computer/libs/lumier

macOS and Linux virtual machines in a Docker container.

What is Lumier?

Lumier is an interface for running macOS virtual machines with minimal setup. It uses Docker as a packaging system to deliver a pre-configured environment that connects to the lume virtualization service running on your host machine. With Lumier, you get:

• A ready-to-use macOS or Linux virtual machine in minutes
• Browser-based VNC access to your VM
• Easy file sharing between your host and VM
• Simple configuration through environment variables

Requirements

Before using Lumier, make sure you have:

1. Docker for Apple Silicon - download it here and follow the installation instructions.

2. Lume - This is the virtualization CLI that powers Lumier. Install it with this command:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/trycua/cua/main/libs/lume/scripts/install.sh)"

After installation, Lume runs as a background service and listens on port 3000. This service allows Lumier to create and manage virtual machines. If port 3000 is already in use on your system, you can specify a different port with the --port option when running the install.sh script.

How It Works

Note: We're using Docker primarily as a convenient delivery mechanism, not as an isolation layer. Unlike traditional Docker containers, Lumier leverages the Apple Virtualization Framework (Apple Vz) through the lume CLI to create true virtual machines.

Here's what's happening behind the scenes:

1. The Docker container provides a consistent environment to run the Lumier interface
2. Lumier connects to the Lume service running on your host Mac
3. Lume uses Apple's Virtualization Framework to create a true macOS virtual machine
4. The VM runs with hardware acceleration using your Mac's native virtualization capabilities

Getting Started

# 1. Navigate to the Lumier directory
cd libs/lumier

# 2. Build the Docker image (first-time setup)
docker build -t lumier:latest .

# 3. Run the container with temporary storage
docker run -it --rm \
    --name lumier-vm \
    -p 8006:8006 \
    -e VM_NAME=lumier-vm \
    -e VERSION=ghcr.io/trycua/macos-sequoia-cua:latest \
    -e CPU_CORES=4 \
    -e RAM_SIZE=8192 \
    lumier:latest

After running the command above, you can access your macOS VM through a web browser (e.g., http://localhost:8006).

Note: With the basic setup above, your VM will be reset when you stop the container (ephemeral mode). This means any changes you make inside the macOS VM will be lost. See the section below for how to save your VM state.

Saving Your VM State

To save your VM state between sessions (so your changes persist when you stop and restart the container), you'll need to set up a storage location:

# First, create a storage directory if it doesn't exist
mkdir -p storage

# Then run the container with persistent storage
docker run -it --rm \
    --name lumier-vm \
    -p 8006:8006 \
    -v $(pwd)/storage:/storage \
    -e VM_NAME=lumier-vm \
    -e VERSION=ghcr.io/trycua/macos-sequoia-cua:latest \
    -e CPU_CORES=4 \
    -e RAM_SIZE=8192 \
    -e HOST_STORAGE_PATH=$(pwd)/storage \
    lumier:latest

This command creates a connection between a folder on your Mac ($(pwd)/storage) and a folder inside the Docker container (/storage). The -v flag (volume mount) and the HOST_STORAGE_PATH variable work together to ensure your VM data is saved on your host Mac.

Sharing Files with Your VM

To share files between your Mac and the virtual machine, you can set up a shared folder:

# Create both storage and shared folders
mkdir -p storage shared

# Run with both persistent storage and a shared folder
docker run -it --rm \
    --name lumier-vm \
    -p 8006:8006 \
    -v $(pwd)/storage:/storage \
    -v $(pwd)/shared:/shared \
    -e VM_NAME=lumier-vm \
    -e VERSION=ghcr.io/trycua/macos-sequoia-cua:latest \
    -e CPU_CORES=4 \
    -e RAM_SIZE=8192 \
    -e HOST_STORAGE_PATH=$(pwd)/storage \
    -e HOST_SHARED_PATH=$(pwd)/shared \
    lumier:latest

With this setup, any files you place in the shared folder on your Mac will be accessible from within the macOS VM, and vice versa.

Configuration Options

When running Lumier, you'll need to configure a few things:

• Port forwarding (-p 8006:8006): Makes the VM's VNC interface accessible in your browser. If port 8006 is already in use, you can use a different port like -p 8007:8006.

• Environment variables (-e): Configure your VM settings:

  • VM_NAME: A name for your virtual machine
  • VERSION: The macOS image to use
  • CPU_CORES: Number of CPU cores to allocate
  • RAM_SIZE: Memory in MB to allocate
  • HOST_STORAGE_PATH: Path to save VM state (when using persistent storage)
  • HOST_SHARED_PATH: Path to the shared folder (optional)

• Background service: The lume serve service should be running on your host (starts automatically when you install Lume using the install.sh script above).

Credits

This project was inspired by dockur/windows and dockur/macos, which pioneered the approach of running Windows and macOS VMs in Docker containers.

Main differences with dockur/macos:

• Lumier is specifically designed for macOS virtualization
• Lumier supports Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) while dockur/macos only supports Intel
• Lumier uses the Apple Virtualization Framework (Vz) through the lume CLI to create true virtual machines, while dockur relies on KVM.
• Image specification is different, with Lumier and Lume relying on Apple Vz spec (disk.img and nvram.bin)