Install lume with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• lume

Project history

Lume lives inside the `trycua/cua` repository, which was created publicly in January 2025 as open-source infrastructure for computer-use agents, sandboxes, SDKs, and benchmarks. The Lume README describes it as a CLI and framework for macOS and Linux VMs using Apple's Virtualization Framework.

The official Lume introduction frames the project around agent workloads, CI/CD, and macOS automation. It exposes a single binary with an HTTP API, can create and run VMs headlessly, and is designed to be used directly from the CLI or programmatically through `lume serve`.

Adoption history

Lume's adoption is tied to the rapid growth of computer-use agents and the practical need for reproducible macOS sandboxes on Apple Silicon. The Cua repository accumulated substantial GitHub attention during 2025-2026, and the README positions Lume alongside Cua drivers, sandbox SDKs, and benchmarks as one of the monorepo's core packages.

Homebrew packages the `lume` binary, while upstream docs also advertise install scripts and VM image pull/run workflows. The project is newer than traditional VM managers, so its package history is still forming around AI-agent, local CI, and macOS automation use cases.

How it is used

The official docs show `lume create test-vm --os macos --ipsw latest` followed by `lume run test-vm`, and the repository README shows pulling and starting a macOS VM image with `lume run macos-sequoia-vanilla:latest`.

Lume is intended for testing across macOS versions, automating macOS tasks, running local CI/CD, sandboxing risky operations, and building AI agents that interact with virtualized desktops through the broader Cua stack.

Why package nerds care

Lume is significant to package nerds because it packages a native macOS virtualization workflow into a CLI, not a heavyweight desktop app. Its constraints are also unusually concrete: Apple Silicon only, Apple's Virtualization Framework, IPSW-based macOS setup, sparse VM storage, headless operation, registries such as GHCR or GCS, and integration with agent tooling.

Timeline

• 2025: Cua repository created publicly.
• 2025-2026: Lume documented as the monorepo's macOS/Linux VM management package.
• 2026: Cua repository shows hundreds of releases across monorepo components and active Lume documentation.
• 2026: Homebrew formula available for the `lume` CLI.

Related projects

• Cua Computer SDK uses Lume's API for macOS automation workflows.
• Apple Virtualization Framework is the native virtualization layer Lume builds on.
• The Cua monorepo also includes Cua drivers, Cua sandbox packages, and Cua Bench.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/trycua/cua
• https://api.github.com/repos/trycua/cua/releases
• https://cua.ai/docs/lume/guide/getting-started/introduction
• https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/lume
• https://github.com/trycua/cua
• https://github.com/trycua/cua/tree/main/libs/lume