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Running Keploy on macOS in a Linux VM (Lima)

Downloading and running Keploy in a Debian VM on macOS

Looking for true native macOS?

This page runs Keploy inside a Debian VM, which is the route for an Intel Mac. On Apple Silicon you can skip the VM: Keploy records an app running directly on your Mac, with no Lima and no Docker — see Installing Keploy on macOS.

1. Open the terminal Session.

2. Run the following command. This installs homebrew and makes it easier to manage software and packages on macOS

   /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

3. Now, with the help of homebrew, we would install Lima (Linux Virtual Machine) by running this command.

   brew install lima

4. Create a Debian instance.

   limactl create --mount-writable template://debian-12

   Lima mounts your Mac's home folder read-only by default; --mount-writable lets Keploy write its test files into your project. If you already have an instance, stop it if it's running (limactl stop <name>), make it writable with limactl edit <name> --mount-writable --start, and continue at step 6, using its name in place of debian-12.

5. Start the instance

   limactl start debian-12

6. Enter the shell of the running linux instance

   limactl shell debian-12

7. Now you are in the linux shell of the debian instance. Install Keploy from the VM's own home directory. The installer picks the Linux build for the VM's architecture, which matches your Mac's.

   cd ~ && curl --silent -O -L https://keploy.io/install.sh && source install.sh

8. Go to your project on the Mac side to record it. Replace {Username} with your actual macOS username. (You might need to allow access to Terminal.app in a popup)

   cd /Users/{Username}

Congratulations! You've successfully set up Keploy on macOS in a Lima VM.

What's Next?

🎬 Start Capturing Testcases

Begin recording your API calls and generating test cases with Keploy.

Back to Installation Guide

Related

• Running Keploy on Windows in WSL — the WSL setup.
• Keploy Troubleshooting Guide — fix common install issues.
• Keploy CLI Commands — commands to run after install.