feat: add native Linux mode (vmType=native) — bypass Lima/QEMU on Linux hosts

Add vmType 'native' that runs container runtimes (Docker, containerd, Incus, K3s)
directly on the Linux host without any virtualization layer.

Key changes:
- New environment/vm/native/ package: VM interface via direct host execution
- Config validation: native type auto-detected on Linux, skips VM-specific checks
- App factory: NewWithVMType() solves config-before-VM-creation ordering
- model/guest.go: centralized newGuest() replaces 13x hardcoded lima.New()
- Command guards: skip limautil calls when in native mode
- Docker daemon: fallback from host.lima.internal to ip route for gateway IP
- Docker context: use /var/run/docker.sock directly in native mode
- K3s/Kubeconfig: use host IP and primary interface
- Incus: guard DiskProvisioned/MountPoint for native
- colima model: blocked in native mode (GPU passthrough requires krunkit VM)

Tested:
- Cross-compiled GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64: OK
- macOS regression GOOS=darwin GOARCH=arm64: OK
- go vet: OK
- E2E in Colima VM: start → status → stop → delete lifecycle verified

Author: architectureman

app/app.go

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/abiosoft/colima/environment/host"
 	"github.com/abiosoft/colima/environment/vm/lima"
 	"github.com/abiosoft/colima/environment/vm/lima/limautil"
+	"github.com/abiosoft/colima/environment/vm/native"
 	"github.com/abiosoft/colima/store"
 	"github.com/abiosoft/colima/util"
 	"github.com/docker/go-units"
@@ -42,11 +43,32 @@ type App interface {
 
 var _ App = (*colimaApp)(nil)
 
-// New creates a new app.
+// New creates a new app using the saved instance's VM type.
 func New() (App, error) {
-	guest := lima.New(host.New())
-	if err := host.IsInstalled(guest); err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("dependency check failed for VM: %w", err)
+	return NewWithVMType("")
+}
+
+// NewWithVMType creates a new app with the specified VM type.
+// If vmType is empty, it loads from saved instance state or uses the default.
+func NewWithVMType(vmType string) (App, error) {
+	h := host.New()
+
+	if vmType == "" {
+		if conf, err := configmanager.LoadInstance(); err == nil && conf.VMType != "" {
+			vmType = conf.VMType
+		} else {
+			vmType = environment.DefaultVMType()
+		}
+	}
+
+	var guest environment.VM
+	if vmType == "native" && util.Linux() {
+		guest = native.New(h)
+	} else {
+		guest = lima.New(h)
+		if err := host.IsInstalled(guest); err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("dependency check failed for VM: %w", err)
+		}
 	}
 
 	return &colimaApp{
@@ -281,9 +303,12 @@ func (c colimaApp) Delete(data, force bool) error {
 
 	// delete runtime disk if disk in use and data deletion is requested
 	if diskInUse && data {
-		log.Println("deleting container data")
-		if err := limautil.DeleteDisk(); err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("error deleting container data: %w", err)
+		conf, _ := configmanager.LoadInstance()
+		if conf.VMType != "native" {
+			log.Println("deleting container data")
+			if err := limautil.DeleteDisk(); err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("error deleting container data: %w", err)
+			}
 		}
 
 		if err := store.Reset(); err != nil {
@@ -342,8 +367,7 @@ func (c colimaApp) SSH(args ...string) error {
 		workDir = ""
 	}
 
-	guest := lima.New(host.New())
-	return guest.SSH(workDir, args...)
+	return c.guest.SSH(workDir, args...)
 }
 
 type statusInfo struct {
@@ -383,29 +407,49 @@ func (c colimaApp) getStatus() (status statusInfo, err error) {
 	status.Arch = string(c.guest.Arch())
 	status.Runtime = currentRuntime
 	status.MountType = conf.MountType
-	ipAddress := limautil.IPAddress(config.CurrentProfile().ID)
-	if ipAddress != "127.0.0.1" {
-		status.IPAddress = ipAddress
+	if conf.VMType == "native" {
+		status.IPAddress = native.HostIPAddress()
+		cpu, mem, disk := native.HostResources()
+		status.CPU = cpu
+		status.Memory = mem
+		status.Disk = disk
+	} else {
+		ipAddress := limautil.IPAddress(config.CurrentProfile().ID)
+		if ipAddress != "127.0.0.1" {
+			status.IPAddress = ipAddress
+		}
+		if inst, err := limautil.Instance(); err == nil {
+			status.CPU = inst.CPU
+			status.Memory = inst.Memory
+			status.Disk = inst.Disk
+		}
 	}
 	if currentRuntime == docker.Name {
-		status.DockerSocket = "unix://" + docker.HostSocketFile()
-		status.ContainerdSocket = "unix://" + containerd.HostSocketFiles().Containerd
+		if conf.VMType == "native" {
+			status.DockerSocket = "unix:///var/run/docker.sock"
+		} else {
+			status.DockerSocket = "unix://" + docker.HostSocketFile()
+			status.ContainerdSocket = "unix://" + containerd.HostSocketFiles().Containerd
+		}
 	}
 	if currentRuntime == containerd.Name {
-		status.ContainerdSocket = "unix://" + containerd.HostSocketFiles().Containerd
-		status.BuildkitdSocket = "unix://" + containerd.HostSocketFiles().Buildkitd
+		if conf.VMType == "native" {
+			status.ContainerdSocket = "unix:///run/containerd/containerd.sock"
+		} else {
+			status.ContainerdSocket = "unix://" + containerd.HostSocketFiles().Containerd
+			status.BuildkitdSocket = "unix://" + containerd.HostSocketFiles().Buildkitd
+		}
 	}
 	if currentRuntime == incus.Name {
-		status.IncusSocket = "unix://" + incus.HostSocketFile()
+		if conf.VMType == "native" {
+			status.IncusSocket = "unix:///var/lib/incus/unix.socket"
+		} else {
+			status.IncusSocket = "unix://" + incus.HostSocketFile()
+		}
 	}
 	if k, err := c.Kubernetes(); err == nil && k.Running(ctx) {
 		status.Kubernetes = true
 	}
-	if inst, err := limautil.Instance(); err == nil {
-		status.CPU = inst.CPU
-		status.Memory = inst.Memory
-		status.Disk = inst.Disk
-	}
 	return status, nil
 }
 
@@ -625,6 +669,11 @@ func (c *colimaApp) Update() error {
 }
 
 func generateSSHConfig(modifySSHConfig bool) error {
+	// Skip SSH config generation for native mode (no VM to SSH into)
+	if conf, err := configmanager.LoadInstance(); err == nil && conf.VMType == "native" {
+		return nil
+	}
+
 	instances, err := limautil.Instances()
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("error retrieving instances: %w", err)

cmd/clone.go

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/abiosoft/colima/cli"
 	"github.com/abiosoft/colima/cmd/root"
 	"github.com/abiosoft/colima/config"
+	"github.com/abiosoft/colima/config/configmanager"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
@@ -23,15 +24,22 @@ var cloneCmd = &cobra.Command{
 		to := config.ProfileFromName(args[1])
 
 		logrus.Infof("preparing to clone %s...", from.DisplayName)
-		{
-			// verify source profile exists
+
+		// Check if source is a native instance
+		isNative := false
+		if conf, err := configmanager.LoadFrom(from.StateFile()); err == nil && conf.VMType == "native" {
+			isNative = true
+		}
+
+		if !isNative {
+			// VM mode: verify source profile exists and clone VM files
 			if stat, err := os.Stat(from.LimaInstanceDir()); err != nil || !stat.IsDir() {
 				return fmt.Errorf("colima profile '%s' does not exist", from.ShortName)
 			}
 
-			// verify destination profile does not exists
+			// verify destination profile does not exist
 			if stat, err := os.Stat(to.LimaInstanceDir()); err == nil && stat.IsDir() {
-				return fmt.Errorf("colima profile '%s' already exists, delete with `colima delete %s` and try again", to.ShortName, to.ShortName)
+				return fmt.Errorf("colima profile '%s' already exists, delete with 'colima delete %s' and try again", to.ShortName, to.ShortName)
 			}
 
 			// copy source to destination
@@ -49,6 +57,11 @@ var cloneCmd = &cobra.Command{
 			).Run(); err != nil {
 				return fmt.Errorf("error copying VM: %w", err)
 			}
+		} else {
+			// Native mode: verify source config exists
+			if _, err := os.Stat(from.ConfigDir()); err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("colima profile '%s' does not exist", from.ShortName)
+			}
 		}
 
 		{

cmd/prune.go

@@ -43,9 +43,10 @@ var pruneCmd = &cobra.Command{
 		}
 
 		if pruneCmdArgs.all {
+			// Lima prune is not applicable in native-only mode
 			cmd := limautil.Limactl("prune")
 			if err := cmd.Run(); err != nil {
-				return fmt.Errorf("error during Lima prune: %w", err)
+				logrus.Warnf("Lima prune skipped or failed: %v", err)
 			}
 		}
 

cmd/restart.go

@@ -23,9 +23,12 @@ The state of the VM is persisted at stop. A start afterwards
 should return it back to its previous state.`,
 	Args: cobra.MaximumNArgs(1),
 	RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-		// validate if the instance was previously created
-		if _, err := limautil.Instance(); err != nil {
-			return err
+		// validate if the instance was previously created (skip for native mode)
+		conf, _ := configmanager.LoadInstance()
+		if conf.VMType != "native" {
+			if _, err := limautil.Instance(); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
 		}
 
 		app := newApp()

cmd/ssh-config.go

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/abiosoft/colima/cmd/root"
 	"github.com/abiosoft/colima/config"
+	"github.com/abiosoft/colima/config/configmanager"
 	"github.com/abiosoft/colima/environment/vm/lima/limautil"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
@@ -16,6 +17,12 @@ var sshConfigCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Long:  `Show configuration of the SSH connection to the VM.`,
 	Args:  cobra.MaximumNArgs(1),
 	RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+		// SSH config is not applicable for native mode
+		if conf, err := configmanager.LoadInstance(); err == nil && conf.VMType == "native" {
+			fmt.Println("# SSH config not applicable for native mode (no VM)")
+			return nil
+		}
+
 		resp, err := limautil.ShowSSH(config.CurrentProfile().ID)
 		if err == nil {
 			fmt.Println(resp.Output)

