Multipass
vmvm-toolopen sourceCanonical's tool for spinning up Ubuntu VMs with a single command, on KVM (Linux) or HVF (macOS).
Multipass is Canonical's tool for launching Ubuntu VMs quickly, multipass launch, using KVM on Linux and .framework on macOS. Each instance is a full VM with its own kernel and a hardware boundary. It is aimed at fast, disposable Ubuntu dev environments rather than arbitrary OCI images.
Strengths
- One-command Ubuntu VMs on Linux and macOS
- Hardware boundary, own kernel per instance
- Free and open source
Limitations
- Ubuntu-centric rather than arbitrary OCI images
- Full-VM overhead relative to a microVM
- Networking/mount ergonomics are basic compared to container tooling
Files & editor
desktop-remoteMount host folders, attach over Remote-SSH, or edit inside with a terminal editor like vim/nvim; files live in the VM.
How you get your project into the environment and edit it. Shared-kernel routes bind-mount host files for your desktop editor; own-kernel routes keep files in the guest, so a desktop editor attaches over remote, or you edit inside. Mounts and remote editing.