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openai/tart

A virtualization toolset for building, running and managing macOS and Linux VMs on Apple Silicon, aimed at CI and automation.

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What is it?

Tart is a virtualization toolset for creating, running and managing macOS and Linux virtual machines on Apple Silicon Macs. It is built on Apple's Virtualization.Framework, so VMs run on the system's native hypervisor rather than through emulation.

VM images can be pushed to and pulled from any OCI-compatible container registry, which makes it practical to share prepared base images across machines. Tart also provides a Packer plugin for scripting VM image creation, and it is designed to slot into existing CI systems.

The project is aimed at teams running macOS builds and tests in automated pipelines. Installation is available through Homebrew, and a quick start clones a prebuilt macOS image and launches it with a single command.

Key features

  • 01Built on Apple's Virtualization.Framework for native-speed VMs on Apple Silicon
  • 02Runs macOS and Linux guest virtual machines
  • 03Push and pull VM images to any OCI-compatible container registry
  • 04Packer plugin for automating VM image creation
  • 05Integrates with common CI systems

Use cases

  • Running macOS build and test jobs in CI pipelines on Apple Silicon hardware
  • Sharing prepared macOS base images across a team through a container registry
  • Automating creation of standardized VM images with Packer

Quick start

  1. 1

    Install Tart with Homebrew

    brew install openai/tools/tart
  2. 2

    Clone a macOS base image (about 25 GB download)

    tart clone ghcr.io/cirruslabs/macos-tahoe-base:latest tahoe-base
  3. 3

    Run the VM

    tart run tahoe-base

Things to know

  • Requires an Apple Silicon Mac running macOS 13.0 or later.
  • The base image download is roughly 25 GB.

In collections

Open-source Mac apps

Topics

#virtualization#apple-silicon#macos#ci#automation#packer#oci#fair-source#tart#virtualization-framework

FAQ

What is tart?
A virtualization toolset for building, running and managing macOS and Linux VMs on Apple Silicon, aimed at CI and automation. Tart is a virtualization toolset for creating, running and managing macOS and Linux virtual machines on Apple Silicon Macs. It is built on Apple's Virtualization.Framework, so VMs run on the system's native hypervisor rather than through emulation.
Is tart free to use? What license does it have?
tart is open source under the Other license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is tart still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to tart was on Nov 6, 2026.
What can I use tart for?
Running macOS build and test jobs in CI pipelines on Apple Silicon hardware Sharing prepared macOS base images across a team through a container registry Automating creation of standardized VM images with Packer
How do I install tart?
Install Tart with Homebrew: brew install openai/tools/tart Clone a macOS base image (about 25 GB download): tart clone ghcr.io/cirruslabs/macos-tahoe-base:latest tahoe-base Run the VM: tart run tahoe-base
Where can I get tart?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/openai/tart

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