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Comment by fartfeatures | Hacker News Reader

How does this compare to something like Tart and shapehq/tartelet

Both use Apple's Virtualization Framework, so core VM performance is similar. Main differences are around agent-first design (HTTP API, MCP server), unattended setup via VNC + OCR, and registry support for VM images.

We've also built a broader ecosystem on top - the Cua computer and agent framework for building computer-use agents: https://cua.ai/docs

We went through the comparison with Tart, Lima etc here: https://github.com/trycua/cua/issues/10

Thanks for answering, makes sense.

Not seeing any reference to Tart at that link. Tart also has registry support for VM images it treats them very much like Docker images, is that what you are doing too?

Is it worth putting a comparison up somewhere other than a Github thread? Seems to be a frequently asked question at this point.

Also worth drawing attention to Tart being source available not open source.

Thanks for the feedback! You're right that a proper comparison page beats hunting through GitHub issues.

We just put one together (with some help from Claude Code, naturally): https://cua.ai/docs/lume/guide/getting-started/comparison

Thanks much appreciated, the "Registry Support" section is weird though. Isn't GHCR an instance of an OCI registry? The when to choose Loom in the Tart section should also mention licensing, it is relevant at the choosing point.

Good catches, thanks! Just updated the page:

Fixed the registry description—you're right, GHCR is an OCI registry. Both tools use OCI-compatible registries, we just default to GHCR/GCS.

Added licensing to the "when to choose" sections.

Good changes, like the new theme too, I'd still match the two boxes if it were me (both should read OCI registry and optionally include GHCR but they should be identical)

> Lume automates the macOS Setup Assistant via VNC and OCR, creating ready-to-use VMs without manual clicking. Tart relies on Packer plugins for automation.

This feels disingenuous. Tart has unattended setup support as well, and it's based on the same VNC + OCR technique as Lume. In fact Tart had it first, and your approach seems to be heavily inspired by it. In addition the boot command instructions you're using came from https://github.com/cirruslabs/macos-image-templates/

The only material difference is whether it's built-in or integrated via Packer.

Fair point - both use VNC for unattended setup. The difference is implementation: Tart does it via a Packer plugin (Go), we built it natively in Swift with a customizable YAML schema that's less error-prone. User-facing difference is --unattended flag vs Packer workflow.

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