Templates

Quick usage

To create and start a new instance from the template fedora:

# Note: In Lima 1.x, template URLs included leading slashes, e.g. `template://fedora`.
limactl create template:fedora
limactl start fedora

or

limactl start template:fedora
# For the second time onward, just run `limactl start fedora`

To open a shell:

limactl shell fedora

or

export LIMA_INSTANCE=fedora
lima

Template list

⭐ = “Tier 1”

☆ = “Tier 2”

Default

• default (⭐Ubuntu, with containerd/nerdctl)

Linux distributions

• almalinux-8: AlmaLinux 8
• almalinux-9: AlmaLinux 9
• almalinux-10, almalinux: AlmaLinux 10
• almalinux-kitten-10, almalinux-kitten: AlmaLinux Kitten 10
• alpine: ☆Alpine Linux
• alpine-iso: ☆Alpine Linux (ISO9660 image). Compatible with the alpine template used in Lima prior to v1.0.
• archlinux: ☆Arch Linux
• centos-stream-9, centos-stream: CentOS Stream 9
• centos-stream-10: CentOS Stream 10
• debian-11: Debian GNU/Linux 11 (Bullseye)
• debian-12: Debian GNU/Linux 12 (Bookworm)
• debian-13, debian: ⭐Debian GNU/Linux 13 (Trixie)
• fedora-41: Fedora 41
• fedora-42: Fedora 42
• fedora-43, fedora: ⭐Fedora 43
• opensuse-leap-15: openSUSE Leap 15
• opensuse-leap-16, opensuse-leap, opensuse: ⭐openSUSE Leap 16
• oraclelinux-8: Oracle Linux 8
• oraclelinux-9: Oracle Linux 9
• oraclelinux-10, oraclelinux: Oracle Linux 10
• rocky-8: Rocky Linux 8
• rocky-9: Rocky Linux 9
• rocky-10, rocky: Rocky Linux 10
• ubuntu-20.04: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa)
• ubuntu-22.04: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish)
• ubuntu-24.04, ubuntu-lts: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat)
• ubuntu-24.10: Ubuntu 24.10 (Oracular Oriole)
• ubuntu-25.04: Ubuntu 25.04 (Plucky Puffin)
• ubuntu-25.10, ubuntu: Ubuntu 25.10 (Questing Quokka)
  • Same as default but comment lines are omitted from the YAML
• experimental/ubuntu-next: Ubuntu vNext
• experimental/gentoo: Gentoo
• experimental/opensuse-tumbleweed: openSUSE Tumbleweed
• experimental/debian-sid: Debian Sid
• experimental/fedora-rawhide: Fedora Rawhide

Non-Linux

NOTE: support for non-Linux OSes is experimental.

• macos-15: macOS 15 (Sequoia)
• macos-26, macos: macOS 26 (Tahoe)
• freebsd-15, freebsd: FreeBSD 15
• experimental/freebsd-current: FreeBSD CURRENT

Alternative package managers

• linuxbrew, homebrew-linux: Homebrew on Linux (Ubuntu)
• homebrew-macos: Homebrew on macOS

Containers

Container engines

• apptainer: Apptainer
• apptainer-rootful: Apptainer (rootful)
• docker: ⭐Docker
• docker-rootful: Docker (rootful)
• podman: Podman
• podman-rootful: Podman (rootful)
• LXD is installed in the default Ubuntu template, so there is no lxd

Container image builders

• buildkit: BuildKit

Container orchestration

• faasd: Faasd
• k0s: k0s Zero Friction Kubernetes
• k3s: Kubernetes via k3s
• k8s: ⭐Kubernetes via kubeadm
• experimental/rke2: RKE2
• experimental/u7s: Usernetes: Rootless Kubernetes

AI agents

See https://lima-vm.io/docs/examples/ai/.

Optional feature enablers

• experimental/vnc: use vnc display and xorg server
• experimental/alsa: use alsa and default audio device

Lost+found

Tier

• “Tier 1” (marked with ⭐): Good stability. Regularly tested on the CI.
• “Tier 2” (marked with ☆): Moderate stability. Regularly tested on the CI.

Other templates are tested only occasionally and manually.