Create a Linux machine with OrbStack

Use OrbStack for the Mac foundations labs

Install OrbStack from its official site following the current setup guide and applicable license terms. This lesson uses Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (noble) as an explicit userspace baseline, not an assertion that it is the newest release. Start with one learning machine; no Kubernetes cluster is needed.

Run these on the Mac, not inside Linux. Check that the proposed name is unused:

orb version
orb list
orb create ubuntu:noble sk-foundations
orb -m sk-foundations

If the name already exists, inspect it and choose a new name rather than overwriting it. Substitute your chosen name throughout subsequent lessons. In the Linux shell, move to the Linux home directory before making files:

cd ~
pwd
id
cat /etc/os-release
uname -m
uname -r
ps -p 1 -o comm=

Record distribution, architecture, kernel, init system, and regular-user identity. Use native architecture unless an exercise specifically requires another one. Keep file and permission fixtures in Linux storage, not the shared Mac mount.

Interpret the setup checks

If id -u prints 0, leave the root shell and reconnect as the normal user before the permission exercises. If PID 1 is not systemd, do not paste the later systemd commands and interpret their errors as broken services. Resolve the environment mismatch first.

Before installing anything else, make one persistent fixture inside Linux:

mkdir -p ~/foundations-notes
printf 'Created in the Linux home directory.\n' > ~/foundations-notes/environment.txt
cat ~/foundations-notes/environment.txt

This new filename is course-owned; if you already created it, inspect it before replacing its contents. It will let you distinguish stopping a machine from deleting it. No editor, language runtime, or web server is needed yet.

Start, stop, and inspect deliberately

Exit the Linux shell to return to the Mac. Use orb info sk-foundations, orb stop sk-foundations, and orb start sk-foundations to inspect and manage this one machine. Read orb COMMAND --help when your installed version differs from the guide.

Default machines integrate with Mac files and tools; treat their code as trusted. The isolated-machine option reduces those integrations but still shares the kernel. Do not use either mode as an independent security boundary for hostile code.

After a named stop/start cycle on the Mac, re-enter with orb -m sk-foundations, run cd ~, and read foundations-notes/environment.txt. Expected behavior is that stopping ends execution but retained machine storage survives. This is a lifecycle check, not an independent backup test. Record the actual result and keep the file for the patching exercise.

If orb is unavailable on the Mac, return to the official installation instructions; installing Ubuntu packages inside a guest cannot install the Mac's OrbStack command. This location distinction prevents many confusing first-session errors.

Check and revise

Your setup evidence should identify which commands ran on Mac and which ran in Linux. Confirm that stopping this machine does not mean deleting its files. Delete it only when the course data is no longer needed, using the named machine's UI action or documented orb delete command after inspecting the target. Never use a global reset for lab cleanup.

Revision: named machine → explicit distro → Linux-home workspace → measured resource use → scoped lifecycle.

Apply this to MicroBank

Use this named machine for MicroBank foundations fixtures and evidence. Keep its environment record: distribution, architecture, kernel, identity, and storage location. Later application profiles may use a different machine or container runtime; give each its own record. A successful stop/start of this machine only establishes the lifecycle of the file fixture you actually checked.

Keep this observation in the MicroBank readiness project.

Sources

Primary references: OrbStack installation↗; Machine commands↗; Distribution selection↗; Isolated machines↗.