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traderepublic/Cilicon

Self-hosted macOS CI app for Apple Silicon that runs ephemeral virtual machines for GitHub Actions, Buildkite, GitLab Runner, or custom scripts.

Open-source alternative to:MacStadiumOrka

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What is it?

Cilicon is a macOS app built on Apple's Virtualization Framework. It creates, provisions and runs ephemeral CI virtual machines on Apple Silicon Macs, so each job starts in a fresh VM. It supports GitHub Actions, Buildkite Agent, GitLab Runner and arbitrary scripts as job sources.

Images use the tart container format and can be pulled from OCI registries or loaded from local files. Cilicon connects to the guest over SSH to run pre and post commands, and includes an optional liveness probe that restarts the VM when a health check command fails.

The project is intended for teams that want to run macOS and Xcode builds on dedicated hardware they control. Configuration is done through a cilicon.yml file in the host's home directory.

Key features

  • 01Runs ephemeral macOS VMs on Apple Silicon via Apple's Virtualization Framework.
  • 02Supports GitHub Actions, Buildkite Agent, GitLab Runner and custom scripts.
  • 03Pulls tart-format VM images from OCI registries.
  • 04Runs pre/post commands and health checks over SSH.
  • 05Automatically restarts VMs when a liveness probe fails.

Use cases

  • Running iOS and macOS Xcode builds on self-hosted Mac hardware.
  • Providing isolated macOS CI runners for GitHub Actions or GitLab pipelines.
  • Hosting dedicated Mac build machines that start each job from a clean image.

Quick start

  1. 1

    Download the latest release of Cilicon.app from the releases page

  2. 2

    Create a cilicon.yml config file in the host home directory with your source and provisioner

  3. 3

    Add Cilicon.app as a launch item on the host macOS

Things to know

  • Runs only on Apple Silicon Macs with macOS, so it cannot be used on Linux or Windows.
  • Requires a dedicated Mac and manual host setup such as automatic login and disabled sleep.
  • Known SSH issue on macOS 15.0 to 15.3.x; macOS 15.4 or later is recommended.

In collections

Self-hosted appsOpen-source Mac apps

Topics

#ci#macos#apple-silicon#self-hosted#github-actions#virtualization#gitlab-ci#buildkite#atom-mobile-platform#element-experience-infra

FAQ

What is Cilicon?
Self-hosted macOS CI app for Apple Silicon that runs ephemeral virtual machines for GitHub Actions, Buildkite, GitLab Runner, or custom scripts. Cilicon is a macOS app built on Apple's Virtualization Framework. It creates, provisions and runs ephemeral CI virtual machines on Apple Silicon Macs, so each job starts in a fresh VM. It supports GitHub Actions, Buildkite Agent, GitLab Runner and arbitrary scripts as job sources.
Is Cilicon free to use? What license does it have?
Cilicon is open source under the MIT license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is Cilicon still maintained?
Updated within 6 months. The last commit to Cilicon was on Sep 14, 2026.
What can I use Cilicon for?
Running iOS and macOS Xcode builds on self-hosted Mac hardware. Providing isolated macOS CI runners for GitHub Actions or GitLab pipelines. Hosting dedicated Mac build machines that start each job from a clean image.
How do I install Cilicon?
Download the latest release of Cilicon.app from the releases page Create a cilicon.yml config file in the host home directory with your source and provisioner Add Cilicon.app as a launch item on the host macOS
Where can I get Cilicon?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/traderepublic/Cilicon

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