# Install socket_vmnet with Homebrew, Nix, MacPorts

Daemon to provide vmnet.framework support for rootless QEMU. Version 1.2.2 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-06. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#socket-vmnet.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:socket_vmnet
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install socket_vmnet
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install socket_vmnet
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: net/socket_vmnet/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Linux

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#socket-vmnet
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/so/socket-vmnet/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:socket_vmnet
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 1.2.2
- **Source summary:** Daemon to provide vmnet.framework support for rootless QEMU
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/lima-vm/socket_vmnet>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/lima-vm/socket_vmnet>
- **Last updated:** 2026-06-06T11:29:14Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- socket_vmnet (alias)
- socket_vmnet_client (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 1.2.2
## Project history and usage

socket_vmnet is a macOS networking daemon and client for giving unmodified, rootless QEMU access to Apple's vmnet.framework. It is closely associated with Lima and the Mac virtualization tooling ecosystem.

### Project history

The official README says socket_vmnet was forked from vde_vmnet v0.6.0 and removes the dependency on VDE. The git history begins in July 2021, and the first tagged alpha release appeared in May 2022 before the 1.0.0 tag in November 2022.

The README positions the project around a precise operational tradeoff: socket_vmnet itself usually runs as root, but QEMU does not need to. This kept vmnet.framework networking usable for rootless QEMU workflows before and after QEMU added its own vmnet support.

### Adoption history

Official installation docs cover binary tarballs, source installs under /opt/socket_vmnet, Homebrew, and MacPorts. The supplied package-manager facts list Homebrew and MacPorts, reflecting a macOS-only tool aimed at virtualization users rather than a cross-platform daemon.

### How it is used

The documented workflow starts the socket_vmnet daemon with a gateway and socket path, then runs QEMU through socket_vmnet_client. The README also documents Lima integration, noting that Lima has built-in support for socket_vmnet since v0.12.0.

### Why package nerds care

Package nerds care about socket_vmnet because it is a small package with unusually sharp install semantics: root-owned prefixes, launchd service files, Homebrew service behavior, MacPorts service behavior, QEMU integration, and Lima integration all affect whether rootless virtual machines get usable bridged or shared networking.

### Timeline

- 2021: Initial git commit.
- 2022: v1.0.0-alpha.0 first tagged alpha release.
- 2022: v1.0.0 tagged.
- 2022: Lima v0.12.0 and later documented built-in support for socket_vmnet.
- 2024: v1.2.0 tagged after the 1.1 series.
- 2025: v1.2.2 tagged.

### Related projects

- socket_vmnet is forked from vde_vmnet, is designed for QEMU, and is documented as integrated with Lima. The README also contrasts it with QEMU's built-in vmnet support, which requires running the whole QEMU process as root.

### Sources

- Official git metadata from https://github.com/lima-vm/socket_vmnet.git
- <https://github.com/lima-vm/socket_vmnet#readme>
- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lima-vm/socket_vmnet/master/README.md>
- source_facts.package-manager


## Security Notes

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal. formula declares a Homebrew service.

- **Geiger risk:** orange / medium
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal
- formula declares a Homebrew service

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Nix - socket-vmnet: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/so/socket-vmnet/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- MacPorts - socket_vmnet: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: net/socket_vmnet/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1


## Combined YAML source

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


## Sources

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