Box of Apples

Mac VM labs, neatly boxed.

Create, automate, and inspect macOS virtual machines on Apple Silicon. Understand guest activity with Screen Intelligence, build disposable labs, and turn everyday tests into repeatable workflows.

Download Box of Apples

Version: Latest stable
Package: macOS .pkg
Platform: Apple Silicon

Box of Apples runtime workflow preview.

Screen Intelligence & VM Control

See what's happening.
Decide what happens next.

Follow your VM's screen activity with Apple's on-device Foundation Models. Describe your next task in natural language, review the proposed steps, and choose when to run them.

Screen Intelligence assessment and Story Timeline beside a Control VM plan that opens boa.decompiler.dev in the guest's Safari browser — Screen Intelligence and a reviewed VM action plan, side by side.

A story of your VM's screen

Summarize visible activity, flag screens that may need attention, and keep a per-VM Story Timeline. Export observations as JSON or JSONL.

Set up Screen Intelligence

Your request. A plan you approve.

The first iteration of natural-language control turns requests into ordered VM actions. Review applications, URLs, commands, and input before choosing Run Plan.

Explore natural-language control

Screen-image analysis requires a macOS 27+ host and an available on-device model. Limited Accessibility-based assessment and local planning fallbacks are available. Guest actions require the Boa Guest Agent; UI interaction also needs guest Accessibility permission.

Why It Exists

macOS VM labs get messy fast.

Apple Virtualization gives you the primitives. Box of Apples turns them into a repeatable lab workflow: keep clean baselines, launch disposable machines, inspect guest activity, and bring results back to the host. Runbooks and schedules make the next run easier to repeat.

Image Library

Discover Apple-supported restore images, import local IPSWs, download from direct URLs, and track version, build, source, support state, and local path.

Virtual Machines

Create macOS VMs from IPSWs, run interactive or headless, boot into Recovery, configure hardware, and review lifecycle logs when something gets interesting.

Disposable Templates

Seal configured VMs as reusable baselines and keep each run disposable. On macOS 27+, eligible ASIF templates use linked overlays without a full disk copy.

Runbooks

Stage tools, execute guest processes, monitor screen text, and collect artifacts. Schedule saved workflows alongside VM boot, suspend, resume, and shutdown actions.

Capability Highlights

Turn Apple Silicon VMs into reusable workflows.

Screen Intelligence

Analyze VM screens on device, with guest Accessibility context when available.
Track assessments, repeated observations, and attention states in a Story Timeline.
Export JSON or JSONL and approve suggested guest actions individually.

Natural-Language Control

Describe a task and generate a plan for one VM.
Review app launches, URLs, guest commands, and UI interactions before execution.
Enter required credentials separately, outside the planning prompt.

Software Updates

Check for new versions in the app, with optional automatic downloads.
Install on quit after VMs and active work have finished.
Review bundled guest-tool changes and Guest Agent version status.

VM Runtime

Interactive and headless sessions, Recovery boot, suspend, and resume.
CPU, RAM, disk, network, audio, and startup serial configuration.
Lifecycle logs, resource footprint, and optional console-idle suspend.

Snapshots & Templates

Save and restore disk snapshots of stopped persistent ASIF VMs on macOS 27+.
Organize snapshots with names, notes, tags, search, and favorites.
Launch linked disposables from eligible sealed ASIF baselines.

Endpoint Security Monitor

Capture guest executions, file activity, TCC changes, and background items.
Explore process trees, signing metadata, subscriptions, and mute policies.
Export stored captures as ESLogger-shaped JSON or JSONL.

Clipboard & Capture

Choose host-to-VM or bidirectional text clipboard sync.
Browse per-VM clipboard history and resend previous entries.
Save screenshots and recordings with configurable sizes and destinations.

Shared Folders & Guest Tools

Share local folders, WebDAV, SMB, and APFS volumes with guests.
Update folder and installer mounts live in app-managed sessions.
Mount the bundled Guest Agent and ES Monitor packages for guest setup.

Runbooks & Artifacts

Build ordered workflows from guest commands and staged host tools.
Monitor screen text, pause for input, record the console, and collect outputs.
Reuse local or Git artifact sources and share runbook JSON.

Scheduler

Plan boot, shutdown, suspend, resume, and runbook actions.
Choose local times and weekdays, with per-action results.
Manage schedules in the app, Web Dashboard, or boa CLI.

Web Dashboard & API

Control VMs, images, runbooks, and schedules from a browser.
Open a live console and run guest actions remotely.
Token authentication, optional HTTPS, and a JSON API for scripts.

macOS 27 Integration

Provision a fresh macOS 27 guest account on its first normal boot.
ASIF by default for new VMs, with snapshots and linked-disposable support.
Attach matching USB accessories and identify VMs by host process labels.

Screenshots

A closer look at the workspace.

Restore images, virtual machines, and repeatable guest workflows.

Box of Apples Image Library overview screenshot — Track restore images before creating a VM.

Box of Apples Virtual Machines overview screenshot — Create persistent machines and disposable lab runs.

Box of Apples Runbooks overview screenshot — Browse reusable runbooks and live guest-agent targets.

Box of Apples Runbook builder screenshot — Build ordered steps and execution targeting.

Workflow

From restore image to repeatable lab run.

The app stays focused on the sequence that matters: prepare an image, create a VM, install guest tools, seal useful baselines, and automate and inspect each lab run.

Prepare IPSWs

Download the latest supported restore image or import one you already trust.

Create VMs

Build persistent machines with the disk, network, audio, and sharing defaults you want.

Clone Disposable Labs

Seal a baseline and spawn short-lived machines for tests, samples, or investigations.

Automate & Inspect

Schedule runbooks, capture guest security events, and collect artifacts before a disposable run ends.

boa CLI

$ boa vm list

$ boa vm update --id <vm-uuid> \
    --mount-guest-agent-installer true \
    --mount-es-monitor-installer true

$ boa vm snapshot list --id <vm-uuid>
$ boa scheduler list --json

Command Line Included

One VM library, from window to shell.

The bundled boa CLI manages images, VM lifecycles, snapshots, templates, portable archives, settings, and schedules, with JSON output for automation. The Web API adds remote guest actions, snapshot management, and runbook execution.

Explore the CLI reference

Download

Install Box of Apples

The package includes the macOS app, the boa command-line tool, the helper services, and bundled guest tools. It is codesigned and notarized for macOS.

Stay current with built-in update checks and optional automatic downloads. Updates install after active work has finished; see the software update guide.

Requires an Apple Silicon Mac running macOS 26 or later. First Boot Setup, USB passthrough, ASIF snapshots, and linked disposables require a macOS 27 host, with feature-specific requirements. First Boot Setup also requires a macOS 27 guest. Screen-image analysis needs macOS 27+ and an available on-device model; see Screen Intelligence requirements. See the installation guide to get started.

Stable Box of Apples package Latest stable release on GitHub