Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

Virtual Machines in the Browser allows developers to run Python and C applications directly in web browsers, eliminating the need for server-side processing. Built to address the challenges of distributing native… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Virtual Machines in the Browser launched in 2013; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Run Python, Ruby, Node.js, C++, Lua in the Browser via x86 to WASM JIT▲171

   Linux virtual machine, running in the browser via HTML5/WebAssembly. Networking and graphics supported.

   2021 · repl.leaningtech.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   A small virtual machine written in C▲212

   "interesting" VM in C. Let's see how this goes. Contribute to tekknolagi/carp development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2014 · github.com · its alternatives →

3. 3QA
   Q8, an In-Browser VM for Learning and Visualizing Bytecode Programming▲145

   2017 · anchovieshat.github.io · its alternatives →

4. 4
   WebVM – x86 VM in WebAssembly, now with networking (via Tailscale)▲23

   Linux virtual machine, running in the browser via HTML5/WebAssembly. Networking and graphics supported.

   2022 · webvm.io · its alternatives →

5. 5
   QEMU front end for M1 and Intel Macs▲418

   Securely run operating systems on your Mac

   2021 · mac.getutm.app · its alternatives →

6. 6XV
   Xs-vm – A small virtual machine written in Python▲34

   2015 · gedrap.github.io · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Paperspace▲438

   Low cost, fast computer you can access from any web browser

   2015 · paperspace.com · its alternatives →

8. 8
   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 →

9. 9
   Vex, a new way to run things in Python's virtualenvs▲149

   Run commands in a virtualenv

   2014 · pypi.python.org · its alternatives →

10. 10
    A Lisp-based in-browser toy operating system▲156

    Lisp-based in-browser toy operating system. Contribute to AlexNisnevich/ECMAchine development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2012 · github.com · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Jupystar – Run any Jupyter notebook in the browser▲79

    2020 · starboard.gg · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Browse HN Together in Three.js▲268

    Hey HN, We’re Philip, Amby, and Declan, and we made “multiplayer virtual computers” that you can embed anywhere, including 3D spaces. We decided to build this because we noticed that embedding third-party apps and websites can be a nightmare due to incompatible platforms, security issues, and poor UX. Adding multiplayer functionality to these embeds makes this problem exponentially more difficult. On the backend, we’re spinning up a VM and running a resource-optimized fork of Chromium which we then stream to participants via WebRTC. Since we’re hosting the servers running the applications,…

    2022 · threejs-example.hyperbeam.com · its alternatives →

13. 13LC
    Learn C and its lower levels interactively, in the browser▲356

    I made a simple virtual machine that runs C in the browser.This project is made as an experiment to see if C can be learned easier if the lower level is covered in paralel. Sandbox: https://vasyop.github.io/miniC-hosting Tutorial part 1: https://vasyop.github.io/miniC-hosting/?0 More info: https://github.com/vasyop/miniC-hosting/blob/master/README.md Please support this project: https://github.com/vasyop/miniC-hosting/blob/master/support.md

    2019 · its alternatives →

14. 14
    FFmpeg WebCLI – Full FFmpeg in Browser, Offline PWA, No Uploads(WASM)▲86

    Built a browser-based FFmpeg editor that runs entirely client-side via WebAssembly. Your files never leave your device -- all processing happens in a Web Worker. Works offline as an installable PWA after first load.

    Jun 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    FFmpeg-over-IP – Connect to remote FFmpeg servers▲147

    Dear HN, I’m excited to show case a personal project. It has helped me quite a bit with my home lab, I hope it can help you with yours too! ffmpeg-over-ip has two components, a server and a client. You can run the server in an environment with access to a GPU and a locally installed version of ffmpeg, the client only needs network access to the server and no GPU or ffmpeg locally. Both and client and the server need a shared filesystem for this to work (so the server can write output to it, and client can read from it). In my usecase, smb works well if your (GPU) server is a windows machine,…

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

16. 16
    BrowserOS – "Claude Cowork" in the browser▲88

    Hey HN! We're Nithin and Nikhil, twin brothers building BrowserOS (YC S24). We're an open-source, privacy-first alternative to the AI browsers from big labs. The big differentiator: on BrowserOS you can use local LLMs or BYOK and run the agent entirely on the client side, so your company/sensitive data stays on your machine! Today we're launching filesystem access... just like Claude Cowork, our browser agent can read files, write files, run shell commands! But honestly, we didn't plan for this. It turns out the privacy decision we made 9 months ago accidentally positioned us for this…

    Jan 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    VirtualProg▲74

    A faster, simpler alternative to bulky VM managers.

    Apr 2026 · makeprog.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    Esp32sim – Run ESP32 firmware in the browser▲209

    Open-source ESP32 emulator. Run real firmware locally or in your browser — no hardware, no cloud, no subscription. - mikroverk/esp32sim

    5d ago · github.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    OpenVSCode Server▲143

    VS Code in the browser for everyone

    2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Free 3D virtual office in the browser▲125

    Create a free virtual HQ in a few seconds.

    2021 · spot.xyz · its alternatives →

21. 21
    machine0 – Persistent NixOS VMs You Control from the CLI▲96

    Hi HN! Excited to launch machine0, a CLI that makes it easy to create, provision and snapshot persistent NixOS (& Ubuntu) VMs. You can think of machine0 as a modern VPS provider. VMs stay on unless switched-off (with 99.99% uptime), they have static IPs and HTTPS endpoints, 1-60 vCPU, up to 240GB RAM and optionally GPUs. The CLI provides commands to manage lifecycle, snapshots and also provision the VMs using Nix flakes or Ansible playbooks. VMs are priced by the minute of usage. What makes machine0 unique is that it has first class support for NixOS! In a nutshell, NixOS lets you define…

    Jun 2026 · machine0.io · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Runno▲148

    Make embeddable code snippets that run in the browser

    2021 · runno.dev · its alternatives →

23. 23
    High-order Virtual Machine (HVM) – A Parallel Functional Runtime▲150

    HVM1 (2022): a massively parallel, optimal functional runtime in Rust - HigherOrderCO/HVM1

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

24. 24PA
    PyCloud, a Python IDE in the web browser with interactive tutorials▲130

    2011 · jitouch.com · its alternatives →

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 →