Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to MetalBox

Native GPU containers for Apple Silicon

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes.

1
Lume – OS lightweight CLI for MacOS and Linux VMs on Apple Silicon▲309
We just open-sourced Lume - a tool we built after hitting walls with existing virtualization options on Apple Silicon. No GUI, no complex stacks - just a single binary that lets you spin up macOS or Linux VMs via CLI or API. Why we built Lume: - Run native macOS VMs in 1 command, using Apple Virtualization.Framework: `lume run macos-sequoia-vanilla:latest` - Prebuilt images on https://ghcr.io/trycua (macOS, Ubuntu on ARM) - API server to manage VMs programmatically `POST /lume/vms` - A python SDK on github.com/trycua/pylume Run prebuilt macOS images in just…
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
2
Sub-millisecond VM sandboxes using CoW memory forking▲311
I wanted to see how fast an isolated code sandbox could start if I never had to boot a fresh VM. So instead of launching a new microVM per execution, I boot Firecracker once with Python and numpy already loaded, then snapshot the full VM state. Every execution after that creates a new KVM VM backed by a `MAP_PRIVATE` mapping of the snapshot memory, so Linux gives me copy-on-write pages automatically. That means each sandbox starts from an already-running Python process inside a real VM, runs the code, and exits. These are real KVM VMs, not containers: separate guest kernel, separate guest…
Mar 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
3
CoreOS, a Linux distro for containers▲417
An application innovation platform delivering a comprehensive experience with tools to empower organizations to modernize and build new applications, accelerate AI adoption, and fuel growth.
2013 · coreos.com · its alternatives →
4
Ollama – Run LLMs on your Mac▲284
Hi HN A few folks and I have been working on this project for a couple weeks now. After previously working on the Docker project for a number of years (both on the container runtime and image registry side), the recent rise in open source language models made us think something similar needed to exist for large language models too. While not exactly the same as running linux containers, running LLMs shares quite a few of the same challenges. There are "base layers" (e.g. models like Llama 2), specific configuration to run correctly (parameters, temperature, context window sizes etc). There's…
2023 · github.com · its alternatives →
5
Lumier – Run macOS VMs in a Docker▲159
Hey HN, we're excited to share Lumier (https://github.com/trycua/cua/tree/main/libs/lumier), an open-source tool for running macOS and Linux virtual machines in Docker containers on Apple Silicon Macs. When building virtualized environments for AI agents, we needed a reproducible way to package and distribute macOS VMs. Inspired by projects like dockur/windows (https://github.com/dockur/windows) that pioneered running Windows in Docker, we wanted to create something similar but optimized for Apple Silicon. The existing…
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
6
Dockerized GPU Deep Learning Solution (Code and Blog and TensorFlow Demo)▲80
An on-premises, bare-metal solution for deploying GPU-powered applications in containers - emergingstack/es-dev-stack
2016 · github.com · its alternatives →
7
OrbStack▲170
Fast, light, simple Docker & Linux on macOS
2023 · orbstack.dev · its alternatives →
8
Local-First Linux MicroVMs for macOS▲213
Shuru is a lightweight sandbox that spins up Linux VMs on macOS using Apple's Virtualization.framework. Boots in about a second on Apple Silicon, and everything is ephemeral by default. There's a checkpoint system for when you do want to persist state, and sandboxes run without network access unless you explicitly allow it. Single Rust binary, no dependencies. Built it for sandboxing AI agent code execution, but it works well for anything where you need a disposable Linux environment.
Feb 2026 · shuru.run · its alternatives →
9
Zerobox – Sandbox any command with file, network, credential controls▲141
I'm excited to introduce Zerobox, a cross-platform, single binary process sandboxing CLI written in Rust. It uses the sandboxing crates from the OpenAI Codex repo and adds additional functionalities like secret injection, SDK, etc. Watch the demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZiPm9BOPCg Zerobox follows the same sandboxing policy as Deno which is deny by default. The only operation that the command can run is reading files, all writes and network I/O are blocked by default. No VMs, no Docker, no remote servers. Want to block reads to /etc? zerobox…
Mar 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
10
Kern – container and resource runtime in a 1.5 MB binary, no daemon▲70
