Switch from Colima to Docker Desktop¶

The Colima Docker socket mounting issue with Supabase is a known compatibility problem. The easiest solution is to use Docker Desktop instead.

Quick Switch Steps¶

1. Stop Colima¶

colima stop

2. Install Docker Desktop¶

Download and install from: https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop

Or using Homebrew:

brew install --cask docker

3. Start Docker Desktop¶

open -a Docker

Wait for Docker Desktop to fully start (check the menu bar icon).

4. Switch Docker Context¶

# List contexts
docker context ls

# Switch to default (Docker Desktop)
docker context use default

# Verify Docker works
docker ps

5. Start Supabase¶

supabase start

This should now work without the socket mounting error!

Why This Happens¶

Supabase's Docker Compose configuration tries to mount the Docker socket path as a directory for volume mounting. Colima uses a socket file at ~/.colima/default/docker.sock, which can't be mounted as a directory, causing the "operation not supported" error.

Docker Desktop uses the standard /var/run/docker.sock path which works correctly with Supabase's mounting requirements.

Alternative: Keep Using Colima (Advanced)¶

If you must use Colima, you would need to: 1. Modify Supabase's internal Docker Compose files (not recommended) 2. Use a workaround with bind mounts (complex and fragile) 3. Wait for Supabase to add Colima support (not currently available)

For most users, Docker Desktop is the recommended solution.