# Show HN: Stateful Linux microVMs for coding agents > Source: > Published: 2026-10-04 17:17:14+00:00 Stateful Linux microVMs for coding agents, on the hardware you control. [Website](https://ahvm.app) · [Documentation](https://ahvm.app/docs/) · [Releases](https://github.com/mariobm/agent-house/releases) AHVM gives your coding agents persistent Linux machines with interactive shells, files, networking and snapshots. Install the client on your Mac or Linux machine; your sandboxes run on a Linux server you control. No domain or public API port is needed. The default [Ubuntu image](https://github.com/mariobm/agent-house/blob/main/docs/DEVELOPMENT-IMAGE.md) includes Node.js LTS, Bun, Python, Git, build tools, Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and Pi. Bring your own provider credentials. New image builds open interactive shells as `ahvm`; use `sudo` for administration. Existing images retain their previous user until recreated from an updated image. ``` curl -fsSL https://ahvm.app/install.sh | bash export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" ``` Or use Homebrew: ``` brew install mariobm/ahvm/ahvm ``` Clients are available for Apple Silicon Macs and Linux x86_64. The curl installer needs curl, gzip and Python 3. You can [inspect the script](https://ahvm.app/install.sh) before running it. ``` ahvm host add home --ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP --install ``` Existing SSH aliases work too: replace `root@YOUR_SERVER_IP` with your alias. The server needs Linux x86_64, KVM, systemd, glibc 2.35+, Python 3, OpenSSL 3 and GNU tar. Use root or an account with passwordless sudo. Installation downloads the runtime and Ubuntu image. Leave off `--install` to connect an already installed server. The first host becomes your default if none is selected; `--context home` selects a host for one command. SSH handles encryption and host-key checks; the admin token is not saved on your laptop. ``` ahvm contexts ahvm use home ahvm create dev --cpus 2 --memory 4096 # Bash opens inside the VM: bun --version exit ``` Omit the name to let AHVM generate one: `ahvm create`. Interactive creation opens Bash automatically. Use `--no-shell` to create without attaching; `--json` and redirected stdin or stdout also return without opening a shell. Type `exit` to end Bash and return to your local terminal. Your VM and files remain. Press `Ctrl-]` instead to detach while keeping the shell session alive. Run `ahvm shell dev` to open a new shell, or `ahvm start dev` first if the VM has stopped automatically while idle. Ordinary VMs first pause after 30 seconds without activity and resume automatically on guest work; connected shells stay awake. See [idle pause](https://github.com/mariobm/agent-house/blob/main/docs/IDLE-PAUSE.md) for configuration and stop behavior. ``` printf 'Hello from AHVM\n' > hello.txt ahvm files put dev ./hello.txt /workspace/hello.txt ahvm files get dev /workspace/hello.txt ./download.txt ahvm snapshot create dev before-change ahvm stop dev ahvm start dev ``` Uploads replace the guest file only when complete. With default local storage, stop saves a disk and memory checkpoint for non-desktop VMs; desktop VMs restart from disk. Idle-stop defaults to one hour, and wake is explicit. Crash recovery uses the latest checkpoint. Keep off-host backups for important data. When you are finished, delete the VM and its working disk: ``` ahvm delete dev ``` Invited accounts can connect the CLI with `ahvm login`, check their workspace with `ahvm whoami`, and revoke access with `ahvm logout`. Compute-enabled pilot workspaces use `ahvm create dev` and `ahvm shell dev` after `ahvm use cloud`. Login selects Cloud only when no default exists. Use `ahvm context` to inspect your connection, `ahvm contexts` to list choices, and `ahvm use home` to switch back. `ahvm --context cloud delete dev` targets Cloud for just one command. Names belong to the selected connection; AHVM never searches other hosts. See [cloud setup and limits](https://github.com/mariobm/agent-house/blob/main/docs/CLOUD-LOGIN.md). ``` ahvm image available ahvm image list ahvm image pull ubuntu-dev ahvm image default ubuntu-dev ahvm create another-dev --image ubuntu-dev ``` Ubuntu is the automatic default. These are VM disks, not Docker images. Downloads are verified against a signed catalog and cached on your server. Updating an image affects future sandboxes; existing filesystems and snapshots stay unchanged. See [building your own images](https://github.com/mariobm/agent-house/blob/main/docs/IMAGE-PUBLISHING.md). The desktop preview adds XFCE, Bash and Firefox to the Ubuntu development image. It runs on the same Linux server without a GPU. With a desktop-capable release: ``` ahvm create dev-desktop --desktop --no-shell ahvm desktop dev-desktop ``` The first create downloads `ubuntu-desktop` to your saved SSH host. The Mac client includes the native viewer. Closing its window leaves the VM running; `ahvm stop dev-desktop` preserves files but discards the desktop session. Remove it with `ahvm delete dev-desktop`. Desktop snapshots are not supported. See the [desktop image guide](https://github.com/mariobm/agent-house/blob/main/images/ubuntu-desktop/README.md). ``` ahvm upgrade # Client installed with curl brew upgrade ahvm # Client installed with Homebrew ahvm host upgrade home # Server ``` Use the client upgrade command matching your installation. Server upgrades preserve configuration and the selected image, check API health, and roll back the runtime and database if the new version fails to start. AHVM is an early-release product for evaluation; it is not yet qualified for hostile multi-tenant workloads. The runtime is Rust, using the pinned `libkrucible` fork of libkrun. Private submodule access is required to build the VMM; see the [build guide](https://github.com/mariobm/agent-house/blob/main/docs/RUST-INSTALL.md). ``` make build make test make check ``` Agent House originated as a fork of [Bhatti](https://github.com/sahil-shubham/bhatti). AHVM is open-source under the standard [MIT License](https://github.com/mariobm/agent-house/blob/main/LICENSE), with no revenue cap or paid commercial software license requirement. Commercial use is permitted. Upstream and third-party licenses remain valid. See [NOTICE](https://github.com/mariobm/agent-house/blob/main/NOTICE), the retained [Apache-2.0 text](https://github.com/mariobm/agent-house/blob/main/licenses/Apache-2.0.txt) and the [licensing explanation](https://github.com/mariobm/agent-house/blob/main/docs/LICENSING.md) for attribution and scope. On a supported Linux GPU host: ``` ahvm create omarchy --image omarchy-desktop --no-shell ahvm desktop omarchy ``` The first create downloads the image on a saved SSH host. Defaults to 4 CPUs and 8 GiB RAM. See [setup, requirements and limitations](https://github.com/mariobm/agent-house/blob/main/docs/OMARCHY-DESKTOP.md).