# microvm-nix/microvm.nix

NixOS MicroVMs

Repository: https://github.com/microvm-nix/microvm.nix
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/microvmnix
Homepage: https://microvm-nix.github.io/microvm.nix/
Language: Nix
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: nix, nixos, microvm, microvms, flakes, flake, nix-flake, cloud-hypervisor, crosvm, firecracker, qemu, virtualization, kvmtool
Last push: 2026-08-24T19:37:32+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 77/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 1897, "days_push": 9, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2882, forks 222 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:28.037166+00:00)

## What it is
A Nix Flake for building and running lightweight NixOS MicroVMs on NixOS/Linux and macOS hosts using one of eight hypervisors such as QEMU, Firecracker, and cloud-hypervisor. MicroVMs can be built like Nix packages or installed declaratively as systemd services, with read-only erofs/squashfs root disks, virtiofs/9p shares, and TAP or user networking.

## Use cases
- run lightweight NixOS virtual machines declaratively
- isolate services into separate VMs instead of containers
- build microvms as nix packages
- run firecracker or cloud-hypervisor vms from a nix flake
- compartmentalize services on a shared nixos host
- manage declarative vms as systemd services on nixos
- run nixos microvms on macOS

## When to choose
- you use NixOS or Nix flakes and want isolated, reproducible VMs with minimal overhead
- you want stronger isolation than nixos-container or Docker with a smaller attack surface
- you want to run many small NixOS systems as systemd services on one host
- you need a choice of hypervisors (QEMU, Firecracker, cloud-hypervisor, crosvm, etc.) per VM

## When to avoid
- you don't use Nix or NixOS and aren't willing to learn it
- you need general-purpose VM management for arbitrary OS images rather than NixOS guests
- you need flexible memory allocation, since RAM is fixed per VM (with only balloon-based shrinking)
- you need features unsupported by your chosen hypervisor, such as 9p shares on Firecracker

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: active
- function: infrastructure-as-code, deployment, configuration-management, self-hosted
- domain: self-hosted, cloud-computing, infrastructure-as-code, operating-systems
- platform: -
- tags: nixos, nix-flake, microvm, firecracker, qemu, cloud-hypervisor, crosvm, kvmtool, vfkit, systemd-services, declarative-vms, erofs, squashfs, virtio, virtualization, devops, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- microvm-nix/microvm.nix (main) score 77

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:28.037166+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 2026-08-30T07:35:27.075226+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/microvm-nix/microvm.nix (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:28.037166+00:00, sha 21520f648125)
  - homepage: https://microvm-nix.github.io/microvm.nix/ (fetched 2026-08-29T09:50:52.311359+00:00, sha 305543750a65)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.