Image Management via Orka3 CLI

Orka3 CLI image commands: list, pull, push, and manage macOS images for Intel and Apple silicon VMs, including local cluster and OCI registry sources.

Understanding Orka images

Images are used to spin up VMs in Orka. An image contains the macOS operating system, applications, and any configurations you’ve set up.

Image architecture types

• amd64 architecture - Intel-based images (previously denoted by an .img extension)
• arm64 architecture - Apple silicon-based images (previously denoted by an .orkasi extension)

Extensions are no longer required as part of an image name. The architecture is determined automatically.

Image accessibility

Local images are accessible from all namespaces in your Orka cluster.

Local image commands

orka3 image list

List the locally stored images in your Orka cluster. (Note, you may not have any images until you run imagecache or a vm deploy command)

Syntax:

orka3 image list [IMAGE_NAME_1 [IMAGE_NAME_2 ...]] [--output wide|json] [flags]

Options:

-h, --help            Display help for list
-o, --output string   (Optional) Output format: table (default)|wide|json

If --output is not set, prints only essential information in a table format. Use wide for additional error information or json for JSON output.

Examples:

# List the images stored locally in your Orka cluster
orka3 image list

# Check if the specified image exists locally
orka3 image list 90gbventurassh.img

# Check if the specified images exist locally
orka3 image list 90gbventurassh.img 90gbventurassh.orkasi

# List images and print output as JSON
orka3 image list --output json

# Show additional error information for locally stored images
orka3 image list --output wide

# Show additional error information for a specific image
orka3 image list 90gbventurassh.orkasi --output wide

orka3 image copy

Copy the specified image and set a new name for the copy.

Image name requirements:

• Does not exceed 63 characters including the file extension (if set)
• Consists of lowercase alphanumeric characters, dashes (-) or periods (.)
• Must be unique to the cluster

By default, this operation also copies the description of the source image. You can explicitly change the description during this operation.

Copying an image is an async operation. To check the status: orka3 image list IMAGE_COPY_NAME

Syntax:

orka3 image copy IMAGE_NAME IMAGE_COPY_NAME [--description 'DESCRIPTION'] [flags]

Options:

-d, --description string   (Optional) Custom description for the copy
-h, --help                 Display help for copy

Examples:

# Copy an image
orka3 image copy 90gbventurassh.orkasi 90gbventurassh-copy.orkasi

# Copy an image with a custom description
orka3 image copy 90gbventurassh.orkasi 90gbventurassh-copy.orkasi --description '[e-mail] copied this image'

orka3 image generate

(Intel-only) Generate a new empty image with the specified size. Use an empty image to perform a fresh macOS install from ISO.

Generated images are always created as amd64 images (Intel-based images) and are accessible from all namespaces.

Generating an image is an async operation. To check the status: orka3 image list GENERATED_IMAGE_NAME

Syntax:

orka3 image generate IMAGE_NAME SIZE [--description 'DESCRIPTION'] [flags]

Options:

-d, --description string   (Optional) Custom description for the generated image
-h, --help                 Display help for generate

Examples:

# Generate an empty 120GB image
orka3 image generate 120gbemptyimage 120G

# Generate an empty 120GB image with a custom description
orka3 image generate 120gbemptyimage 120G --description '[e-mail] created this empty image'

orka3 image set-description

Set a custom description for the specified image. This can be helpful to identify the owner of the image, where it originated from, or how it is used across workflows.

This operation overrides the existing description and cannot be undone.

Syntax:

orka3 image set-description IMAGE_NAME DESCRIPTION [flags]

Options:

-h, --help   Display help for set-description

Examples:

# Set a custom description for an image
orka3 image set-description 90gbventurassh.orkasi '[e-mail] set this description'

orka3 image delete

Delete the specified locally stored images.

This operation cannot be undone. VMs or VM configurations that use this image are affected and might stop working as expected.

Syntax:

orka3 image delete IMAGE_NAME [IMAGE_NAME_2 ...] [flags]

Options:

-h, --help   Display help for delete

Examples:

# Delete an image from your Orka cluster
orka3 image delete 90gbventurassh.orkasi

# Delete multiple images
orka3 image delete 90gbventurassh.orkasi 90gbventurassh.img

Image cache commands

Manage images stored on Orka cluster nodes. By adding images to a node before deployment of a VM using that base image, you can manage and control the delay caused by remote or even local cluster storage image pulls, providing consistent deployment times.

Image cache operations are only supported for Apple silicon nodes. The alias for imagecache is ic.

orka3 imagecache add

Cache the specified image on the specified node(s). Add an image to one, a select number, or all cluster node namespace members or members of a tagged node group.

The image must be pulled in the cluster before caching it on the node(s), unless it is an OCI image. For OCI images, make sure you have the necessary credentials to pull the OCI image.

