| name | lima-vm-operations |
| description | >- Use when this capability is needed. |
Lima VM Operations (Apple Silicon)
Guidance for installing, configuring, and running Lima — Linux VMs on macOS — on Apple Silicon Macs.
Scope: Lima 2.x on Apple Silicon (arm64) Macs running macOS 13 or later. Lima also runs on Intel Macs and Linux, but the defaults, performance, and feature set differ enough that those cases are out of scope here. Colima (a Docker-focused wrapper around Lima) is also out of scope.
Why a skill: Lima exposes a lot of knobs. The vz vs qemu choice, the four networking modes, and the mount-type selection each have consequences that aren't obvious from the help output. Choosing wrong gets you a VM that boots but can't reach the LAN, mounts your code read-only when you needed write, or runs at a fraction of the speed because it picked the wrong hypervisor. Defaults are right most of the time on Apple Silicon — this skill says when to deviate and why.
Pre-Flight: Verify the Host
Before doing anything else, confirm the Mac is suitable and check what's already installed:
uname -m
sw_vers
limactl --version 2>/dev/null || echo "lima not installed"
brew list --versions socket_vmnet 2>/dev/null || echo "socket_vmnet not installed"
If uname -m is x86_64, this skill's vmType: vz recommendations don't apply (vz is Apple-Silicon-only) — fall back to vmType: qemu.