smolvm
smolvm is a tool that runs AI agents inside isolated virtual machines on your own computer or servers for developers and technical users.
What it is good for
- Running AI agent code without risking the host computer
- Keeping an agent from reaching files, ports, or hosts it should not
- Saving a running machine mid-task and branching copies from it
- Packing a dev environment into one portable file to share
At a glance
- Who it is for
- Setup
- Guided command-line setup
Level 4 of 5. You copy and paste commands into a terminal by following the instructions. Comfortable territory for vibe coders.
- Cost
- Free and open source
- Type
- Agent app
- Tasks
- Works with
- Docker Hub, ghcr.io, OCI registries, Smolfile, Node, Python
Momentum
- Rank this week
- Not ranked yet
- Best rank
- None yet
- GitHub stars
- 6,900
GitHub numbers as of Nov 2, 2026. Updated weekly.
Official links
Setup steps are on the official pages. We do not repeat them here, since they change.
Questions
- Is smolvm free?
- Yes. It is free and open source (Apache-2.0 license).
- Do I need to know how to code to use smolvm?
- You do not need to write code, but setup means copying and pasting commands into a terminal by following its instructions.
- What does smolvm work with?
- According to its own documentation, it works with Docker Hub, ghcr.io, OCI registries, Smolfile, Node, and Python.
- What is smolvm good for?
- Running AI agent code without risking the host computer, keeping an agent from reaching files, ports, or hosts it should not, saving a running machine mid-task and branching copies from it, and packing a dev environment into one portable file to share.
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