Double your Mac capacity. Same hardware.
Run 2 macOS VMs per Mac with APFS cloning, ephemeral runner pools, and warm-pool scrub validation. Open source, $0 forever.
Built for real workflows
Four primary use cases, each with dedicated templates and CLI commands.
CI/CD Runners
Ephemeral GitHub Actions runners. Clone from a base image, run one job, destroy. 2x capacity per Mac.
AI Agents
Give computer-using agents a full macOS desktop. SPICE clipboard bridge syncs the pasteboard between host and guest.
Remote Desktop
Personal macOS desktops for developers. Metal GPU, auto-resize display, audio, shared folders.
DevOps
HTTP API with Bearer auth. LaunchDaemon services, templates, and disk-level snapshots.
How we compare
Feature parity with commercial tools. MIT licensed, $0 forever.
| Feature | Spooktacular | GhostVM | Tart | Anka |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| License | MIT (free) | Proprietary | Fair Source | Proprietary |
| Clipboard sync (SPICE) | Yes | Yes | No | Partial |
| APFS clone | Yes (48ms) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HTTP API | Yes + Bearer auth | Basic | No | Yes |
| Templates | 4 built-in | No | No | Paid |
| Native guest provisioning | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SwiftUI GUI | Liquid Glass | No | No | Yes |
| Price | $0 | $$$ | $0-$36K | Contact sales |
Apple allows 2 VMs per Mac
The macOS Software License Agreement permits running up to two additional copies of macOS in virtual machines on each Apple-branded computer running Apple Silicon.
Spooktacular enforces this limit via CapacityCheck.swift. Apple's EULA Section 2B(iii) explicitly permits virtualization on Apple Silicon. No additional licenses required.
Enterprise Operating Model
Security Model
Mandatory mTLS in production. RBAC with break-glass emergency access. Keychain-backed secrets. TLS certificate hot reload.
Isolation Semantics
Ephemeral: destroy after each job. Warm pool: scrub + validate, destroy on failure. Persistent: named identity with snapshots. Failed scrub = VM destroyed, never reused.
EC2 Mac Mapping
One Dedicated Host → one Spooktacular node → two VM slots. Ephemeral mode = your Replace Root Volume equivalent, but faster. SSM for fleet operations.
Runner Pools
Ephemeral GitHub Actions runners with auto-registration and automatic cleanup after each job — clone, register, run, destroy.
Ready to double your Mac capacity?
793 tests. 27 CLI commands. $0. Install and create your first VM in under 20 minutes.