# Lumen (Lumens VM)

> Lumen is a free, open-source (MIT) SwiftUI app for running macOS, ARM64 Linux and experimental Windows 11 ARM64 virtual machines on Apple Silicon Macs. It has a translucent machine library, a separate window and Dock icon for every VM, sparse disks that grow as you use them, Retina displays, Rosetta for Linux and nested virtualization. Tagline: "Virtual worlds. Naturally."

- Website: https://lumen.mrzakaria.com
- Source: https://github.com/MrZaKaRiA/LumensVM
- Latest release: v27.1.0 (2026-10-21), source release: https://github.com/MrZaKaRiA/LumensVM/releases/latest
- Author: MrZaKaRiA (https://mrzakaria.com)
- License: MIT. Guest operating systems keep their own licenses; installer images are not included.

## Requirements

- Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or later). Intel Macs are not supported.
- macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
- Xcode or Command Line Tools with Swift 5.9+, and Homebrew.
- Your own ARM64 ISO or Apple Silicon IPSW.

## Guests

| Guest | Engine | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| macOS (Apple Silicon IPSW) | Apple Virtualization | Supported; one-click download of the latest restore image |
| Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and other ARM64 Linux | Apple Virtualization | Supported with compatible ARM64 UEFI media |
| Void / Abyss Linux ARM64 | Apple Virtualization | Tested: clipboard, shared Desktop, runit tools, separate Dock app |
| Windows 11 ARM64 | QEMU + HVF | Experimental: VirtIO 2D display, driver tools, private folder sharing |
| Android / ChromeOS | — | Not supported |

## Features

- Native SwiftUI library, per-machine settings and guest windows; macOS and Linux guests run in separate app processes with their own Dock tiles.
- Sparse storage: disk capacity is a limit, not reserved space. Stopped disks can grow.
- Opt-in Rosetta for x86-64 Linux binaries in Linux guests.
- Nested virtualization on M3 or later with macOS 15+.
- Configurable resolution, automatic resizing, Retina controls and native full screen.
- Linux guest tools: SPICE text clipboard, VirtioFS shared folders, X11 desktop startup, Void/runit services; Command-C/V in desktop and terminal modes.
- Windows: ARM64 VirtIO driver media and repair tools, experimental automatic setup, 2D resizing, private authenticated SMB2 folder sharing, optional localhost port forwarding, TPM 2.0 via swtpm.
- Selected-folder sharing with per-folder read-only settings.
- CPU/RAM budgets, start/pause/resume/shutdown, sound and microphone settings, Keychain/Touch ID login helpers.
- Security: hardened runtime, sealed QEMU helper, SHA-256-pinned driver media.

## Not yet implemented

Windows Direct3D/Metal acceleration, snapshots and clones, Parallels import, native Wayland clipboard, macOS guest clipboard, file clipboard, arbitrary drag-and-drop and printer sharing. Builds are ad-hoc signed, not notarized.

## Install (build from source)

```sh
git clone https://github.com/MrZaKaRiA/LumensVM.git
cd LumensVM
git checkout v27.1.0
brew install qemu swtpm python@3.14 sevenzip
bash scripts/build.sh
open build/Lumen.app
```

## Docs

- [User guide](https://github.com/MrZaKaRiA/LumensVM/blob/main/docs/user-guide.md)
- [Compatibility](https://github.com/MrZaKaRiA/LumensVM/blob/main/docs/compatibility.md)
- [Feature audit](https://github.com/MrZaKaRiA/LumensVM/blob/main/docs/feature-audit.md)
- [Changelog](https://github.com/MrZaKaRiA/LumensVM/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md)

## Related

- [Abyss Linux](https://abyss.mrzakaria.com): a suckless, systemd-free desktop on Void Linux with an aarch64 ISO tested in Lumen.