Tartelet

Tartelet is a macOS application that automates the lifecycle of self‑hosted GitHub Actions runners inside virtual machines. It relies on Tart, which uses Apple’s Virtualization framework, to clone, boot, and delete VMs. For each job, the VM runs a setup script that installs the latest GitHub runner, registers it with the organization, executes the job, then deregisters and shuts down the VM before deleting it, after the process repeats.

The tool supports up to two concurrent VMs on a single host, allowing parallel job execution while keeping each run isolated in a fresh environment. Benchmarks on a 2020 Mac mini M1 with 16 GB RAM show job times three to four times faster than standard GitHub runners, with a modest overhead when both VMs run together. VM creation and boot takes roughly 25–30 seconds, which becomes negligible when jobs are queued.

Tartelet is targeted at developers and teams that need faster, low‑cost GitHub Actions execution on macOS hardware, especially when they can benefit from isolated, disposable runner environments. The project is stable, core‑macOS, and welcomes contributions via pull requests.