# beringresearch/macpine

Lightweight Linux VMs on MacOS

Repository: https://github.com/beringresearch/macpine
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/macpine
Homepage: https://beringresearch.github.io/macpine/
Language: Go
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: golang, linux, m1-mac, macos, qemu, virtualization
Last push: 2026-08-25T14:09:18+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 75/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 30, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 1566, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": 306, "gap_med": 93, "n_releases_24m": 6}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1035, forks 30 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:18.968628+00:00)

## What it is
Macpine is a Go-based CLI tool for creating and managing lightweight Alpine Linux virtual machines on macOS using QEMU. It supports aarch64 and x86_64 emulation with port forwarding, file sharing, and bridged networking.

## Use cases
- spin up lightweight linux vms on my mac
- run docker or incus inside a tiny vm on macos
- test software on x86_64 from an arm mac
- create alpine vm with custom cpu ram and disk
- ssh into a disposable linux dev environment
- emulate aarch64 and x86_64 on apple silicon

## When to choose
- you want fast, minimal Linux VMs on macOS without heavy virtualization UIs
- you need cross-architecture (aarch64/x86_64) testing on Apple Silicon
- you want a scriptable CLI for VM lifecycle management

## When to avoid
- you need full GUI desktop VMs or Windows guests
- you are on Linux or Windows rather than macOS
- you prefer container-only workflows without VMs

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: cli, developer-tools, deployment
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: cli, go
- tags: qemu, alpine-linux, lightweight-vms, arm64-emulation, docker-host, virtualization, command-line, devops, containers, macos

## Member repositories
- beringresearch/macpine (main) score 75

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:18.968628+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T07:04:52.702295+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/beringresearch/macpine (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:18.968628+00:00, sha 7a960eb349bb)
  - homepage: https://beringresearch.github.io/macpine/ (fetched 2026-08-29T13:05:35.143206+00:00, sha d166a47626bb)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.