# cirruslabs/tart

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4,950 stars · 152 forks · Swift · other

## Links

- GitHub: https://github.com/cirruslabs/tart
- Homepage: https://tart.run
- awesome-repositories: https://awesome-repositories.com/repository/cirruslabs-tart.md

## Topics

`apple-silicon` `automation` `ci` `fair-source` `macos` `tart` `virtualization` `virtualization-framework`

## Description

Tart is an Apple Silicon virtualization manager used to build and run macOS and Linux virtual machines using native hardware virtualization frameworks. It functions as a virtual machine cluster orchestrator and an ephemeral runner for executing continuous integration pipeline steps within isolated, short-lived environments.

The system utilizes an OCI-compatible virtual machine registry to push and pull images via standardized container registries. It features a controller-worker architecture that schedules virtual machine lifecycles across remote worker nodes, incorporating a secure SSH jump host gateway to route network traffic to guests in private networks.

The project covers cluster administration through label-based placement constraints and hardware slot allocation, alongside guest management capabilities such as out-of-band command execution, virtual disk resizing, and host directory mounting. It also includes observability via OpenTelemetry metric exporting and support for various deployment targets, including containerized environments and AWS-optimized infrastructure.

## Tags

### Operating Systems & Systems Programming

- [Apple Silicon Virtualization](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/apple-silicon-virtualization.md) — Leverages native Apple Silicon hardware acceleration to run macOS and Linux virtual machines.
- [Virtual Machines](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/virtualization-emulation/virtualization-platforms/virtualization-technologies/virtual-machines.md) — Builds and runs macOS and Linux virtual machines on Apple Silicon using native hardware virtualization frameworks. ([source](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/cirruslabs/tart@main/README.md))
- [Guest Host Filesystem Sharing](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/guest-host-filesystem-sharing.md) — Supports sharing local host directories with guest virtual machines in read-write or read-only modes. ([source](https://tart.run/quick-start))
- [Image Provisioning](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/system-administration-maintenance/base-image-distributions/image-provisioning.md) — Automates VM image creation from base templates using configuration settings and provisioning scripts. ([source](https://tart.run/integrations/packer/))
- [Host-Guest Integration Tools](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/virtualization-emulation/host-guest-integration-tools.md) — Ships integration tools for virtual disk resizing and host-guest clipboard synchronization. ([source](https://tart.run/blog/category/announcement/))
- [REST APIs](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/virtualization-emulation/virtualization-platforms/virtualization-technologies/virtual-machines/rest-apis.md) — Provides a RESTful API for remote lifecycle control and automated resource orchestration of virtual machine environments. ([source](https://tart.run/orchard/integration-guide/))

### DevOps & Infrastructure

- [Apple Silicon Deployment](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/apple-silicon-deployment.md) — Manages the build and execution of macOS and Linux virtual machines on Apple Silicon.
- [OCI Virtual Machine Registries](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/artifact-registries/oci-artifact-retrieval/oci-virtual-machine-registries.md) — Implements an OCI-compatible registry for the standardized distribution of virtual machine images.
- [Ephemeral CI Environments](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/ci-cd-pipelines/ephemeral-ci-environments.md) — Executes continuous integration pipeline steps within isolated, short-lived virtual machines. ([source](https://tart.run/integrations/buildkite/))
- [Resource Coordinators](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/cluster-management/cluster-resource-viewers/resource-coordinators.md) — Coordinates the mapping of virtual machine execution to available resources across a cluster of worker nodes. ([source](https://tart.run/orchard/architecture-and-security/))
- [Container Image Registries](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/container-image-registries.md) — Stores and distributes virtual machine images using OCI-compatible container registries.
- [OCI Virtual Machine Image Management](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/container-image-registries/oci-virtual-machine-image-management.md) — Uses OCI-compatible registries to distribute and manage virtual machine images.
- [Virtual Machine Managers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/virtual-machine-managers.md) — Manages the distribution and lifecycle of virtual machines across multiple remote worker nodes at scale. ([source](https://tart.run/blog/archive/2023/))
- [Virtualization Cluster Orchestration](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/virtualization-cluster-orchestration.md) — Schedules and manages virtual machine lifecycles across a cluster of remote worker nodes.
- [Orchestrator-Worker Models](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/worker-node-management/orchestrator-worker-models.md) — Implements an architecture that separates central coordination logic from remote execution nodes via a controller-worker model.
- [macOS Cloud Deployments](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/cloud-deployment/macos-cloud-deployments.md) — Provides optimized deployment configurations for running macOS virtual machines on cloud providers. ([source](https://tart.run/blog/category/announcement/))
- [Containerized Application Deployments](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/containerized-application-deployments.md) — Supports running the controller via container images and persistent volume mounts for cloud compute instances. ([source](https://tart.run/orchard/deploying-controller/))
- [Node Metadata Management](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/node-metadata-management.md) — Maps virtual machines to worker nodes by matching hardware constraints against node-level metadata labels.
- [System Service Installers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/system-service-installers.md) — Enables deploying the controller as a background system service on Linux via standard package managers. ([source](https://tart.run/orchard/deploying-controller/))
- [Virtualization Worker Provisioning](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/task-worker-configurations/virtualization-worker-provisioning.md) — Provides tools and automation playbooks to configure host machines as worker nodes in the cluster. ([source](https://tart.run/orchard/deploying-workers/))
- [Virtual Hardware Interfaces](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/virtual-hardware-interfaces.md) — Provides tools to configure virtual hardware resources, including CPU count, memory allocation, and display resolution. ([source](https://tart.run/quick-start))
- [Token-Based Bootstrapping](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/worker-node-management/token-based-bootstrapping.md) — Provides automated deployment of worker nodes using secure tokens to establish connections to a central controller. ([source](https://tart.run/orchard/architecture-and-security/))

