Disposable Linux dev VMs for macOS

limabean creates disposable Ubuntu dev VMs on your Mac from layered Lima templates. Each VM has a complete, version-pinned toolchain and your git identity. It pushes with your SSH keys without ever copying them in. Claude can drive it: through limabean's MCP server it creates VMs, runs code in them and snapshots them, and every VM appears in Claude Desktop as an SSH connection.

Docs: rossedman.io/limabean

• One command per VM, ready as fast as it boots. New VMs are APFS copies of a provisioned image, so limabean up dev only has to boot, and limabean up builds the VM a repository's .limabean.yaml describes; limabean recipes starts one for a Go service, a web app, a Claude sandbox and more.
• Only what you need, in packs. Every VM has Docker, Python and core CLI tools (ripgrep, fd, gh, …); Go, Node, Kubernetes, Terraform, Rust, Java, Ruby and more are packs you pick per VM or per project, every version pinned.
• Keys stay on your Mac. SSH keys stay in your agent, a scoped GitHub token lives in your Keychain, and your git and AWS config are mounted read-only.
• Secrets without files. API keys and tokens come from your Keychain, 1Password, environment variables or commands, chosen when you create a VM.
• Sandboxes for agents. Limit a VM to the domains its work needs (learn mode records them for you) and lock it, so nothing inside, an agent included, can turn that off.
• Claude drives it. With MCP, Claude creates VMs, clones repositories, runs builds and tests, and snapshots VMs, all without touching your Mac. Every VM is also an SSH connection in Claude Desktop.
• Safe to throw away. ~/code lives on its own disk, so rebuild keeps your repositories, and rm refuses to run while you have unpushed work. Clones take seconds, and --ttl or run --rm VMs delete themselves.
• Plain Lima underneath. Templates are ordinary YAML and shell, and limactl always works.

Quick start

brew install rossedman/tap/limabean   # installs Lima too

limabean init       # save settings, fix ~/.ssh/config, check your setup

# optional: log VMs into GitHub for gh and the API (scoped tokens: docs/github.md)
gh auth token --hostname github.com | limabean github login --with-token

limabean up dev    # create a VM; a form asks which packs and secrets it gets
limabean ssh dev    # or: ssh lima-dev

cd ~/src/myapp && limabean up   # the VM a repository's .limabean.yaml describes
limabean recipes                # starter .limabean.yaml files: go-service, node-web, claude-agent, …

Upgrade with brew upgrade limabean. To install without the tap, get Lima 2.0 or newer first, then a binary from the releases page or go install github.com/rossedman/limabean/cmd/limabean@latest (getting started).

Use it with Claude

Add limabean's MCP server to Claude Code:

claude mcp add --scope user limabean -- limabean mcp

Then ask:

Make a VM called scratch, clone owner/repo into it and get the tests passing.

Claude creates the VM, clones the repository, runs commands in it and can snapshot it before risky changes. For an agent that should only reach certain hosts, ask for a locked sandbox: "create a locked VM that can only reach github and python". Nothing runs on your Mac, Claude never sees secret values, and deleting or restoring VMs needs --allow-destructive.

With a project's .limabean.yaml, Claude can plan and bring up its VM too; you approve each project_up. The file can also turn on Claude Code plugins in its VM, such as guardrails to hold Claude to your standards, and the claude-agent recipe is a locked-down sandbox to start from.

Claude and MCP covers Claude Desktop, example prompts, every tool and the safety model.

How it works

Commands

Leave out a VM name and you pick one from a list. Every command has --help with examples, and the CLI reference has the details.

Setup

Command	What it does
limabean init	Set up: git config, code directory, SSH Include, GitHub token; --project writes a repository's .limabean.yaml from what's in it
limabean config	Show every setting and where it comes from
limabean doctor	Check everything VMs depend on, and the project file you're in
limabean bump	Update the pinned tool versions in templates/packs/*.toml

VMs

Command	What it does
limabean up [name]	In a project: create its VM, or start it and apply the file's changes. With a name: start that VM, or create it, choosing packs and secrets (--with go)
limabean ps	Show the project's VM: status, start, ports and pending changes
limabean info [name]	Show what a VM knows about itself: packs, network, secrets' names, project
limabean logs [name]	Show a VM's provisioning log, or its project's setup and start output (-f to follow)
limabean down [name]	Stop the project's VM, or the one named; --idle 2h stops every VM nobody is using
limabean recipes [name]	List starter .limabean.yaml files, or write one into a repository
limabean run --rm -- <cmd>	Run one command in a new VM, then delete it
limabean packs	List the tool packs a VM can get
limabean ls	List VMs, or print them as JSON with --json
limabean ssh [name] [cmd]	Open a shell or run a command, starting the VM if needed
limabean get [name] <repo>	Clone a repository into the VM with ghq
limabean cp <src> <dst>	Copy files between your Mac and a VM (dev:path)
limabean code [name] [repo]	Open the VM, or a repository in it, in VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf or VSCodium
limabean remote [name]	Add the VM's clone as a git remote of your Mac checkout, to fetch its branches
limabean ports [name]	List the ports a VM forwards to your Mac
limabean open [name] [port]	Open a forwarded port in your browser
limabean rebuild [name]	Recreate a VM from the current templates, keeping ~/code
limabean clone <name> <new>

Secrets and access

Command	What it does
limabean secrets ls	List secrets and where their values come from
limabean secrets set NAME [ref]	Add or change a secret (Keychain, 1Password, env var, command)
limabean secrets rm NAME	Remove a secret
limabean secrets edit	Edit a secrets file in your editor
limabean secrets sync	Install secrets in running VMs
limabean github login	Save a GitHub token for gh, the API and https pushes
limabean github status	Show the token's account and expiry, and which VMs have it
limabean github sync	Install the token in every running VM
limabean github logout	Remove the token from the Keychain and VMs
limabean network ls|allow|rm|open|lock|unlock	Limit which domains a VM can reach, and lock it so that holds
limabean network learn|log	Record what a VM reaches to build its allowlist, and see what was blocked
limabean claude sync	Register running VMs in Claude Desktop, remove the rest
limabean mcp	Let Claude create, run and snapshot VMs, as an MCP server (details)

More

Command	What it does
limabean completion <shell>	Print a completion script for bash, zsh, fish or PowerShell
limabean version	Print the version (--json for scripts)
limabean help --json	Describe every command and flag as JSON, for scripts and agents

Documentation

The full docs are at rossedman.io/limabean, built from the docs/ folder:

• Getting started: install, requirements, first VM
• Walkthrough: Claude makes a real change to limabean in a locked sandbox, start to finish
• Claude and MCP: let Claude create and drive VMs
• Claude Desktop: how VMs become SSH connections
• Sandboxes: network allowlists, learn mode and locked VMs
• Projects: .limabean.yaml and limabean up
• Recipes: starter project files for common kinds of VMs
• Rebuilds, clones and snapshots: throwaway VMs and autostop too
• Inside a VM: tools, Docker, shell, ports, paths
• Secrets: API keys and settings from the Keychain, 1Password and more
• GitHub access: a scoped token for gh, kept in your Keychain
• CLI reference: every command and setting
• Customizing: templates, adding tools and environments

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome; CONTRIBUTING.md covers setting up, the checks CI runs and what a pull request needs. Every pull request gets a snapshot build to try. Report security problems privately, as SECURITY.md describes. Everyone taking part follows the code of conduct.

License

MIT