# openai/tart

macOS and Linux VMs on Apple Silicon to use in CI and other automations

Repository: https://github.com/openai/tart
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/tart
Homepage: https://tart.run
Language: Swift
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: automation, macos, tart, virtualization, virtualization-framework, apple-silicon, ci, fair-source
Last push: 2026-08-25T05:31:41+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 99/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 99, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 1674, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": 8, "gap_med": 7, "n_releases_24m": 50}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 6589, forks 350 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:45.476669+00:00)

## What it is
Tart is a CLI virtualization toolset for building, running, and managing macOS and Linux virtual machines on Apple Silicon, built on Apple's Virtualization.Framework. It supports pushing and pulling VM images from OCI-compatible container registries and integrates with CI systems like GitHub Actions, GitLab Runner, and Buildkite.

## Use cases
- run macOS vms on apple silicon for ci
- run ephemeral macos vms in gitlab ci
- store and share vm images in a container registry
- build vm images automatically with packer
- test software in isolated linux vms on a mac
- run github actions runners in vms
- manage vms at scale on a cluster of mac hosts

## When to choose
- you need near-native macOS or Linux VMs on Apple Silicon hardware
- you want Docker-like push/pull workflows for VM images via OCI registries
- you need ephemeral, isolated CI runners on macOS
- you want to automate VM image creation with Packer

## When to avoid
- you need VMs on Intel or Windows hosts - Tart is Apple Silicon only
- you need GPU passthrough or heavy graphics workloads
- you want a GUI-based VM manager like Parallels or VMware
- your hosts run macOS older than 13.0 (Ventura)

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: cli, developer-tools, ci-cd, deployment
- domain: developer-tools, self-hosted
- platform: cli
- tags: apple-silicon, virtualization-framework, oci-registry, vm-management, ci-runners, packer-plugin, orchard, virtualization, devops, command-line, automation, macos, docker

## Member repositories
- openai/tart (main) score 99

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:45.476669+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 2026-08-29T17:43:34.402418+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/openai/tart (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:45.476669+00:00, sha 4702b7b83d52)
  - homepage: https://tart.run (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:59.238790+00:00, sha 4c1bef84f550)
  - site_page: https://tart.run/integrations/cirrus-cli (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:59.241291+00:00, sha d1605e38963c)
  - site_page: https://tart.run/faq (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:59.242998+00:00, sha a859e826d85d)
  - site_page: https://tart.run/integrations/gitlab-runner (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:59.245002+00:00, sha c32202c0798c)
  - site_page: https://tart.run/integrations/buildkite (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:59.246458+00:00, sha 153ed4b0593a)
  - site_page: https://tart.run/integrations/packer (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:59.247982+00:00, sha f40dc1d129c6)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.