Installation

Local VMs require an Apple silicon Mac and Tart. Reserve roughly 25 GB for the base image plus working disk space. The Flox environment includes Tart on Apple silicon; activate it before using Slipway. If you prefer a standalone installation, install Tart with:

Terminal

1brew install cirruslabs/cli/tart

Install Slipway from source without needing Bun at runtime:

Terminal

1
2
3
4
5git clone https://github.com/smeltery/slipway.git
cd slipway
mkdir -p "$HOME/.local/bin"
install -m 755 slipway "$HOME/.local/bin/slipway.new"
mv "$HOME/.local/bin/slipway.new" "$HOME/.local/bin/slipway"

Put ~/.local/bin in your PATH. The rename safely replaces an installed script that another shell might be reading. Release assets provide the same executable and a tarball with docs, licenses and the agent skill.

Terminal

1
2
3
4
5slipway setup
slipway note 'First test run'
slipway open build/MyApp.app
slipway ui MyApp
slipway shot MyApp

Setup downloads a macOS image, adds an SSH key, installs guest cliclick and configures permissions. It changes the guest and installs a launch agent on the host. Review configuration before setup. App builds must support the guest's architecture and macOS version.

Install Porthole to watch activity. For agents, copy skills/slipway into the agent's skill directory and instruct it to use Slipway whenever it tests Mac apps. Bun is only needed for development.

Continue readingCommand reference →

Open in chat

Opens with this page’s documentation in the prompt.