2026-08-31 (Monday)

[AkihiroSuda]

How to join

• Date: 2026-08-31 (Monday) 05:30 UTC (Sunday 22:30 PDT, 07:30 CEST, 11:00 IST, 14:30 JST) - 06:30
• Link: https://zoom-lfx.platform.linuxfoundation.org/meetings/lima
  • Zoom, Video recording, and AI-generated meeting note

The meetings are open to anyone, not just for maintainers and contributors.

Attendees

@AkihiroSuda @unsuman @mie313 @afbjorklund @olamilekan000

Agenda

Note taker: TODO

LFX Mentorship

• [LFX Mentorship] Improve Windows support (guest and host) #4907

https://github.com/cncf/mentoring/tree/main/programs/lfx-mentorship/2026/02-Jun-Aug

• Schedule:
  • Jun 8 - Aug 31: Program term (Evaluations: Jul 21, Aug 25)

Windows guest

• Merged in v2.2 https://lima-vm.io/docs/usage/guests/windows/
• Use cases: testing Windows apps, running AI coding agents, ...

Windows host

• Implement HCS driver #5449
  • Should be merged today
  • Dependency on qemu-img.exe can be eliminated later
  • Some smoke test should be executed on the CI. Can be a separate PR.

v2.3

• Beta.0 after merging the HCS driver
• GA around late September? Early October? November (right be fore KubeCon North America) in the worst case

PR reviews

https://github.com/lima-vm/lima/pulls

Needs security review

• Secure macOS VZ block-device attachment #5117
  • Once merged but reverted due to the security issue. The current PR should have addressed the issue.
  • @AkihiroSuda has approved, but needs one more approval from @lima-vm/committers . @unsuman will take a look.
• [DNM]: Support for lima:shared, lima:bridged, lima:host on Linux hosts #5433
  • @unsuman will split the PR into smaller ones for ease of reviewing
  • Do we really need the full sudo? CAP_NET_ADMIN might be potentially sufficient?
    The initial version can just rely on sudo for ease of implementation though. -- @AkihiroSuda

Needs design consensus

• feat(cli): add limactl-menu TUI plugin for instance management #5330
  • I expect limactl to automatically open the menu UI by default when the menu plugin matures, so I expect it to stay in the main repo (as a CLI plugin). -- @AkihiroSuda

Others

• shell: Add sync-exclude flag and .limasyncignore file #4917

  • @unsuman will carry. Should be able to push to the PR branch. Could be also a separate PR.

• wsl2: detach cleanup from canceled ctx and surface terminate errors #4926

  • This is a follow-up to WSL2, want a review from @jandubois
  • Unclear if the author has tested the PR wsl2: detach cleanup from canceled ctx and surface terminate errors #4926 (comment)

• hostagent: unify requirement progress logging with (N/total) counter #4902

  • The output looks good, but needs rebasing
  • @unsuman can take a look and add commits
  • @afbjorklund had a similar PR several years ago

• docs: move website content back to top-level docs/, replace with symlink #4899 (git repo: make docs more easily findable #4686)

  • Docs are part of the source code or the web site? -- @afbjorklund
  • Hard to draw the line, but basically the latter -- @AkihiroSuda
  • Then no need to move back the docs dir to the top-level dir -- @afbjorklund
  • Maybe we can just have a symlink in the opposite way ln -s website/content/en/docs docs.web -- @AkihiroSuda
  • Or just modify docs/README.md to say "You can find the documentation source in ../website/content/en/docs" -- @AkihiroSuda

• templates: k8s: pin Kubernetes version to 1.37 #5463

  • If the Kubernetes v1.38 is OK, then we could consider going back to "stable" (and maybe use "latest" for the flannel plugin) -- @afbjorklund

• feat: unify container-based drivers for WSL2, AC, and DC #5279

  • @afbjorklund has no objection, but the PR is too large to review. Needs to be split. Also not compatible with most templates.

• validate paths.varRun against an allowlist before findBaseDirectory trims it #5376

  • @unsuman want to merge
  • @AkihiroSuda will take a look

Tasks

• @AkihiroSuda: release v2.3.0-beta.0 after merging Implement HCS driver #5449
• @unsuman: split [DNM]: Support for lima:shared, lima:bridged, lima:host on Linux hosts #5433 to smaller PRs and make them ready for review
• @unsuman: review PRs including Secure macOS VZ block-device attachment #5117
• @unsuman: carry shell: Add sync-exclude flag and .limasyncignore file #4917 hostagent: unify requirement progress logging with (N/total) counter #4902
• @jandubois: review wsl2: detach cleanup from canceled ctx and surface terminate errors #4926 when he is available
• @AkihiroSuda: update docs/README.md and close docs: move website content back to top-level docs/, replace with symlink #4899 git repo: make docs more easily findable #4686
• @AkihiroSuda: review PRs including validate paths.varRun against an allowlist before findBaseDirectory trims it #5376

Next meeting

2026-09-17 (Thursday)

[unsuman]

List of PRs that are stale, mostly by a single author:

• wsl2: detach cleanup from canceled ctx and surface terminate errors #4926
• external/server: close driver.stderr.log on Stop so Windows can delete it #4959
• wsl2: unblock keepAlive / provisionVM errCh sends after instance stop #4958
• shell: Add sync-exclude flag and .limasyncignore file #4917
  • Really a good add-on to limactl shell sync and can be released with v2.3, but needs some changes. Can I modify the existing commits and retain their authorship?
• fix: remove additional tags from image URL names #4928
• wsl2: detach cleanup from canceled ctx and surface terminate errors #4926
• vz: stop spinning in for { <-ctx.Done() } and unblock sendErrCh after stop #4922
• hostagent: unify requirement progress logging with (N/total) counter #4902
• docs: move website content back to top-level docs/, replace with symlink #4899

[afbjorklund]

I think we can upgrade to Kubernetes v1.37 now, after the release team once again failed the Kubernetes v1.37 release...

