sock will not exist until you opt in:

1. Open Docker Desktop → ⚙ Settings → Advanced.
2. Tick "Allow the default Docker socket to be used (requires password)".
3. Click Apply & Restart — Docker Desktop will prompt for your admin password to install the privileged helper that creates the symlink.

After the restart, /var/run/docker.sock is a symlink to ~/.docker/run/docker.sock and local-ci can use it.

If you previously had this toggle on but /var/run/docker.sock is missing again after a Docker Desktop upgrade, toggle it off and back on to re-install the helper.

OrbStack (macOS)

OrbStack creates /var/run/docker.sock as a symlink to ~/.orbstack/run/docker.sock on first startup. Start OrbStack and the link is created.

If you previously used OrbStack and have since switched providers, the symlink may be left dangling. Remove it and set up the new provider's link (see below).

Colima (macOS)

Colima does not create /var/run/docker.sock by default. Create the symlink yourself:

colima start                                                 # if not already running
sudo ln -sf "$HOME/.colima/docker.sock" /var/run/docker.sock

Why the top-level ~/.colima/docker.sock and not ~/.colima/<profile>/docker.sock? The profile-internal path is the socket Colima advertises via docker context inspect, but Docker's mount layer can't bind-mount it through Colima's VM ([operation not supported]). The top-level alias ~/.colima/docker.sock is the stable, mountable entry point.

Native Linux (dockerd)

/var/run/docker.sock should already exist — that's where dockerd creates it. If it's missing, check that the Docker daemon is running (systemctl status docker). If it exists but you can't R/W it, add yourself to the docker group (sudo usermod -aG docker $USER and re-login) — local-ci handles the "exists but not readable by our UID" case by reading the socket path from docker context inspect and still using /var/run/docker.sock as the bind-mount source.

Rootless Docker / custom locations

If your daemon's socket lives somewhere else (e.g. /run/user/1000/docker.sock for rootless), set LOCAL_CI_DOCKER_HOST explicitly:

export LOCAL_CI_DOCKER_HOST=unix:///run/user/1000/docker.sock

Or, persistently, add it to .env.local-ci at the repo root:

LOCAL_CI_DOCKER_HOST=unix:///run/user/1000/docker.sock

local-ci honours LOCAL_CI_DOCKER_HOST ahead of /var/run/docker.sock and uses your explicit path for both the API client and the container bind-mount.

Note: the standard DOCKER_HOST env var is not honoured by local-ci. If you have it set in your shell for the regular Docker CLI, local-ci will exit with an error asking you to rename to LOCAL_CI_DOCKER_HOST. This avoids collisions between "what local-ci should target" (often a Lima/OrbStack VM) and "what the shell's Docker CLI targets".

Diagnosing "but it's right there"

If /var/run/docker.sock seems to exist but local-ci still errors:

ls -la /var/run/docker.sock        # is it a regular socket, or a dangling symlink?
readlink /var/run/docker.sock      # where does the symlink point?
ls -la "$(readlink /var/run/docker.sock)"   # does the target exist?

A common failure mode after switching Docker providers: the old provider left a symlink pointing at its now-missing socket. Delete the symlink and start the new provider (or create a fresh symlink as shown above).