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Slicer for Mac

Slicer for Mac runs arm64 Linux VMs on Apple Silicon using Apple's native Virtualization framework. It provides a persistent Linux VM with native folder sharing, Docker, K3s, and disposable sandboxes - all driven by the same CLI and REST API as Slicer for Linux.

Preview

Slicer for Mac is available on all Slicer license tiers. We've tested on macOS Sequoia and Tahoe. slicer-mac does not need sudo.

How it works

Two binaries:

  • slicer - the CLI client (same binary as Slicer for Linux) and used to download slicer-mac
  • slicer-mac - the daemon that manages VMs using Apple's Virtualization framework

An optional menu bar app (slicer-tray) provides quick access to VM status, shells, and controls. It is shipped as part of the slicer-mac OCI asset set. If you need tray details, see Tray integration. If you need x86_64 support, see Enable Rosetta.

The daemon reads a slicer-mac.yaml config file that defines two host groups:

  • Services (slicer group) - a persistent Linux VM that boots with the daemon and stays running. This is your day-to-day Linux environment, similar to WSL on Windows.
  • Sandboxes (sbox group) - ephemeral VMs launched on demand via the CLI or API. They're destroyed when you restart the daemon, close the lid, or delete them.

Architecture (conceptual)

                         +----------------------------+
                         |          slicer CLI        |
                         |   (vm shell / vm cp / API) |
                         +-------------+--------------+
                                       |
                                       v
      +--------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
      |              slicer-mac daemon on macOS                            |
      |  Reads `slicer-mac.yaml` and controls local microVMs               |
      +-----------------------+----------------------+---------------------+
                              |                      |
                              |                      |
                              v                      v
             +-----------------------------+    +----------------------------+
             | host_group: slicer          |    | host_group: sbox           |
             | Long-lived primary workload |    | Disposable / on-demand VMs |
             +--------------+--------------+    +-------------+--------------+
                            |                                |
                            v                                v
                     +-------------+                  +----------------+
                     |   slicer-1  |                  |    sbox-1      |
                     | main VM     |                  | sample sbox VM |
                     +-------------+                  +----------------+

Docker's socket is port-forwarded to your Mac as a Unix socket, so docker commands on the Mac talk directly to the VM. K3s exposes port 6443, so kubectl on your Mac can target the cluster running inside slicer-1. It feels like you're on Linux.

Storage

Unlike Slicer for Linux (which supports devmapper and ZFS CoW backends), the Mac version uses image-backed storage. The OCI image is unpacked once, then cloned instantly using APFS' native Copy-on-Write. Launching a new sandbox doesn't copy the entire disk.

MacBooks and sleep

Host sleep behavior for MacBooks is controlled by sleep_action in slicer-mac.yaml and affects VM lifecycle. See Sleep behavior for full guidance and per-mode behavior.

Next steps

  • Installation - install binaries and start Slicer for Mac
  • Linux VM - configure your persistent VM, shared folders, Docker, and K3s
  • Sandboxes - spin up and tear down ephemeral VMs
  • Coding agents - run Claude Code, OpenCode, and other agents inside the VM