Tart
A command-line toolset for building, running and managing macOS and Linux virtual machines on Apple Silicon.
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About Tart
Tart runs macOS and Linux virtual machines on Apple Silicon Macs using Apple's Virtualization.Framework. Virtual machine images can be stored in and pulled from OCI-compatible container registries, so VMs are handled much like Docker images.
It is aimed at continuous integration and automation, with integrations for GitHub, GitLab and other CI systems. The companion Orchard tool manages Tart VMs across a cluster of Apple Silicon hosts through a REST API and CLI. Cirrus Labs has announced it is joining OpenAI.
Strengths
- Uses Apple's native Virtualization.Framework
- Stores VM images in OCI container registries
- Integrates with GitHub, GitLab and other CI systems
- Orchard manages VMs across many hosts
Limitations
- Apple Silicon Macs only
- Built for CI and automation more than desktop use
- Future direction uncertain after the developer joined OpenAI
Details
- Pricing
- FreeDownloadable from GitHub; Cirrus Runners is a separate paid CI service, and license terms are in the repository.
- License
- Proprietary
- Developer
- Cirrus Labs
- Platforms
- macOS, Command line
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Best suited for
- Teams running macOS or Linux CI jobs in VMs on Apple Silicon
- Categories
- Virtual machines, Developer tools
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to Tart
Compare allSoftware that can replace Tart for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
VirtualBuddy
Run macOS virtual machines on an Apple Silicon Mac.
VirtualBuddy runs macOS virtual machines on Apple Silicon with guided image installation, is open source under BSD-2-Clause, and is aimed at desktop use rather than CI.
UTM
Runs Windows, Linux and other systems in a virtual machine on a Mac, iPhone or iPad.
UTM is an open-source graphical app for Mac, iPhone and iPad that runs macOS, Linux and Windows guests and emulates other architectures, without OCI registry storage.
Parallels Desktop
Runs Windows and other operating systems in a virtual machine on a Mac.
Parallels Desktop is a paid, closed-source Mac hypervisor with Coherence mode and guided Windows 11 setup, aimed at desktop use rather than CI automation.
Lima
Launches Linux virtual machines from the command line on macOS, Linux and Windows, with file sharing and port forwarding set up automatically.
Lima is an open-source command-line tool for Linux virtual machines with automatic file sharing, running on macOS, Linux and Windows but without macOS guests.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
Packer
A command-line tool that builds identical machine images for several platforms from one template.
Vagrant
Builds reproducible development virtual machines from a single file.
krunvm
A command-line tool that creates lightweight microVMs from OCI container images using libkrun.
Docker-OSX
Runs a macOS virtual machine inside a Docker container using KVM on Linux.
Multipass
Canonical's tool for launching a fresh Ubuntu virtual machine with one command, on Windows, macOS or Linux.
QEMU
The machine emulator and virtualiser that most of the Linux virtualisation stack is built on.
