Commands

OrbStack can be used entirely from the command line, making the GUI app optional. You can use and manage Linux machines, run commands, and transfer files without leaving the terminal.

To get started:

orb help

orb

orb is a short all-in-one command that serves several purposes.

Start a shell

Run orb with no arguments to start a shell in the default Linux machine:

orb

You can also specify a machine and user:

orb -m my-machine -u my-user

Run orbctl shell --help for more options.

Run a command

Prefix a command with orb to run it in Linux:

orb uname -a

To specify a machine and user:

orb -m my-machine -u my-user uname -a

Run orbctl run --help for more options.

Manage machines

Run orb with a subcommand to manage machines. For example, to create a new Ubuntu machine:

orb create ubuntu my-machine

Many other subcommands are available:

completion  Generate completion script
config      Change OrbStack settings
create      Create a new machine
debug       Debug a Docker container with extra commands
default     Get or set the default machine
delete      Delete a machine
docker      Show commands for using Docker
help        Help about any command
info        Get info about a machine
k8s         Show commands for using Kubernetes
list        List machines
login       Log in and activate your OrbStack license
logout      Log out of your OrbStack account
logs        Show logs for a machine
migrate     Migrate data from Docker Desktop to OrbStack
pull        Copy files from Linux
push        Copy files to Linux
rename      Rename a machine
report      Gather info for a bug report
reset       Delete all Linux and Docker data
restart     Restart a machine
run         Run command on Linux
ssh         Show SSH details
start       Start OrbStack or a machine
status      Check whether OrbStack is running
stop        Stop OrbStack or a machine
update      Update OrbStack
version     Show OrbStack version

Run orb <command> --help for more information about each command.

orbctl

You can also use orbctl to manage machines explicitly. Unlike the shorter orb command, you must use orbctl shell or orbctl run to start a shell or run a command.

File transfer

You can use orb pull and orb push to copy files to and from Linux machines. For example, to copy a file from Linux to Mac:

orb pull ~/foo.txt

To copy a file from Mac to Linux:

orb push ~/bar.txt

You can also specify a machine and destination:

orb push -m my-machine ~/bar.txt /home/my-user/code/

mac

Prefix a command with mac to run it on macOS:

mac uname -a

There are also several subcommands for integration:

completion  Generate the autocompletion script for the specified shell
help        Help about any command
link        Link a command to macOS
notify      Send a macOS notification
pull        Copy files from macOS
push        Copy files to macOS
run         Run command on macOS
unlink      Unlink a macOS command

Linking commands

You can use mac link to link a macOS command to Linux. Linked commands do not need to be prefixed with mac to run and can be used as if they were native to Linux.

For example, to link the pbcopy command:

mac link pbcopy

open, osascript, and code are linked by default.

macctl

Similar to orbctl, you can use macctl to run macOS integration subcommands explicitly.