VibeCode VM Skill

Build and manage native macOS VMs using Apple's Virtualization Framework (vfkit).

Quick Setup

bash

# Install vfkit and create directories
python3 scripts/vfkit/01-setup-vfkit.py

# Download Alpine Linux kernel
python3 scripts/vfkit/02-download-alpine-kernel.py

# Create Alpine rootfs with Node.js
python3 scripts/vfkit/03-create-alpine-rootfs.py

# Launch VM
python3 scripts/vfkit/04-launch-alpine-vm.py

Prerequisites

•macOS 13+ (Ventura or later)
•Apple Silicon (ARM64) or Intel Mac
•Homebrew (for vfkit installation)
•Python 3.10+

VM Manager CLI

The Python VM manager provides full lifecycle management:

bash

# List all VMs and their status
python3 scripts/vfkit/vm-manager.py list

# Start specific VM
python3 scripts/vfkit/vm-manager.py start valkey
python3 scripts/vfkit/vm-manager.py start postgresql
python3 scripts/vfkit/vm-manager.py start nodejs-dev

# Start all VMs
python3 scripts/vfkit/vm-manager.py start-all

# Stop VMs
python3 scripts/vfkit/vm-manager.py stop valkey
python3 scripts/vfkit/vm-manager.py stop-all

# Health check
python3 scripts/vfkit/vm-manager.py health

# Monitor resource usage
python3 scripts/vfkit/vm-manager.py monitor

# View/follow logs
python3 scripts/vfkit/vm-manager.py logs valkey
python3 scripts/vfkit/vm-manager.py follow valkey

Quick Reference

Setup Scripts

Script	Purpose	Command
`01-setup-vfkit.py`	Install vfkit, create directories	`python3 scripts/vfkit/01-setup-vfkit.py`
`02-download-alpine-kernel.py`	Download Alpine Linux kernel	`python3 scripts/vfkit/02-download-alpine-kernel.py`
`03-create-alpine-rootfs.py`	Create Alpine rootfs with Node.js	`python3 scripts/vfkit/03-create-alpine-rootfs.py`
`06-create-vibecode-rootfs.py`	Create full VibeCode rootfs	`python3 scripts/vfkit/06-create-vibecode-rootfs.py`
`07-create-persistent-vm.py`	Create persistent disk VM	`python3 scripts/vfkit/07-create-persistent-vm.py`

Launch Scripts

Script	Purpose	Command
`04-launch-alpine-vm.py`	Launch basic Alpine VM	`python3 scripts/vfkit/04-launch-alpine-vm.py`
`05-launch-vibecode-vm.py`	Launch full VibeCode VM	`python3 scripts/vfkit/05-launch-vibecode-vm.py`
`start-all-vms.py`	Start all configured VMs	`python3 scripts/vfkit/start-all-vms.py`
`stop-all-vms.py`	Stop all running VMs	`python3 scripts/vfkit/stop-all-vms.py`

Service VMs

Script	Purpose	Port	Command
`start-valkey.py`	In-memory cache (Redis-compatible)	6379	`python3 scripts/vfkit/start-valkey.py`
`start-postgresql.py`	PostgreSQL + pgvector	5432	`python3 scripts/vfkit/start-postgresql.py`
`start-nodejs-dev.py`	Node.js dev environment	3000/5173/8080	`python3 scripts/vfkit/start-nodejs-dev.py`

Testing & Validation

Script	Purpose	Command
`vm-health-check.py`	Check VM health status	`python3 scripts/vfkit/vm-health-check.py`
`test_all_vms.py`	Run VM test suite	`python3 scripts/vfkit/test_all_vms.py`
`verify_services.py`	Verify services are running	`python3 scripts/vfkit/verify_services.py`
`test-valkey.py`	Test Valkey connectivity	`python3 scripts/vfkit/test-valkey.py`

Interactive TUI Menu

For a guided experience, use the interactive menu:

bash

python3 scripts/vibecode_vm_menu.py

This provides:

•VM status overview
•Build initramfs (Ansible)
•Build Swift app
•Start/stop VMs
•SSH connectivity
•VSCode browser access
•Network scanning

CLI Mode (Non-Interactive)

The menu also supports direct CLI commands:

bash

# Show VM status
python3 scripts/vibecode_vm_menu.py status -n

# Show help
python3 scripts/vibecode_vm_menu.py help -n

# Available commands
python3 scripts/vibecode_vm_menu.py --help

Commands: status, build, build-app, start, stop, ssh, vscode, clean, help, menu

Testing the TUI

bash

# Run TUI component tests
python3 scripts/vibecode_vm_menu.py --test

Build Scripts

Build Initramfs

bash

# Python initramfs builder (for Docker)
python3 scripts/build_initramfs.py

# K3s-enabled initramfs
python3 scripts/build_k3s_initramfs.py

Build VM Disk Images

bash

python3 scripts/create_vm_disk_images.py

Build Swift VM Manager

bash

# Compile Swift binary with entitlements
python3 scripts/build_vm_manager.py

Workflows

Create Development VM

bash

# Setup and create Alpine VM with Node.js
python3 scripts/vfkit/01-setup-vfkit.py
python3 scripts/vfkit/02-download-alpine-kernel.py
python3 scripts/vfkit/03-create-alpine-rootfs.py
python3 scripts/vfkit/04-launch-alpine-vm.py

Start Full Service Stack

bash

# Start Valkey, PostgreSQL, and Node.js dev VM
python3 scripts/vfkit/vm-manager.py start-all
python3 scripts/vfkit/vm-manager.py health

Test VM Performance

bash

python3 scripts/vfkit/basic_performance_test.py

Directory Structure

code

~/.vfkit/vms/vibecode-alpine/
├── kernel/     # Linux kernel files
├── rootfs/     # Root filesystem builds
│   └── build/  # Build working directory
├── disk/       # Persistent disk images
└── logs/       # VM console and error logs

~/VibeCode VMs/
└── *.bundle    # macOS VM bundles (SwiftUI apps)

Services Available in VMs

Service	Port	Credentials
SSH	22	root / vibecode
Valkey (Redis)	6379	No auth
PostgreSQL	5432	vibecode / vibecode
OpenVSCode	8080	No auth
Vite Dev Server	5173	N/A
Node.js App	3000	N/A

Network

VMs use NAT networking on the 192.168.64.x subnet. DHCP assigns IPs automatically.

Scan for VM IPs:

bash

for i in {2..20}; do nc -zw1 192.168.64.$i 22 && echo "192.168.64.$i"; done

Troubleshooting

vfkit not found

bash

brew install vfkit

VM not starting

bash

# Check logs
python3 scripts/vfkit/vm-manager.py logs <vm-name>

# Check port availability
lsof -i :6379  # Valkey
lsof -i :5432  # PostgreSQL

Permission denied

Ensure vfkit has Virtualization entitlements:

bash

codesign -dv $(which vfkit)

Notes

•Apple Silicon recommended - Native ARM64 VMs with near-native performance
•Persistent storage - Use 07-create-persistent-vm.py for disk-backed VMs
•Ansible integration - Full Ansible playbooks in ansible/ directory