Install on macOS

Works on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

What you need#

• Homebrew. If you don't have it, labctl init installs it; that is the one step that asks for your password.
• 2 CPUs and 4 GB of memory for Docker, more to run several scenarios at once (Resources).
• About 10 GB of free disk.

You don't need Docker Desktop. labctl init installs colima, a lightweight Docker VM, with Homebrew and starts it at 2 CPU / 4 GB. If you already use Docker Desktop, the lab uses it instead; give it at least 2 CPUs and 4 GB under Settings → Resources.

Install and build the lab#

Clone the latest release wherever you keep projects, then install the matching labctl and build the lab:

git clone --branch stable https://github.com/sagar2395/snowopslabs.git
cd snowopslabs
./install.sh
labctl init

git comes with Apple's Command Line Tools; if they are missing, the first git command offers to install them. install.sh puts labctl in ~/.local/bin and records your clone, so labctl works from any directory.

init installs kubectl, helm, k3d, colima, docker and docker-buildx with Homebrew (a tool you already have at a new enough version is left alone), starts colima, creates the cluster and installs the platform. It finishes with the lab's URLs. Then:

labctl ui                  # http://localhost:3939

Giving colima more memory#

Set the size in .env in your clone; labctl init starts a stopped colima at that size, and never shrinks it:

LAB_CPUS=4
LAB_MEMORY=8

A colima that is already running is never resized for you, because restarting it stops your other containers. Resize it yourself, then bring the lab back:

colima stop && colima start --cpu 4 --memory 8
labctl init

After a reboot#

colima does not start on its own. Run labctl init: it starts colima at the lab's size, restarts the cluster and waits until everything is Ready, keeping your apps and scenarios. It also checks that Grafana can query Prometheus and repairs Grafana if not, so the dashboards have data when it says the lab is up.

Uninstall#

labctl teardown
labctl hosts remove                  # only if you added hosts entries for an older lab
rm -rf ~/.snowops ~/.local/bin/labctl   # and your clone, when you no longer need it
colima delete --data                 # removes the VM and every image in it

colima delete without --data keeps Docker's images and containers for the next VM.