Is this project still maintained and useful to use instead of just using the bare Lima?

[paolomainardi]

Hi,

First of all, thanks for the work on this project; it has been instrumental in simplifying the developer experience on macOS.

I’ve noticed that many updates in the repository and documentation are becoming slower, and I'm wondering about the current status and future of Colima.

Given that Lima itself has evolved a lot and now supports more native features directly, do you still see Colima as a relevant abstraction layer?

Specifically:

• Do you know if the project is actively maintained?

• Are there features that Colima provides today that justify choosing it over a plain Lima setup?

• Are there scenarios where Colima still clearly outperforms a direct Lima configuration?

I’m evaluating what to recommend in our internal tooling, so your input would be very helpful.

Thanks!

[abiosoft]

Hi, thanks for reaching out.

The project is still actively maintained. I have not published a new release for a while due to other commitments that I am just getting out of. A new release should be out within the next week.

Also, bear in mind that you can be on the latest version of the underlying tooling (e.g. Docker version) without necessarily updating Colima with the colima update command.

I’ve noticed that many updates in the repository and documentation are becoming slower, and I'm wondering about the current status and future of Colima.

Yeah, definitely. Colima is specifically focused on providing container runtimes while Lima is more focused on providing virtual machines. While Lima may suffice for power users, Colima would provide a more tailored experience.

Given that Lima itself has evolved a lot and now supports more native features directly, do you still see Colima as a relevant abstraction layer?

Hope I was able to answer your questions.

[paolomainardi]

Thanks a lot for your answer @abiosoft, now it's clearer.

I still have some doubts about the added features on top of Lima, specifically in terms of developer experience or performance optimizations.

For example, are there any enhancements in areas like volume mounting, networking, or Docker runtime integration that Colima handles differently or better?
Understanding these would help me evaluate whether Colima is still the best fit for my use case.

Thanks again!