Apple's built-in QEMU guest agent (AppleQEMUGuestAgent, launched by launchd
when a virtio console port org.qemu.guest_agent.0 appears; guest-exec as root)
is attached by vmix run --macos and the NixOS module. AppleVirtIO.kext on x86
Tahoe drives virtio-fs, block, console, input, net — verified in QEMU.
- customizeImage: `bootScript` — online step through the guest agent (driver
mode qga): boot the image, run the script as root with the VMIX volume, shut
down through the agent. `as_user` runs commands in the logged-in session.
- templates.software: pkg/app (offline in the PE), script/homebrew (online).
- templates.profile.settings: widgets, wallpaper (pinned desktoppr — Apple
Events need TCC consent that a headless session cannot give), dock apps,
autohide, dark mode, hidden files.
- generalize: persistHome (fstab LABEL=vmix-home /Users), hideWidgets offline.
- formatVolume: formats a blank disk image as APFS by booting the PE (~35 s);
idempotent.
- NixOS module: macos.guestAgent (/run/vmix/qga-<name>.sock), shares via
virtiofsd + vhost-user-fs (Apple automount tag for the first share, others
mounted through the agent), macos.homeDisk (created + formatted on first
start, virtio-blk), SPICE keeps -vga vmware for macOS.
- CLI: vmix run --macos --share DIR --home FILE --qga PATH.
- qemu.nix helpers; README section.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.1 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01XsESshRCoBoUVWV9qKURUF
The OSX-KVM ESP ships Lilu 1.6.8 / VirtualSMC 1.3.3 / WhateverGreen 1.6.7,
which disable themselves on macOS 26; Apple's SMC driver then runs on QEMU's
isa-applesmc stub and the restart path panics (SMCWDT smcWriteKey
kSMCBadCommand → nested panic after MACH Reboot). Overlay pinned current
releases (upstream.json opencore.kexts) and drop isa-applesmc: with the stub
present VirtualSMC steps aside ("multiple devices present"); alone it carries
the OSK and reboots work (PE restart test: 10 s, clean). RestrictEvents with
revpatch=memtab silences MacPro7,1's "Memory Modules Misconfigured".
- makeOpenCore: kext overlay + Kernel.Add entries for overlaid kexts,
--memory-mb (4 DIMMs), bootArgs default revpatch=memtab
- qemu.nix: deviceArgsFor { appleSmc } (default false); cli: --applesmc for
images built before this change
- vm-driver: reboot-death detection (reset 60 s after a guest reboot request
that never comes back), panics wait for XNU's own auto-reboot, debug dir
works across nixbld users
- generalize: QEMU USB keyboard declared ANSI (no Keyboard Setup Assistant)
- README: architecture, reliability handling, debugging
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.1 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01XsESshRCoBoUVWV9qKURUF
Add a macOS image pipeline mirroring the Windows one: unattended install,
generalization and user creation, driven end to end in QEMU on a KVM host.
lib/images/macos:
- makeOpenCore: OSX-KVM OpenCore ESP with a config.plist rewritten per image —
SMBIOS model + serial/MLB (macserial) + UUID + ROM=en0 MAC (built-in NIC pinned
to PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x12,0x0)) for Apple ID / iMessage / App Store; boot disk;
OpenCore self-entry hidden. ident.nix derives MAC+UUID from a seed so the NixOS
module and CLI know the NIC MAC at eval time.
- makeImage: one QEMU session driven by vm-driver.py (QMP + screenshot settle
detection + OCR of the menu bar) — boots the recovery via OpenCore, opens
Terminal (Ctrl-F2 -> Utilities -> Terminal), types the bootstrap command;
vmix-install.sh erases the disk as APFS, lays down the host-extracted installer
app skeleton + a byte-exact SharedSupport.dmg (raw disk mapped to that byte range
of the pkg, dd'd in — Recovery's xar truncates an 18 GB member), runs
startosinstall with the vmix agent pkg. OpenCore is then copied into the image's
ESP so it boots standalone with OVMF.
- customizeImage / templates: boot the image with a FAT-then-HFS+ VMIX volume; the
vmix agent (LaunchDaemon) runs a script as root, records status and powers off —
the macOS counterpart of Windows Audit Mode. generalize creates the admin user +
auto-login (kcpassword), suppresses Setup Assistant, sets hostname/timezone,
grows APFS, and assigns a fresh SMBIOS identity. Templates: noUpdates,
performance, remoteAccess (ssh + screen sharing).
- fetchRecovery: Apple recovery BaseSystem, retried until the pinned Tahoe build
(osrecovery load-balances Sequoia/Tahoe during the rollout). makeAgentPkg builds
a distribution flat pkg on Linux (xar+bom+cpio) for startosinstall --installpackage.
CLI: vmix build/copy/run for macOS (run --macos --vnc, reads the image's MAC from
its ESP), and a `vmix macserial` helper. NixOS module: disks.os.file carrying
_vmixOsType="macos" auto-enables the macOS QEMU profile (AppleSMC+OSK, Skylake
CPU spoof, AHCI system disk, VMware SVGA, pinned NIC); macos.{enable,cpu,mac}.
Status: proven through the installer prepare phase (SharedSupport.dmg mounts,
version 26.6.2 read, SU catalog loads). Two blockers remain, documented in
lib/images/macos/README.md: (1) startosinstall's OSISVerifyBaseSystemOperation
rejects the byte-identical plain-UDIF SharedSupport as "pkgdmg missing a footer"
in this Tahoe recovery/VM; (2) Apple's CDN unreliably serves the Tahoe recovery
during rollout (self-hosting the verified BaseSystem is the robust fix).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.1 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01XsESshRCoBoUVWV9qKURUF
Copy Xauthority to a world-readable temp file so nix build users
(nixbld*) can authenticate to X11. Add --option sandbox relaxed so
__noChroot derivations can access the X11 socket and xauth file.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Images:
- laptopUpstream: bare OS install with AHCI, no templates
- laptopSlim: essentials only (debloat, registry tweaks)
- laptop: full (essentials + all apps)
- win10/win11 images use rec for self-references
CLI:
- preserve recovery partition (4) during disk copy
- expand partition 3 up to partition 4 boundary
- remove VNC CLI flag (use vncDisplay in nix configs instead)
Flake:
- add devShell with vmix alias and PS1 prompt
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Extract all vmix CLI logic (build, copy, run) from flake.nix into
cli.nix. flake.nix is now 30 lines — just wiring.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
