GhostVM

GhostVM is a native macOS app for creating and managing macOS virtual machines on Apple Silicon using Apple's Virtualization.framework. VMs are stored as self-contained .GhostVM bundles.

Features

• Create macOS VMs with customizable CPU, memory, and disk
• Download and manage restore images (IPSW) with built-in feed
• Start, stop, suspend, and resume VMs
• Create, revert, and delete snapshots
• Shared folders between host and guest
• Clipboard sync, file transfer, and URL forwarding via the GhostTools guest agent
• Port forwarding through vsock tunnels
• Per-VM Dock icons with a helper-per-VM architecture
• vmctl CLI for headless VM management and scripting
• vmctl remote for programmatic guest control (exec, clipboard, apps)

Requirements

• macOS 15+ on Apple Silicon (arm64)
• Xcode 15+ and XcodeGen (brew install xcodegen)

Building

make              # Show available targets
make app          # Build GhostVM.app
make cli          # Build vmctl CLI
make test         # Run unit tests
make run          # Build and run attached to terminal
make launch       # Build and launch detached
make dist         # Create distribution DMG
make clean        # Remove build artifacts

Project Structure

.
├── Makefile              # Build orchestration
├── macOS/
│   ├── project.yml       # XcodeGen project definition
│   ├── GhostVM/          # Main SwiftUI app (VM manager/launcher)
│   ├── GhostVMHelper/    # Per-VM helper process (display, toolbar, services)
│   ├── GhostVMKit/       # Shared framework (types, VM controller, utilities)
│   ├── GhostTools/       # Guest agent (runs inside VM, vsock communication)
│   ├── GhostVMTests/     # Unit tests
│   └── GhostVMUITests/   # UI tests
└── Website/              # GitHub Pages site

CLI Usage

vmctl init ~/VMs/sandbox.GhostVM --cpus 6 --memory 16 --disk 128
vmctl install ~/VMs/sandbox.GhostVM
vmctl start ~/VMs/sandbox.GhostVM
vmctl stop ~/VMs/sandbox.GhostVM

Commands:

Command	Description
init <bundle>	Create a new VM bundle (--cpus, --memory, --disk, --restore-image)
install <bundle>	Install macOS from a restore image
start <bundle>	Launch the VM (--headless, --shared-folder)
stop <bundle>	Graceful shutdown
suspend / resume	Suspend and resume VM state
status <bundle>	Report running state and config
snapshot <bundle> list|create|revert|delete	Manage snapshots
list	List all VMs and their status
remote <vm> exec <command>	Run a shell command in the guest
remote <vm> clipboard get|set	Read or write the guest clipboard
remote <vm> apps	List running guest applications
remote <vm> health	Check guest agent connectivity

Notes

• VMs use VZNATNetworkDeviceAttachment for networking
• Shared folders use VZVirtioFileSystemDeviceConfiguration
• GhostTools auto-installs to /Applications in the guest and auto-updates
• Enable Remote Login (SSH) in the guest for headless use
• Apple's EULA requires macOS guests to run on Apple-branded hardware