Linux virtual machines, with a focus on running containers
Star History
Momentum
+550
STARS · LAST 30 DAYS
18
PER DAY
#62
MOST-STARRED Go
| Window | 7 days | 30 days | 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stars gained | +126 | +550 | +1.6K |
| Per day | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| Forks gained | +5 | +19 | +48 |
lima gained 550 stars in the last 30 days, about 18 a day, and now has 22K. It is about 5 years old and has averaged roughly 4.4K stars a year. It ranks #62 among Go repositories and #402 across all languages on GitHubRepo.
Trending Record
3
DAYS ON TRENDING
#584
BEST RANK
Sep 26, 2026
FIRST APPEARANCE
Active
STATUS TODAY
lima has maintained a continuous presence across global trending indexes, peaking at #584. Below is the 30-day activity profile:
💡 Overview
lima is an open-source project written in Go: Linux virtual machines, with a focus on running containers.
Engineered for speed, consistency, and developer ease, it solves common hurdles in containerd, lima-vm, macos. It provides clear interfaces, comprehensive configuration options, and seamless integration with existing tools across the modern development stack.
⚡ Key Features
Optimized execution pipeline written in Go for predictable speed.
Zero-friction configuration with comprehensive sensible defaults out of the box.
Cross-platform runtime support across Linux, macOS, and Windows environments.
Strong typing and modular architecture designed for easy extension and maintainability.
Standardized CLI and API interfaces for smooth integration into CI/CD workflows.
Active community maintenance with regular dependency updates and security patches.
📥 Installation
$ go install github.com/lima-vm/lima@latest⚙ System Requirements
Platforms
- • macOS
- • Linux
- • Windows
Runtime & Dependencies
Go >= 1.21 runtime environment
Architecture
x86_64, ARM64 (Apple Silicon & Graviton)
🧠 How It Works
lima coordinates its core functionality through a modular Go pipeline. It parses configuration parameters, validates inputs, and resolves dependencies asynchronously. By minimizing runtime overhead and keeping allocations localized, it delivers predictable performance in both local development environments and automated production workloads.
🎯 Production Use Cases
Autonomous AI Agents
Orchestrate intelligent workflows and tool-calling routines with lima.
Model Inference & Prompting
Integrate fast, local or cloud-hosted generative AI models directly into production code.
Context Memory & RAG
Augment language models with dynamic vector retrieval and structured project memory.
Developer Productivity
Automate repetitive engineering tasks, code generation, and test creation using AI agents.
🚀 Getting Started
Install lima using your package manager: `go install github.com/lima-vm/lima@latest`
Initialize your project workspace or configuration file for lima.
Import lima into your codebase or invoke it directly from your terminal.
Execute your test suite or run `lima --help` to verify successful setup.
👍 Strengths
⚠️ Considerations
⇄ Alternatives & Direct Competitors
👥 Who Should Use This
Developers and engineering teams building with Go, seeking reliable, tested, and actively maintained tooling for production workloads.
🏆 Nearby in the Rankings
lima-vm/lima is currently ranked #402 by stars across every repository tracked on GitHubRepo. These are adjacent projects:
| Rank | Repository | Language | Stars | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #397 | redis/go-redis | Go | ★ 22.3K | Compare ↗ |
| #398 | Homebrew/homebrew-cask | Ruby | ★ 22.2K | Compare ↗ |
| #399 | openobserve/openobserve | TypeScript | ★ 22.1K | Compare ↗ |
| #400 | palantir/blueprint | TypeScript | ★ 22.1K | Compare ↗ |
| #401 | QwikDev/qwik | TypeScript | ★ 22.1K | Compare ↗ |
| #402 | lima-vm/lima This Project | Go | ★ 22K | |
| #403 | steipete/CodexBar | Swift | ★ 22K | Compare ↗ |
| #404 | microsoft/onnxruntime | C++ | ★ 21.9K | Compare ↗ |
| #405 | desktop/desktop | TypeScript | ★ 21.9K | Compare ↗ |
| #406 | matomo-org/matomo | PHP | ★ 21.9K | Compare ↗ |
| #407 | android/nowinandroid | Kotlin | ★ 21.9K | Compare ↗ |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does lima do? +
Linux virtual machines, with a focus on running containers
What language is lima written in? +
The primary language is Go. Topics include: containerd, lima-vm, macos, qemu, vm.
Is lima actively maintained? +
Yes, the last recorded push was on Sep 28, 2026 with 544 open issues being tracked.
How many stars does lima have? +
lima has 21,984 stars and 961 forks on GitHub.
How does lima rank among GitHub repositories? +
With 21,984 stars, lima-vm/lima is ranked #402 globally across all repositories tracked on GitHubRepo and #62 among Go projects.
What license is lima distributed under? +
The repository reports a Apache-2.0 license. Always verify the repository LICENSE file for legal terms.
