install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install macpine

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install macpine

MacPorts ports tree · sysutils/macpine/Portfile · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Lightweight Linux VMs on MacOS

Project links

Commands and aliases

No executable aliases were found in the local package database.

history

Project history and usage

macpine is a macOS command-line tool for creating and managing lightweight Alpine Linux virtual machines. Its official documentation presents it as a way for macOS users to run small Linux environments with port forwarding, file sharing, bridged networking, and both aarch64 and x86_64 emulation.

Project history

The project is maintained by Bering Research and published from the official GitHub repository with generated MkDocs documentation. The README and site describe a focused goal: make Alpine Linux VMs easy to spin up on macOS for containerization, architecture testing, and software build workflows.

Adoption history

macpine is distributed through package managers used by Mac developers, including Homebrew and MacPorts according to its official README and the supplied package facts. GitHub metadata shows a public project with releases, stars, forks, and a Go codebase, which points to a small but visible niche around local Linux-on-Mac workflows.

How it is used

The installed command is `alpine`. Common workflows include `alpine launch` to create a VM, architecture and resource flags for customized instances, `alpine ssh` and `alpine exec` to enter or run commands, and `alpine publish` and `alpine import` for instance archive sharing.

Why package nerds care

Package maintainers care about macpine because it packages a repeatable Alpine VM workflow behind a small CLI rather than asking users to wire together QEMU, networking, shared folders, and shell glue themselves. It is especially relevant on Apple Silicon, where architecture emulation and lightweight Linux test environments are common developer needs.

Timeline

Public repository: Official GitHub repository tracks the project and its release tags.
2025: GitHub repository page lists v1.1.5 as the latest release on Oct 31, 2025.

Related projects

macpine is adjacent to QEMU, Alpine Linux, Docker, Incus, and LXD. Its documentation explicitly names containerization technologies as a reason to run tiny Alpine VM environments on macOS.

Sources

https://beringresearch.github.io/macpine/
https://github.com/beringresearch/macpine
source_facts.package-manager

security posture

Risk level: orange

formula declares a Homebrew service.

Risk classifier

orange risk · medium confidence · infrastructure

Why

formula declares a Homebrew service

Signals

metadata:service

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Formula metadata declares a service or daemon block.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.
Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
No executable data was present.

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-09-19

manager version1.2.3

manager updated2026-09-15

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv1.1.5

https://github.com/beringresearch/macpine

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:macpine
Version	1.2.3
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/macpine
Homepage	https://beringresearch.github.io/macpine/
Repository	https://github.com/beringresearch/macpine
Upstream docs	https://beringresearch.github.io/macpine/
License	Apache-2.0
Source archive	https://github.com/beringresearch/macpine/archive/refs/tags/v1.1.5.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-09-15T14:39:12Z
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	qemu
Build dependencies	go
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	macpine
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Conflicts With	alpine
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

MacPorts95%

macpine

sudo port install macpine

normalized package name match
Matched by: Macpine

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/macpine/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/macpine.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment
pkg.so package database
pkgdb category and tag curation

Install macpine with Homebrew, MacPorts