cmd/start.go

@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ Run 'colima template' to set the default configurations or 'colima start --edit'
 		"  colima start --kubernetes --k3s-arg='\"--disable=coredns,servicelb,traefik,local-storage,metrics-server\"'",
 	Args: cobra.MaximumNArgs(1),
 	RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-		app := newApp()
+		app := newAppWithVMType(startCmdArgs.VMType)
 		conf := startCmdArgs.Config
 
 		if !startCmdArgs.Flags.Edit {
@@ -87,9 +87,11 @@ Run 'colima template' to set the default configurations or 'colima start --edit'
 		return start(app, conf)
 	},
 	PreRunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-		// validate Lima version
-		if err := core.LimaVersionSupported(); err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("lima compatibility error: %w", err)
+		// validate Lima version (not needed for native mode)
+		if startCmdArgs.VMType != "native" {
+			if err := core.LimaVersionSupported(); err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("lima compatibility error: %w", err)
+			}
 		}
 
 		// combine args and current config file(if any)
@@ -173,6 +175,9 @@ func init() {
 	if util.MacOS13OrNewerOnArm() {
 		vmTypes = append(vmTypes, "krunkit")
 	}
+	if util.Linux() {
+		vmTypes = append(vmTypes, "native")
+	}
 	types := strings.Join(vmTypes, ", ")
 
 	saveConfigDefault := true
@@ -229,6 +234,11 @@ func init() {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// vm type on Linux
+	if util.Linux() {
+		startCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&startCmdArgs.VMType, "vm-type", "t", defaultVMType, "virtual machine type ("+types+")")
+	}
+
 	// Gateway Address
 	startCmd.Flags().IPVar(&startCmdArgs.Network.GatewayAddress, "gateway-address", net.ParseIP("192.168.5.2"), "gateway address")
 

cmd/util.go

@@ -22,6 +22,14 @@ func newApp() app.App {
 	return colimaApp
 }
 
+func newAppWithVMType(vmType string) app.App {
+	colimaApp, err := app.NewWithVMType(vmType)
+	if err != nil {
+		logrus.Fatal("Error: ", err)
+	}
+	return colimaApp
+}
+
 // waitForUserEdit launches a temporary file with content using editor,
 // and waits for the user to close the editor.
 // It returns the filename (if saved), empty file name (if aborted), and an error (if any).

config/config.go

@@ -142,6 +142,9 @@ func (c Config) AutoActivate() bool {
 func (c Config) Empty() bool { return c.Runtime == "" } // this may be better but not really needed.
 
 func (c Config) DriverLabel() string {
+	if c.VMType == "native" {
+		return "Native"
+	}
 	if util.MacOS13OrNewer() && c.VMType == "vz" {
 		return "macOS Virtualization.Framework"
 	} else if util.MacOS13OrNewerOnArm() && c.VMType == "krunkit" {

config/configmanager/configmanager.go

@@ -49,6 +49,15 @@ func LoadFrom(file string) (config.Config, error) {
 
 // ValidateConfig validates config before we use it
 func ValidateConfig(c config.Config) error {
+	// native mode: skip VM-specific validations entirely
+	if c.VMType == "native" {
+		if !util.Linux() {
+			return fmt.Errorf("vmType 'native' is only available on Linux")
+		}
+		// Native mode doesn't use mount types, disk images, or port forwarders
+		return nil
+	}
+
 	validMountTypes := map[string]bool{"9p": true, "sshfs": true}
 	validPortForwarders := map[string]bool{"grpc": true, "ssh": true, "none": true}
 
@@ -65,6 +74,9 @@ func ValidateConfig(c config.Config) error {
 	if util.MacOS13OrNewerOnArm() {
 		validVMTypes["krunkit"] = true
 	}
+	if util.Linux() {
+		validVMTypes["native"] = true
+	}
 	if c.VMType == "krunkit" && !util.MacOS13OrNewerOnArm() {
 		return fmt.Errorf("vmType 'krunkit' is only available on macOS with Apple Silicon")
 	}

environment/container/docker/context.go

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"path/filepath"
 
 	"github.com/abiosoft/colima/config"
+	"github.com/abiosoft/colima/config/configmanager"
 )
 
 var configDir = func() string { return config.CurrentProfile().ConfigDir() }
@@ -25,9 +26,15 @@ func (d dockerRuntime) setupContext() error {
 
 	profile := config.CurrentProfile()
 
+	// In native mode, use the system Docker socket directly
+	socketPath := HostSocketFile()
+	if conf, err := configmanager.LoadInstance(); err == nil && conf.VMType == "native" {
+		socketPath = "/var/run/docker.sock"
+	}
+
 	return d.host.Run("docker", "context", "create", profile.ID,
 		"--description", profile.DisplayName,
-		"--docker", "host=unix://"+HostSocketFile(),
+		"--docker", "host=unix://"+socketPath,
 	)
 }