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Rift v0.2.0 — Apple Silicon source preview

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@OthmaneBlial OthmaneBlial released this 29 Sep 08:59
· 3 commits to main since this release
v0.2.0
f15b096

Rift v0.2.0 — Apple Silicon source preview

This release brings Rift's newer container, image-build, and resource controls to its Homebrew source-build install. Rift runs linux/arm64 OCI images in disposable Linux VMs on Apple Silicon Macs without Docker or a permanent daemon.

Install

brew install OthmaneBlial/rift/rift

If Rift is already installed, run brew upgrade OthmaneBlial/rift/rift. Homebrew uses Zig during the build; the installed Rift binary does not require Zig or Docker.

Changes since v0.1.2

  • Build local OCI images from a supported Dockerfile subset: multiple FROM stages, COPY, RUN, ENV, USER, WORKDIR, ENTRYPOINT, CMD, and STOPSIGNAL.
  • Stream detached exec output and opt-in stdin, attach a resizable TTY with exec -it, emit binary-safe JSON Lines logs, and honor an image's stop signal.
  • Configure VM CPU and memory, disable VM networking, and set optional cgroup CPU, memory, and process limits. Choose reduced or empty capabilities and adjust individual capabilities explicitly.
  • Restore global PAX metadata, supported extended attributes, FIFOs, and character or block device nodes outside the guest-managed /dev. Reject replaced volume sources and bound ownership-index work.
  • Reduce local boot-file storage through APFS sharing and shorten graceful VM shutdown. On one M2 Mac, three cached Alpine launches had a 1.13-second median. The idle Rift worker and VM service had a 154.7 MiB median process footprint. Methods and limits are in benchmarks.

Verification and limits

The local Apple Silicon suite covers Zig formatting and tests, a ReleaseSafe build, real Alpine and Nginx VMs, OCI pulls, build stages, networking, volumes, lifecycle, resource controls, and a private-registry fixture. The full workflow is verified on Apple M2 with macOS 26.6; macOS 12 and other Macs are not verified.

This remains a source preview. Rift supports one forwarded TCP port and up to 16 explicit volumes per run. Dockerfile support is partial. No Developer ID-signed or notarized binary is attached, and the VM boundary has not had an independent security assessment.

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