Caching an image is an async operation. To check the status: orka3 imagecache info IMAGE_NAME

The --nodes, --tags, and --all flags are mutually exclusive.

Syntax:

orka3 imagecache add IMAGE_NAME [--namespace CURRENT_NAMESPACE] {--nodes | --tags | --all} [flags]

Options:

--all                    Cache the image on all nodes in the current namespace
-h, --help               Display help for add
--nodes string           The node(s) on which to cache the image
--tags string            The node tag(s) by which to filter nodes
-n, --namespace string   (Optional) Namespace scope (default "orka-default")

Examples:

# Cache an image on a specific node
orka3 imagecache add ghcr.io/macstadium/orka-images/sequoia:latest --nodes mini-arm-10

# Cache an image on multiple nodes
orka3 imagecache add ghcr.io/macstadium/orka-images/sequoia:latest --nodes mini-arm-10,mini-arm-11

# Cache an image on all nodes in the current namespace
orka3 imagecache add ghcr.io/macstadium/orka-images/sequoia:latest --all

# Cache an image on nodes with specific tags
orka3 imagecache add ghcr.io/macstadium/orka-images/sequoia:latest --tags my-tag,my-other-tag

# Cache an image on a node in a specific namespace
orka3 imagecache add ghcr.io/macstadium/orka-images/sequoia:latest --nodes mini-arm-10 --namespace my-namespace

orka3 imagecache info

Display the caching status of an image across nodes. Use this to verify if images are available for deployment (“ready” status) or if the caching operation is still active (“caching” status).

Syntax:

orka3 imagecache info IMAGE_NAME [--namespace CURRENT_NAMESPACE] [--output wide|json] [flags]

Options:

-h, --help               Display help for info
-o, --output string      (Optional) Output format: table (default)|wide|json
-n, --namespace string   (Optional) Namespace scope (default "orka-default")

Examples:

# Display the caching status of an image
orka3 imagecache info sonoma-90gb-orka3-arm

# Display the caching status of an OCI image (latest is the default tag)
orka3 imagecache info ghcr.io/macstadium/orka-images/sonoma

# Display the caching status of an OCI image with a specific tag
orka3 imagecache info ghcr.io/macstadium/orka-images/sonoma:14.0

orka3 imagecache list

List cached images across nodes. Provides information about cached images such as image tag (OCI repo pulled images only), the image-id (a unique identifier from manifest), the sparse size of the image, and the number of nodes the image is cached on.

Syntax:

orka3 imagecache list [IMAGE_NAME_1 IMAGE_NAME_2 ...] [--namespace CURRENT_NAMESPACE] [--output wide|json] [flags]

Options:

-h, --help               Display help for list
-o, --output string      (Optional) Output format: table (default)|wide|json
-n, --namespace string   (Optional) Namespace scope (default "orka-default")

Examples:

# List all cached images on all nodes
orka3 imagecache list

# Check if a specific image is cached on any node
orka3 imagecache list sonoma-90gb-orka3-arm

# Check if an OCI image is cached (latest is the default tag)
orka3 imagecache list ghcr.io/macstadium/orka-images/sequoia

# Check if an OCI image with tag is cached
orka3 imagecache list ghcr.io/macstadium/orka-images/sonoma:14.0

# Check multiple images
orka3 imagecache list sonoma-90gb-orka3-arm ghcr.io/macstadium/orka-images/sonoma:14.0

# List all cached images as JSON
orka3 imagecache list --output json

Remote images (deprecated)

This functionality will be removed in future releases. MacStadium recommends using OCI registries for image storage and management. The orka3 imagecache command should be used as a replacement to load images into the cluster.

orka3 remote-image list

List the available images in the remote repository or look for specific images in the remote repository.

Syntax:

orka3 remote-image list [IMAGE_NAME_1 [IMAGE_NAME_2 ...]] [--output wide|json] [flags]

Examples:

# List available remote images
orka3 remote-image list

# Check if a specific image exists remotely
orka3 remote-image list 90gbventurassh.img

# Check if multiple specific images exist remotely
orka3 remote-image list 90gbventurassh.img 90gbventurassh.orkasi

orka3 remote-image pull

Copy an image from the remote repository and store it locally in the Orka cluster. You can keep the original name or set a new name in the local cluster storage.

Pulling a remote image is an async operation. To check the status: orka3 image list PULLED_IMAGE_NAME

Syntax:

orka3 remote-image pull REMOTE_IMAGE_NAME [NEW_LOCAL_IMAGE] [--description 'DESCRIPTION'] [flags]

Examples:

# Pull an image from the remote repository
orka3 remote-image pull 90gbventurassh.orkasi

# Pull and rename an image
orka3 remote-image pull 90gbventurassh.orkasi 90gbventurassh2023.orkasi

# Pull an image with a custom description
orka3 remote-image pull 90gbventurassh.orkasi --description '[e-mail] pulled this image'