### Networking & Communication

- [Virtual Machine Connectivity](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/networking-communication/virtual-machine-connectivity.md) — Routes SSH and network traffic through a central controller to access guests in private networks.
- [Remote Procedure Call Frameworks](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/networking-communication/distributed-systems-p2p/distributed-computing/remote-procedure-call-frameworks.md) — Uses a high-performance gRPC remote procedure call framework for communication between clients, controllers, and workers.
- [Network Traffic Routing](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/networking-communication/network-traffic-routing.md) — Provides port-forwarding and jump-host capabilities to connect to virtual machines on remote workers. ([source](https://tart.run/blog/))
- [Traffic Proxying](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/networking-communication/traffic-proxying.md) — Proxies ports through a central controller to establish secure SSH or VNC connections to remote workers. ([source](https://tart.run/orchard/quick-start/))
- [Placement Constraints](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/networking-communication/traffic-routing/placement-constraints.md) — Restricts virtual machine placement to worker nodes possessing specific metadata labels. ([source](https://tart.run/orchard/using-orchard-cli/))
- [Virtual Machine SSH Jump Hosts](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/networking-communication/virtual-machine-ssh-jump-hosts.md) — Provides a secure SSH jump host gateway to route network traffic to guests in private networks.

### Part of an Awesome List

- [SSH Gateway Proxies](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/awesome-lists/devops/reverse-proxies/ssh-gateway-proxies.md) — Routes secure shell traffic through a central controller to enable connectivity to guests in private networks.

### Data & Databases

- [Virtual Disk Resizing](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/data-databases/virtual-disk-overlays/virtual-disk-resizing.md) — Includes a utility to adjust guest disk capacity to match allocated storage without manual partitioning. ([source](https://tart.run/blog/archive/2025/))

### Development Tools & Productivity

- [Image Build Automation](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/development-tools-productivity/build-automation-scripts/image-build-automation.md) — Integrates with image builders to automate the creation and configuration of virtual machine images. ([source](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/cirruslabs/tart@main/README.md))
- [Guest Command Wrappers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/development-tools-productivity/shell-script-execution-engines/custom-run-scripts/environment-aware-command-executions/guest-command-wrappers.md) — Provides a unified mechanism to run configuration scripts inside virtual machines for consistent cross-environment execution. ([source](https://tart.run/integrations/cirrus-cli/))

### Security & Cryptography

- [Cryptographic Identity Verification](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/security-cryptography/identity-verification-modules/cryptographic-identity-verification.md) — Implements security mechanisms to verify client-to-controller connections using PKI or manual fingerprinting. ([source](https://tart.run/orchard/architecture-and-security/))

### Software Engineering & Architecture

- [Hardware Slot Mapping](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/software-engineering-architecture/task-scheduling/parallel-task-executors/resource-slot-scheduling/worker-slot-allocations/hardware-slot-mapping.md) — Maps requested hardware slots to specific virtual machines and workers to manage cluster capacity. ([source](https://tart.run/orchard/integration-guide/))

### System Administration & Monitoring

- [Out-of-Band Management](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/system-administration-monitoring/out-of-band-management.md) — Provides out-of-band guest management for disk resizing and clipboard synchronization without requiring guest network connectivity.