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Desktop app

A native window for Linux, macOS, and Windows. On Linux it runs labs on the computer itself, like the VS Code extension. It can also sign in to clab-api-server on lab hosts, and shows all of them side by side.

Install

Download the package for your system from the latest release.

sudo apt install ./containerlab-desktop-<version>-amd64.deb

sudo dnf install ./containerlab-desktop-<version>-x86_64.rpm

chmod +x ./containerlab-desktop-<version>-x86_64.AppImage
./containerlab-desktop-<version>-x86_64.AppImage

Open containerlab-desktop-<version>-universal.dmg and drag the app to Applications.

Run containerlab-desktop-<version>-x64-setup.exe.

The macOS and Windows builds are not signed yet, so the system may warn you the first time you open them.

Run labs on this computer

On Linux, the app runs labs with the containerlab CLI and Docker of the computer it runs on. No API Server, no sign-in: the app opens on the labs of This computer.

  1. Prepare the computer as for the VS Code extension: install containerlab, make sure Docker works, and add your user to the clab_admins and docker groups. Log in again after changing groups.

  2. Start the app. The explorer shows This computer with its running and undeployed labs.

When something is missing, the app opens on a start screen instead. It lists what to fix, with the command for each, for example the usermod line for a missing group. Fix it and select Check Again; the app opens on your labs once containerlab is ready. It never asks for your sudo password.

This computer is not ready yet This computer is not ready yet

Labs on this computer run as your user. Topologies live in ~/.clab, the same folder clab-api-server uses, and so do node templates and icons; a lab host on the same machine sees the same files.

To hide This computer, remove it on its page under Settings > Lab hosts. It stays hidden until you select Use This Computer under Settings > Add lab host.

To change how the app runs containerlab, create ~/.config/Containerlab/local-backend.json:

{
  "binaryPath": "/usr/local/bin/containerlab",
  "runtime": "docker",
  "dockerSocketPath": "/var/run/docker.sock",
  "workspaceRoot": "/home/alice/labs",
  "deployExtraArgs": ["--max-workers", "4"]
}

Set "enabled": false to turn This computer off entirely, or "sudo": true to run containerlab with sudo -n, which needs passwordless sudo. The same options are available as environment variables.

To run labs on a Kubernetes cluster with clabernetes as well, choose Settings > Add lab host > Kubernetes; the app keeps it under clusters in the same file, with the deploy defaults you set on its page (deployTimeout, exposeType, persistence, imagePullSecret, noTopologyCR). See Labs on Kubernetes.

Work with lab hosts

To work with labs on other machines, or from macOS and Windows, set up a lab host and sign in to it. On Linux, add lab hosts under Settings > Add lab host; their labs show up next to This computer. On macOS and Windows the app starts on the sign-in screen.

Options

The app reads a few environment variables at start, for example to preset the API URL for a team. See web and desktop settings.