Changes in licensing for Docker Desktop have left us scrambling for alternatives for running a fleet of containers on a developer's local laptop. Recently we've had good success with Rancher Desktop. This free and open-source app is relatively easy to download and install for Apple, Windows or Linux machines and provides a handy local Kubernetes cluster with a GUI for configuration and monitoring. Although Colima has become our Docker Desktop alternative of choice, it’s primarily a CLI tool. In contrast, Rancher Desktop will appeal to those who don't want to give up the graphical interface that Docker Desktop provides. Like Colima, Rancher Desktop allows you to choose between dockerd or containerd as the underlying container run time. The choice of direct containerd frees you from the DockerCLI, but the dockerd option provides compatibility with other tools that depend on it to communicate with the run-time daemon.
