Skip to main content

🍎 macOS

LaraKube CLI is a first-class citizen on macOS. For the most stable and high-performance experience, we recommend using OrbStack.

warning
larakube setup does not run on macOS

larakube setup and native k3s require a Linux kernel. On macOS, Kubernetes runs inside a Linux VM managed by OrbStack or Docker Desktop — use their built-in Kubernetes instead.

🛠 Prerequisites​

  1. OrbStack (Recommended) or Docker Desktop: The engine that will run your containers and Kubernetes nodes.
  2. Homebrew: For managing local dependencies.

🚀 Setup Instructions​

1. Install LaraKube CLI​

Option A — Homebrew (recommended)​

The cleanest path on Mac. You get versioned upgrades via brew upgrade:

brew tap luchavez-technologies/larakube
brew trust luchavez-technologies/larakube
brew install larakube
note
Why brew trust?

Recent Homebrew versions refuse to load formulae from third-party taps until you explicitly trust them. It's a one-time acknowledgement per tap — if you skip it, brew install fails with "Refusing to load formula … from untrusted tap."

Migrating from the standalone installer?

If you previously ran install.sh, a larakube binary lives in /usr/local/bin and can shadow the Homebrew version on your PATH. Remove it and let Homebrew take over:

sudo rm -f /usr/local/bin/larakube
hash -r
which larakube       # should now resolve to your Homebrew prefix
larakube --version   # confirm the Homebrew version

Upgrade later with:

brew upgrade larakube

Option B — Standalone binary​

curl -fsSL https://cli.larakube.app/install.sh | bash

2. Enable Kubernetes​

LaraKube needs a Kubernetes cluster running locally. Enable the built-in one from your container engine:

  • OrbStack: Settings → Kubernetes → toggle On
  • Docker Desktop: Settings → Kubernetes → check Enable Kubernetes

LaraKube automatically detects these contexts.

3. Trust SSL​

larakube trust

4. Create and start your first app​

larakube new my-app
cd my-app
larakube up

📐 Why OrbStack?​

OrbStack runs a Linux VM with built-in Kubernetes that starts in seconds, uses less memory than Docker Desktop, and mounts your Mac filesystem into the VM with near-native performance. LaraKube uses Kustomize patches specifically tuned for macOS to resolve common volume permission issues in storage/ and bootstrap/cache/.