Cua Docs

Install Lume

Install Lume, Cua's local Apple Silicon VM manager for macOS and Linux guests.

Lume is Cua's local VM manager for Apple Silicon Macs. Use it when you want to create, run, or serve macOS and Linux VMs on your own machine. If you want disposable desktops hosted for you, start with Cua Sandbox instead.

Requirements#

  • Apple Silicon Mac (M1, M2, M3, etc.)
  • macOS 13.0 or later
  • At least 8GB of RAM (16GB recommended)
  • At least 50GB of free disk space

Install Lume#

Install with a single command:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/trycua/cua/main/libs/lume/scripts/install.sh)"

Verify the install#

lume --version

Run a prebuilt VM#

Pull and start a prebuilt macOS image:

lume run macos-sequoia-vanilla:latest
Security Note

Prebuilt images use the default password lume. Change this immediately after your first login using the passwd command.

Start the API service manually#

By default, Lume is installed as a background service that starts automatically on login. If you prefer to start the Lume API service manually when needed, you can use the --no-background-service option:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/trycua/cua/main/libs/lume/scripts/install.sh) --no-background-service"
Note

With this option, you'll need to manually start the Lume API service by running lume serve in your terminal whenever you need tools or libraries that rely on the local Lume HTTP API.

Manual download#

You can also download the lume.pkg.tar.gz archive from the latest release, extract it, and install the package manually.

Next steps#