Using the -p flag tells the vmnet to create a NAT rule, and yes only the Pro license can do that, but you can still fire up the container on the local vmnet.

So the way vctl works is that it launches a new VM for each container, so the container gets a dedicated internal IP address on a newly created VMnet. So like a 172.x.x.x or 192.168.x.x, and you just access the port directly from the host mac. The -p would make the VM's port reachable via the host's IP address.

In your vctl command, just omit the -p flag + value and it should spin it up. Then run vctl ps to see the IP of the appliance vm. You would then access it from the host Mac via the vm's IP, like: 192.168.243.130:1234

Hmm, okay, thanks, if it works on my laptop it would be cool. I don't really care that the port is available from other systems.