A fast, rootless sandbox and virtual resource runtime for any workload, including untrusted and AI-generated code. Daemonless: a real, kernel-enforced container in ~3.5 ms from an OCI image, out of one static binary - getkern/kern
Aug 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
11
Container Desktop▲71
A GUI for Apple's native container system
Jun 2026 · sembsa.github.io · its alternatives →
12
Tiny VM sandbox in C with apps in Rust, C and Zig▲196
Minimalist, dependency-free virtual machine sandbox for microcontrollers and other resource-constrained devices. Single C file, no dynamic memory allocations, asynchronous design, pure C99 - ringtailsoftware/uvm32
Dec 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
13
PlanetScale Metal▲127
The fastest way to run databases in AWS or GCP
2025 · planetscale.com · its alternatives →
14
Vmctl/Vmcli – Easily Run Linux VMs on M1 Macs▲198
A set of utilities (vmcli + vmctl) for macOS Virtualization.framework - gyf304/vmcli
2021 · github.com · its alternatives →
15
Lume 0.2 – Build and Run macOS VMs with unattended setup▲154
Hey HN, Lume is an open-source CLI for running macOS and Linux VMs on Apple Silicon. Since launch (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42908061), we've been using it to run AI agents in isolated macOS environments. We needed VMs that could set themselves up, so we built that. Here's what's new in 0.2: *Unattended Setup* – Go from IPSW to a fully configured VM without touching the keyboard. We built a VNC + OCR system that clicks through macOS Setup Assistant automatically. No more manual setup before pushing to a registry: lume create my-vm --os macos --ipsw latest…
Jan 2026 · cua.ai · its alternatives →
16
Rmux – A programmable terminal multiplexer with a Playwright-style SDK▲194
Author here. RMUX started from a frustration: I've used tmux for years and got tired of scraping output with grep and sleeps to automate anything. So I rebuilt the multiplexer from scratch in Rust, with a programmable layer on top. Two surfaces: a tmux-compatible CLI (~90 commands, your keybindings just work), and a typed async Rust SDK on the same daemon — stable pane IDs, structured snapshots, locator-style waits. The idea is Playwright-style automation, but for terminals. Native on Linux, macOS, Windows (real ConPTY, no WSL). Demos and docs at rmux.io. Happy to answer questions about the…
May 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
17
Metal▲139
AI-driven operating system for raising venture rounds
Jul 2026 · metal.so · its alternatives →
18
JellyBox – Jellyfin Desktop Client▲82
Hey guys, so I've been working on native desktop macos client for jellyfin server. Feel free to join and try it out https://testflight.apple.com/join/LVj8KwAq
2023 · testflight.apple.com · its alternatives →
19
Docker in the browser using x86-to-WASM recompilation▲119
Run KolibriOS, Linux or Windows 98 in your browser
2022 · copy.sh · its alternatives →
20
GhostVM – macOS containers on Apple Silicon▲7
Mac virtual machine for secure development. Run isolated macOS workspaces for AI agents, sandboxed code, and untrusted projects. Apple Silicon native with instant clones.
Mar 2026 · ghostvm.org · its alternatives →
21
npm i -g hotcell▲97
Hi HN! Sina here. i wanted to share this open source project (apache 2.0) that i've been working on for the past month or so. it's called hotcell and it lets you create/pause/manage sandboxes on any device (your laptop, linux vm, bare metal). i've tested it against various benchmarks that i found on computesdk (https://www.computesdk.com/benchmarks/sandboxes/) as well as the one shared by dax (cofounder of open code) on twitter recently (link to his original thread and my reply https://x.com/sinasanm/status/2078158598996443346) and…
Aug 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
22
We are three devs from Kenya and built a Docker alternative in Rust▲12
Introducing Sphere - A lightweight, sandboxed compute runtime written in Rust. - introducing-sphere.md
2025 · gist.github.com · its alternatives →
23
Nucleus – A security-hardened, Nix-native container runtime▲40
Hi HN, I've been building Nucleus, a lightweight Linux container runtime focused on two workloads: ephemeral AI-agent sandboxes and declarative NixOS services. It's a single Rust binary, no daemon. It is not a Docker replacement and not a strict subset of Docker either. I dropped the entire image-and-distribution half (no Dockerfile, no layers, no registry, no pull/push, no persistent storage layer) in exchange for going deeper on isolation and reproducibility. The rootfs is either a directory copied into tmpfs (agent mode) or a Nix-built closure mounted read-only (production mode). If…
Jun 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
24
DockDuck▲97
The native macOS file manager Finder should be
Aug 2026 · dockduck.app · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →