VirtManager for macOS

A native macOS application for managing remote virtual machines via libvirt. Connect to KVM/QEMU hypervisors over SSH, manage VMs, configure networks, and get full graphical and serial console access — all from a single app.

Install

Download the latest DMG from Releases, open it, and drag VirtManager to Applications. All dependencies are bundled — no Homebrew, no Xcode, nothing extra.

Features

VM Management

• Connect to remote hypervisors via qemu+ssh:// with SSH key, agent, or password authentication
• List and manage VMs — state indicators (running, paused, shut off, crashed), search/filter, auto-refresh
• VM lifecycle control — start, shutdown, force off, pause, resume, reboot with confirmation dialogs
• VM configuration editor — tabbed GUI (CPU, memory, disks, network, boot, graphics) + raw XML editor with validation
• VM creation wizard — 6-step wizard with OS variant defaults (Linux gets virtio, Windows gets SATA + e1000)
• Multiple connections — manage VMs across several hypervisors simultaneously

Consoles

• VNC console — custom pure-Swift RFB 3.8 client, Metal rendering, full keyboard/mouse
• SPICE console — spice-client-glib integration with keyboard/mouse and USB redirection
• Serial console — VT100/xterm terminal emulator via SwiftTerm
• Keyboard grab — CGEvent tap captures all keys including Cmd+Tab (Ctrl+Alt to release)

Network Management

• All 9 libvirt forward modes — NAT, routed, isolated, open, bridge, macvtap (bridge/vepa/private/passthrough), Open vSwitch
• Network configuration editor — tabbed GUI (Overview, IPv4, IPv6, DNS, DHCP, Port Forwarding, QoS, XML)
• DNS management — forwarders, host records, TXT/SRV records
• DHCP management — ranges, static host entries (MAC/IP/hostname), BOOTP/PXE, active lease monitoring
• Port forwarding — NAT DNAT rules via native <portForward> XML (libvirt 9.4+)
• IPv6 — dual-stack with independent DHCPv6 and Router Advertisement configuration
• Bandwidth QoS — inbound/outbound limits per network
• Network creation wizard — multi-step, mode-adaptive (bridge/macvtap skip IP steps)
• Network topology — interactive graph visualization showing VMs, networks, and NIC connections
• OVS auto-detection — Open vSwitch options shown only when available on the hypervisor

Storage & ISO

• ISO management — upload from Mac via SCP, browse remote filesystem, CDROM attach/eject
• Storage pool management — create, delete, start, stop, browse volumes

Platform

• Native macOS UI — SwiftUI + AppKit, dark mode, Retina, VoiceOver accessible
• SSH host key verification — warns on unknown or changed host keys
• Keychain integration — credentials stored securely, never in plaintext
• Code signed and notarized — no Gatekeeper warnings

Requirements

• macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later
• Apple Silicon or Intel Mac
• SSH access to a libvirt hypervisor (KVM/QEMU)

Building from Source

All C dependencies (libvirt, spice-gtk, glib, etc.) are bundled in the app bundle for distribution. For development builds, you need them installed locally:

brew install libvirt spice-gtk pkg-config
git clone https://github.com/calibrae/virtmanager.git
cd virtmanager
swift build
open VirtManager.xcodeproj

Architecture

Sources/
├── CLibvirt/              # libvirt C API wrapper
├── CSpice/                # spice-client-glib wrapper
├── LibvirtSwift/          # Swift wrapper: connections, domains, streams, storage
│   ├── DomainConfig/      # Domain XML parser, device models, validation
│   └── NetworkConfig/     # Network XML parser, DNS/DHCP/QoS models, validation
├── VirtManagerCore/       # Shared models, errors, credential store, logging
├── VNCClient/             # Pure Swift RFB 3.8 protocol client
├── SpiceClient/           # SPICE: GLib bridge, display, input, USB
└── VirtManager/           # SwiftUI app
    ├── Configuration/     # VM config editor (9 tabs + XML)
    ├── Creation/          # VM creation wizard (6 steps)
    ├── Network/           # Network management
    │   ├── Tabs/          # Network config editor tabs (8 tabs)
    │   ├── Topology/      # Interactive network topology graph
    │   └── Wizard/        # Network creation wizard (5 steps)
    ├── Storage/           # ISO browser, remote filesystem browser
    └── Windows/           # VNC, SPICE, serial console windows

Decision	Choice	Why
UI	SwiftUI + AppKit	SwiftUI for forms/lists, AppKit for console windows
libvirt	C API via GCD	Swift async cooperative pool crashes with libvirt's signal handlers
VNC	Pure Swift RFB 3.8	No C dependency, Network.framework transport
SPICE	spice-client-glib	GLib main loop on dedicated thread
Rendering	Metal / Core Graphics	CAMetalLayer for consoles, Canvas for topology
Credentials	macOS Keychain	Never stored in plaintext or config files
ISO upload	SCP subprocess	10-100x faster than libvirt streams over SSH

Testing

swift test    # 62 unit + integration tests (no live hypervisor needed)

CI/CD

• CI — On push/PR: SPM build, unit tests, integration tests, Xcode build
• Release — On tag (v*): build, bundle dylibs, code sign, create DMG, notarize, GitHub Release

All workflows run on a self-hosted macOS runner.

License

MIT — see THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES.md for bundled library licenses.

Acknowledgments

• libvirt — The virtualization API
• virt-manager — Inspiration and reference
• SwiftTerm — Terminal emulator
• spice-gtk — SPICE protocol client