tart

The tart resource reference. This resource installs and configures Tart, a virtualization toolset for macOS that allows you to create and manage macOS and Linux virtual machines. Tart leverages Apple's Virtualization.framework and is designed for CI/CD environments and development workflows.

Tart is installed via Homebrew and provides a lightweight, fast alternative to traditional virtualization solutions. It uses OCI (Open Container Initiative) registries to distribute VM images, making it easy to share and version virtual machine configurations.

Parameters:

• tartHome: (string, optional) A custom directory where Tart will store VM images and configuration data. This sets the TART_HOME environment variable in your shell. If not specified, Tart uses its default location. This is useful for managing storage locations or having separate VM collections.

• clone: (array[object], optional) A list of VM images to clone from OCI registries. Each clone entry is an object with:

  • sourceName: (string, required) The source image to clone from an OCI registry (e.g., ghcr.io/cirruslabs/macos-ventura-base:latest)
  • name: (string, required) The local name for the cloned image

Example usage:

Installing Tart

[
  {
    "type": "tart"
  }
]

Installing Tart with a custom home directory

[
  {
    "type": "tart",
    "tartHome": "~/.tart-vms"
  }
]

Cloning VM images from registries

[
  {
    "type": "tart",
    "clone": [
      {
        "sourceName": "ghcr.io/cirruslabs/macos-ventura-base:latest",
        "name": "ventura-base"
      },
      {
        "sourceName": "ghcr.io/cirruslabs/macos-sonoma-base:latest",
        "name": "sonoma-base"
      }
    ]
  }
]

Related Resources:

• tart-vm: Create and configure individual virtual machines from cloned or existing images.

Notes:

• Tart is only available on macOS (Darwin). It requires macOS 12.0 (Monterey) or later.
• Tart depends on the Homebrew resource and will automatically install it if not present.
• The resource will install Tart from the Cirrus Labs Homebrew tap: cirruslabs/cli/tart
• VM images are pulled from OCI-compatible registries using the same infrastructure as Docker images.
• Tart requires Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) or Intel processors with virtualization support.
• Setting a custom tartHome directory allows you to control where VM images are stored, which can be useful for managing disk space or organizing different VM collections.

Getting started:

• Official Tart documentation: https://tart.run
• Available VM images: https://github.com/orgs/cirruslabs/packages?repo_name=macos-image-templates
• Tart GitHub repository: https://github.com/cirruslabs/tart