Docker

The Docker backend runs sandboxes as Docker containers. It is available on macOS, Linux, and Windows wherever Docker (or Docker Desktop) is installed, and it is the default heyvm wt backend on Linux when the Docker CLI is detected.

Requirements

• Docker Engine or Docker Desktop installed and running
• The docker CLI on PATH

Installation

Install Docker for your platform:

• macOS / Windows: Docker Desktop
• Linux: follow the official Docker Engine install guide for your distribution

Verify with:

docker --version
docker ps

Default image

The default image is ubuntu:24.04. Override per-sandbox with --image:

heyvm create --backend-type docker --image debian:12

Usage

heyvm --backend-type docker

Trade-offs

• Pros: broad image ecosystem (any OCI image), familiar tooling, fast startup.
• Cons: containers share the host kernel — for stronger isolation use a VM-based backend such as Libvirt or Firecracker.