# Install lume with Homebrew

Create and manage Apple Silicon-native virtual machines. Version 0.5.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-31.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:lume
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install lume
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:lume
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.5.1
- **Source summary:** Create and manage Apple Silicon-native virtual machines
- **Homepage:** <https://cua.ai>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/trycua/cua>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-31T12:53:37Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- lume (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.5.1
## Project history and usage

Lume is the Cua project's Apple-Silicon-focused VM runtime and CLI for creating and managing macOS and Linux virtual machines with Apple's Virtualization Framework.

### Project history

Lume lives inside the `trycua/cua` repository, which was created publicly in January 2025 as open-source infrastructure for computer-use agents, sandboxes, SDKs, and benchmarks. The Lume README describes it as a CLI and framework for macOS and Linux VMs using Apple's Virtualization Framework.

The official Lume introduction frames the project around agent workloads, CI/CD, and macOS automation. It exposes a single binary with an HTTP API, can create and run VMs headlessly, and is designed to be used directly from the CLI or programmatically through `lume serve`.

### Adoption history

Lume's adoption is tied to the rapid growth of computer-use agents and the practical need for reproducible macOS sandboxes on Apple Silicon. The Cua repository accumulated substantial GitHub attention during 2025-2026, and the README positions Lume alongside Cua drivers, sandbox SDKs, and benchmarks as one of the monorepo's core packages.

Homebrew packages the `lume` binary, while upstream docs also advertise install scripts and VM image pull/run workflows. The project is newer than traditional VM managers, so its package history is still forming around AI-agent, local CI, and macOS automation use cases.

### How it is used

The official docs show `lume create test-vm --os macos --ipsw latest` followed by `lume run test-vm`, and the repository README shows pulling and starting a macOS VM image with `lume run macos-sequoia-vanilla:latest`.

Lume is intended for testing across macOS versions, automating macOS tasks, running local CI/CD, sandboxing risky operations, and building AI agents that interact with virtualized desktops through the broader Cua stack.

### Why package nerds care

Lume is significant to package nerds because it packages a native macOS virtualization workflow into a CLI, not a heavyweight desktop app. Its constraints are also unusually concrete: Apple Silicon only, Apple's Virtualization Framework, IPSW-based macOS setup, sparse VM storage, headless operation, registries such as GHCR or GCS, and integration with agent tooling.

### Timeline

- 2025: Cua repository created publicly.
- 2025-2026: Lume documented as the monorepo's macOS/Linux VM management package.
- 2026: Cua repository shows hundreds of releases across monorepo components and active Lume documentation.
- 2026: Homebrew formula available for the `lume` CLI.

### Related projects

- Cua Computer SDK uses Lume's API for macOS automation workflows.
- Apple Virtualization Framework is the native virtualization layer Lume builds on.
- The Cua monorepo also includes Cua drivers, Cua sandbox packages, and Cua Bench.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/trycua/cua>
- <https://api.github.com/repos/trycua/cua/releases>
- <https://cua.ai/docs/lume/guide/getting-started/introduction>
- <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/lume>
- <https://github.com/trycua/cua>
- <https://github.com/trycua/cua/tree/main/libs/lume>


## Security Notes

formula declares a Homebrew service. infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal.

- **Geiger risk:** orange / medium
- formula declares a Homebrew service
- infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/lume.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/lume.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph