{"id":50531719,"url":"https://github.com/pixelkarma/smolvm","last_synced_at":"2026-06-03T14:02:43.580Z","repository":{"id":355260678,"uuid":"1227416253","full_name":"pixelkarma/smolvm","owner":"pixelkarma","description":"Run containerized alpine VMs who each have their own local web-based agent. 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Have these available first:\n\n```sh\ncurl\nexpect\ngo\nqemu-img\nqemu-system-x86_64\nssh-keygen\n```\n\nOn Linux, KVM is optional but preferred. Without it, QEMU falls back to emulation.\n\n## Install\n\n```sh\ngit clone https://github.com/pixelkarma/smolvm\ncd smolvm\n./build.sh\n```\n\n`build.sh`:\n- builds `smolvm-admin` for the host\n- cross-builds `smolagent` for Linux `amd64`\n- downloads Alpine installer assets if they are missing\n- creates or reuses `~/.smolvm/assets/alpine-golden.qcow2`\n- writes `~/.smolvm/smolvm.config.json`\n\nIf a golden image already exists, the script asks whether to reuse it or rebuild it.\n\nDuring `./build.sh`, the script prompts for the admin password. If you just press Enter, it uses:\n\n```text\nsmolvm\n```\n\n## Run the admin\n\nAfter the build finishes, start the admin manually:\n\n```sh\n~/.smolvm/bin/smolvm-admin --config ~/.smolvm/smolvm.config.json\n```\n\nDefault URL:\n\n```text\nhttp://SERVER_IP:8090/login\n```\n\nDefault password if you accept the build default:\n\n```text\nsmolvm\n```\n\n## Config\n\nHost config lives at:\n\n```sh\n~/.smolvm/smolvm.config.json\n```\n\nTypical host config:\n\n```json\n{\n  \"listen_addr\": \":8090\",\n  \"data_dir\": \"/home/user/.smolvm/data\",\n  \"default_openai_api_key\": \"sk-...\",\n  \"admin_password\": \"smolvm\",\n  \"qemu_binary_path\": \"/usr/bin/qemu-system-x86_64\",\n  \"template_image_path\": \"/home/user/.smolvm/assets/alpine-golden.qcow2\",\n  \"guest_ssh_key_path\": \"/home/user/.smolvm/keys/guest-admin\"\n}\n```\n\n`default_openai_api_key` is still written to the host config, but the guest now refreshes its runtime config from the admin on every launch instead of relying on a baked guest config file.\n\n## How it works\n\n- The admin runs on port `8090`.\n- Each VM gets a copied QCOW2 disk from the golden image.\n- The admin launches QEMU daemonized and only tracks whether the VM process is present.\n- App links are generated from the current admin request host; there is no separate public-host setting anymore.\n- The private agent UI is proxied through the admin after login.\n- Public app ports start at `8100` and increment.\n- Guest SSH is forwarded to a host port starting at `10001`.\n\nCurrent networking model:\n\n- guest `9000` = private `smolagent` UI\n- guest `80` = public web app port\n- host `127.0.0.1:\u003cagent port\u003e` -\u003e guest `9000`\n- host `:\u003cweb port\u003e` -\u003e guest `80`\n- host `:\u003cssh port\u003e` -\u003e guest `22`\n\nThe guest learns its instance id from QEMU SMBIOS:\n\n```text\n/sys/class/dmi/id/product_serial\n```\n\n`smolagent` refreshes its config from the admin on every launch by requesting:\n\n```text\nhttp://10.0.2.2:8090/internal/instance-config?instance_id=\u003cid\u003e\n```\n\nThat is how the guest picks up:\n- the effective OpenAI API key\n- the global prompt\n- the instance prompt\n\n## UI behavior\n\nEach instance row in the admin includes:\n- `Agent`\n- `Terminal`\n- `Web App`\n- a `...` menu for `Start`, `Stop`, and `Delete`\n\nThe `Active` column is browser-side only:\n- `checking` while the browser probes the proxied agent URL\n- `active` if the probe succeeds\n- `inactive` if it times out or fails\n\nThe browser terminal uses local vendored `xterm.js` assets and connects through an admin websocket. It SSHes into the guest over the forwarded guest SSH port.\n\n## Capabilities\n\n- create, start, stop, and delete VM instances\n- set per-instance RAM, CPU, disk, web port, API key override, and prompt\n- private agent UI behind admin auth\n- browser terminal into the guest\n- direct public web port exposure for the guest app\n- per-instance persistent disk images\n\n## Limitations\n\n- Admin auth is intentionally simple: one shared password\n- VM state is tracked by process inspection, not a full orchestrator\n- The admin does not validate guest readiness before returning from `Start`\n- The system assumes trusted local administration and disposable guests\n- The guest app is expected to listen on port `80`\n\n## Important paths\n\n- config: `~/.smolvm/smolvm.config.json`\n- binaries: `~/.smolvm/bin`\n- guest image assets: `~/.smolvm/assets`\n- VM disks and database: `~/.smolvm/data`\n- vendored terminal assets: `static/xterm/`\n","project_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fpixelkarma%2Fsmolvm","html_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/projects/github.com%2Fpixelkarma%2Fsmolvm","lists_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fpixelkarma%2Fsmolvm/lists"}