Experiment: using Apple Container as a WSLg-like Linux GUI environment on macOS

[J-x-Z]

I maintain Cocoa-Way, an open-source Wayland compositor and Linux
application frontend for macOS.

I have been using Apple Container as the Linux runtime and Cocoa-Way
as the host-side GUI layer. Linux applications connect through
Wayland and are rendered on macOS, rather than exposing an entire
desktop through VNC.

The current version can:

• launch Wayland applications from Apple Container;
• run a complete nested compositor such as niri or Hyprland;
• maintain a 60 FPS local niri session in ordinary desktop use;
• provide clipboard and audio integration;
• manage multiple applications within the same Linux environment.

The longer-term question is whether this could become something
similar in spirit to WSLg for macOS: Apple Container manages the
Linux environment, while Cocoa-Way handles graphical applications
and host integration.

The largest limitation is graphics acceleration. Apple Container
does not currently expose a Linux guest GPU path, so browsers and
graphics-heavy applications can be considerably slower than native
Linux, even when desktop interaction remains responsive.

I would be interested in feedback from container users:

• Would you use Apple Container for persistent Linux GUI applications?
• Is individual application integration more useful than a complete
  Linux desktop?
• Which host integration features would matter most: files, IME,
  drag-and-drop, notifications, or application launchers?

https://github.com/J-x-Z/cocoa-way