Runtime Engine Model¶
Summary¶
Meridian treats the container engine as a first-class runtime input because it affects both semantic validation and runtime execution.
Supported engines¶
autodockercontainerd
Resolution rules¶
auto prefers Docker when both Docker and containerd paths are available. This preserves a stable happy path for common local and CI environments.
Engine behavior by environment¶
Docker¶
Docker is the default expectation for local runs and GitHub Actions. For capture routing, Meridian uses a host alias strategy.
Linux containerd¶
Linux containerd expects nerdctl and uses host networking for the capture path.
macOS containerd¶
macOS containerd uses lima nerdctl, published injection ports, and host.lima.internal for the capture sink endpoint.
Why this matters¶
Engine selection affects:
- how Collector images are run for semantic validation
- how runtime ports are wired
- what repro steps are realistic
- what troubleshooting commands make sense