oriel

Oriel

A fast, local, single-binary web GUI for Colima & Docker — the open-source Docker Desktop alternative.

Manage containers, images, volumes, networks and Compose stacks from a clean, themeable browser UI. The GUI Colima never had: ~15–30 MB RAM, no Electron, no login, free and Apache-2.0. Binds to 127.0.0.1; runs on macOS & Linux.

Install

Homebrew (macOS & Linux):

brew install ParadoxInfinite/oriel/oriel

Quick install — detects your platform, verifies the checksum, installs to your PATH:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ParadoxInfinite/oriel/main/install.sh | sh

[!CAUTION] This pipes a script into your shell, which runs as you. Read install.sh first — or use the explicit per-platform commands below, which do the same thing, one intentional step at a time.

Manual — copy the one-liner for your platform:

macOS · Apple Silicon (M1+)

curl -fL https://github.com/ParadoxInfinite/oriel/releases/latest/download/oriel-darwin-arm64 -o oriel && chmod +x oriel

macOS · Intel

curl -fL https://github.com/ParadoxInfinite/oriel/releases/latest/download/oriel-darwin-amd64 -o oriel && chmod +x oriel

Linux · arm64

curl -fL https://github.com/ParadoxInfinite/oriel/releases/latest/download/oriel-linux-arm64 -o oriel && chmod +x oriel

Linux · amd64

curl -fL https://github.com/ParadoxInfinite/oriel/releases/latest/download/oriel-linux-amd64 -o oriel && chmod +x oriel

Or with Go:

go install github.com/ParadoxInfinite/oriel@latest

Or from source: make build (builds the UI, embeds it, produces ./oriel).

Run

./oriel              # opens http://127.0.0.1:4321

Flags: --port <n> (default 4321), --no-open. To run on login as a background service:

./oriel service install      # launchd (macOS) / systemd (Linux); also: status, uninstall

To reach Oriel from another machine through a reverse proxy or private network, allow the proxy's hostname (oriel remote allow <host>) and, for a sub-path, oriel config base-path /oriel — config is stored in settings.json. Run oriel doctor to check it. See docs/REVERSE-PROXY.md. Oriel has no auth, so read the security note there first.

Needs a Docker Engine–compatible runtime + the docker CLI. Colima is first-class (adds VM start/stop); Docker Engine, OrbStack, Rancher/Docker Desktop, Podman, and remote daemons also work — see docs/DAEMONS.md.

Features

• Containers — live CPU/mem, exit codes, bulk actions, streaming logs, full inspect.
• Images — pull with registry search, prune, digest-pinned naming, one-click tag.
• Compose — manage running stacks, plus discover & deploy projects from disk.
• Reclaim space — selectable prune as cancelable background jobs that survive a refresh.
• Dashboard — CPU history, memory, disk, and uptime/outage tracking.
• Command palette (⌘K) — fuzzy-run any action; optional natural-language mode.
• Editions & themes — swap the whole UI (Studio / Classic), light/dark/system, custom accents.
• Live — everything streams over one SSE connection; the UI never polls.
• Self-update — service installs update in-app via checksum-verified downloads.

How it compares

How Oriel stacks up against the common ways to manage containers on a Mac or Linux box. (Figures drift — treat as a snapshot.)

Oriel's wedge: a real graphical UI (not a TUI), as a single local binary (not a server you deploy), that's free and open source (not commercially licensed), pointed at whatever engine you already run — most often Colima.

Editions & themes

The presentation is a swappable plugin on a stable platform SDK. Ships with Studio (default; light/dark/system) and Classic (dark teal); recolor either, or drop in your own. See docs/THEMES.md.

Security

Oriel has no authentication, and driving Docker is effectively root on the host. Run it locally, or reach it remotely over a private network only (Tailscale, ZeroTier, WireGuard, …). Never put it on the public internet. Full trust model: SECURITY.md.

More

• Reverse-proxy subpath: oriel config base-path /oriel — one build serves root or a subpath.
• Natural-language control: set an AI resolver URL (Settings → AI); suggestions run through the same validated tool path, and the base binary links no ML code.
• Develop: make dev + make dev-web (Vite hot reload), make test. See CONTRIBUTING.md.
• Roadmap: where Oriel is headed (auth, in-browser container shell, …) — ROADMAP.md.

FAQ

Is there a GUI for Colima? Yes — Oriel is a graphical web UI built for Colima. Colima ships CLI-only by design; Oriel fills that gap (and also drives Docker Engine, OrbStack, Podman, and remote daemons).

Is Oriel a free Docker Desktop alternative? Yes. It's Apache-2.0, with no license fees and no account — point it at any Docker-compatible engine and manage everything from the browser.

Does Oriel need Docker Desktop? No. It needs any Docker Engine–compatible runtime plus the docker CLI. Colima is first-class; see docs/DAEMONS.md.

How is it different from lazydocker? lazydocker is a terminal UI. Oriel is a real graphical browser UI — dashboards, streaming logs, registry search, Compose discovery, and themeable editions.

How much memory does it use? ~15–30 MB. The binary is ~11 MB and there's no Electron.

Which platforms are supported? macOS (Apple Silicon + Intel) and Linux (amd64 + arm64).

Is it safe to run? Oriel has no authentication and driving Docker is root-equivalent on the host. Run it on 127.0.0.1, or reach it over a private network only — never the public internet. See SECURITY.md.

License

Apache-2.0 © The Oriel contributors. See NOTICE.