In simple English
This tool lets you run Docker containers and Kubernetes clusters on your own computer. You get a dashboard to manage your workloads without touching complex setup steps. It is free to use and open source. Building the app from source requires installing several heavy developer tools and takes some time.
What it is
Rancher Desktop is an Electron desktop application written in TypeScript that bundles container runtimes and Kubernetes for Windows, macOS and Linux. It includes a command-line helper called rdctl written in Go to control the service from your terminal.
What it is good for
Solo builders who need a free local environment to test containerised apps and Kubernetes configurations before sending them to a production server.
- Runs container workloads and Kubernetes locally on Windows, macOS and Linux.
- Includes a graphical user interface for managing containers without the command line.
- Provides automated setup scripts for Windows and detailed build instructions.
- Requires installing multiple large prerequisites like Node.js, Go and Visual Studio.
- Consumes significant memory and CPU resources while running local Kubernetes clusters.
- Building from source requires strict adherence to platform-specific line ending and path settings.
Docker Desktop
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git clone https://github.com/rancher-sandbox/rancher-desktop.git cd rancher-desktop yarn yarn dev