• The package installation is failing, due to kubernetes-cni package not available kubernetes/kubernetes#141601

PR: #5463

If the Kubernetes v1.38 is OK, then we could consider going back to "stable" (and maybe use "latest" for the flannel plugin)

[AkihiroSuda]

AI-generated meeting note

Quick Recap

The meeting focused on reviewing the LFX mentorship report, the Lima project's progress towards the 2.3 milestone, and peer reviews of pull requests. Mie Tokunaga presented her work during the mentorship, which included expanding Lima's support for Windows guests, implementing TPM emulation, and developing an HCS driver for Windows hosts, with a demo of a VM running on Windows using the HCS driver. The team discussed merging the HCS driver PR and planned the 2.3 release. They reviewed several PRs, including security fixes, improvements to LimaCTL's output, and the structure of documentation. Anders updated the group on issues with pinning Kubernetes versions due to release problems. The conversation ended with thanks to Mie for her contributions and a plan to reconvene in September.

Next Steps

• Mie: Wrap up the HCS driver PR and prepare for merging.
• Akihiro: Merge the HCS driver PR today.
• Ansuman: Test the HCS driver PR on a Windows machine after merging.
• Akihiro: Run smoke tests for the HCS driver feature in CI.
• Ansuman: Complete review of the "Broke Block device attachment" PR and provide feedback.
• Ansuman: Bifurcate the "demo shirt" (?) PR into smaller, granular PRs for easier review and complete testing.
• Akihiro: Revisit the issue of whether sudo is needed for Linux in the "demo shirt" (?) PR.
• Ansuman: Create a PR for the prioritized PR 4917 and push commits to the main branch, retaining authorship.
• Ansuman: Review and decide on the PR related to WSL2 details cleanup (possibly reject).
• Ansuman: Revisit and potentially merge the PR that improves LimaCTL start output.
• Anders: Consider creating a symlink or modifying docs README docs/README.md to make website content easier to find locally.
• Anders: Keep Kubernetes version pinned for Lima 2.3.0 and consider defaulting to stable if 1.38 release is successful.
• Akihiro: Review PR 5376 related to pseudo's sudo (?) policy check and possibly merge.

Summary

Windows Support Expansion Review:
Akihiro and Ansuman reviewed Mie's mentorship work on expanding Lima's Windows support, which included enabling Windows Server and Windows 11 guest VMs, implementing TPM emulation, reducing dependencies on QEMU, and supporting Windows host setup. Mie demonstrated her implementation of an HCS driver for Windows host, which aims to further reduce dependencies on third-party tools like QEMU. The team agreed to merge the current PR and address additional improvements in separate pull requests.

Windows Support and Version Planning:
The team discussed Windows support for Lima, with Akihiro explaining it would be used for development and testing, particularly for cross-platform testing and running AI agents inside the BM VM environment. Anders suggested CI purposes as another use case. The group then moved to planning the version 2.3 milestone, with Akihiro proposing to release feature 0 v2.3.0 (?) after merging the HCS driver PR, targeting GA around September or early October. The conversation ended with plans to review and merge the HCS PR, which Akihiro had already approved.

PR Review and Merging Discussion:
Ansuman and Akihiro discussed merging a PR, with Ansuman noting he would test it later on a Windows machine. Akihiro mentioned the need for smoke tests and highlighted that with over 100 PRs, they would focus on reviewing specific ones, including a security-related device attachment PR that required careful review due to a previous security issue. Ansuman indicated he was working on a review for one of the PRs.

PR Management and Security Concerns:
Ansuman discussed plans to bifurcate a PR into smaller, more manageable pieces for easier review and complete remaining testing. Akihiro raised security concerns about the dimmer net lima-net helper program, questioning whether sudo permissions are necessary for Linux and suggesting they could revisit this later. The team debated whether to keep the Dimash city limactl menu implementation in the main repo or a third-party repository, with Akihiro advocating for keeping it in the main repo since LimaCTL should automatically open the menu UI by default. Ansuman expressed concerns about several PRs listed, noting they were mostly by a single author with stale GitHub activity.

Author Entry Merging Discussion:
Akihiro and Ansuman discussed merging different author entries in a project, with Akihiro suggesting they prioritize certain entries and modify commit messages to retain authorship. Ansuman agreed to create a PR and push the commit, as maintenance access was allowed for the project. They also discussed whether to merge or reject certain pull requests, with Ansuman suggesting that a WSL21 WSL2 (?) cleanup could be rejected as it was a nice-to-have change. Akihiro noted that testing for one of the PRs was unclear, and they agreed it was a nice-to-have improvement for the LimaCTL start output.

PR and Documentation Structure Discussion:
The team discussed two main topics: a PR approach and documentation structure. Ansuman agreed to review and add work to a PR that needs a reverse, while Anders mentioned having a similar older PR with progress counter changes. Regarding documentation, Akihiro and Anders debated whether documentation should be part of source code or website, ultimately deciding to create a symlink in the docs directory to make website content easier to find locally rather than changing the directory structure. They agreed to modify docs README.md docs/README.md to direct developers to find documentation sources in the websites/content/docs directory.

Kubernetes Release Issues Discussion:
Anders reported ongoing issues with Kubernetes releases 1.34-1.37, where packages were missing on release days, and decided to keep the version pinned while making it parameterizable for easier testing. The team discussed several PRs including WSL2 unification (which needs more work and better naming) and Akihiro's PR to rewrite test support from Perl to Python BATS. Ansuman requested Akihiro to review PR 5376 related to var checks, and the team confirmed their next meeting will be on September 7th 17th.