Vortex

Open-source macOS VM hypervisor with per-VM audio device routing. Route each VM's audio to a different host device -- something no existing macOS virtualizer supports.

Architecture

macOS Guest VM                           macOS Host
+------------------------+              +------------------------+
|  App -> CoreAudio      |              |  VsockAudioBridge      |
|  -> HAL plugin         |    TCP       |  -> AudioRouter        |
|  -> shared memory      | ----------> |  -> AudioOutputUnit    |
|  -> VortexAudioDaemon  |              |  -> BlackHole / USB /  |
+------------------------+              |     any CoreAudio dev  |
                                        +------------------------+

Guest audio bypasses Virtualization.framework entirely. A HAL AudioServerPlugin captures PCM in a lock-free ring buffer, a daemon sends it over TCP to the host, and the host routes it to a specific CoreAudio device per VM.

Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/lovon-spec/Vortex.git && cd Vortex
make                                          # Build + sign + guest tools
./sign-and-run.sh --gui                       # Launch GUI

Create a VM from the GUI or CLI:

./sign-and-run.sh create-vm --name "Dev VM" --cpu 4 --memory 8192 --disk 64
./sign-and-run.sh install-macos --vm <uuid> --ipsw /path/to/macOS.ipsw

Install GuestTools/build/VortexGuestTools.pkg inside the VM, select "Vortex Audio" as the sound device, and choose your target host device in Audio Settings.

Requirements

• macOS 14+ (Sonoma), Apple Silicon (M1+), physical hardware (no nested virt)
• BlackHole or similar virtual audio device for routing

Features

• Per-VM audio output/input to any host CoreAudio device
• Host defaults never touched
• Native SwiftUI GUI with dark theme, VM library, display windows
• Audio device selection with persistence and live hot-swap
• Device hot-plug detection and recovery
• Guest tools: HAL AudioServerPlugin + LaunchDaemon (.pkg)
• CLI for headless operation
• Latency instrumentation
• Sample rate negotiation and format conversion

Project Structure

Module	Purpose
VortexCore	Models, protocols, errors, logging
VortexAudio	Per-VM CoreAudio routing, AudioQueue capture, ring buffers
VortexVZ	Virtualization.framework VM manager, TCP audio bridge
VortexGUI	SwiftUI app: library, display, audio settings
VortexCLI	Headless CLI
VortexHV	Hypervisor.framework VMM (Linux/Windows guests)
VortexDevices	Virtio device emulation
GuestTools/	HAL AudioServerPlugin (C) + audio daemon (Swift)

Building

make                # Debug build + sign + guest tools
make release        # Optimized build
make dmg            # Distribution DMG
make clean          # Clean all

Known Limitations

• 2-VM limit: Apple Silicon kernel restriction on concurrent macOS guests
• Guest tools: manual install required (.pkg copied into guest)
• TCC: mic access requires launching from .app bundle, not bare binary
• Latency: ~5-15ms one-way via TCP bridge (adequate for DAW capture, not real-time monitoring)

Docs

• macOS Guest Audio Analysis -- virtio-snd driver discovery
• macOS Boot Analysis -- boot chain feasibility
• vmapple Device Model -- Apple's private VM platform

License

MIT