Post #3980560

Drop-in replacement for darwin.linux-builder with Rosetta support: If you're using nix-darwins `nix.linux-builder` (the QEMU-based `darwin.linux-builder`) on macOS, I'd like to invite you to try vzvm: https://github.com/applicative-systems/vzvm It runs nearly the same NixOS builder guest on Apple's Virtualization.framework instead of QEMU. The main win is Rosetta: `x86_64-linux` builds are translated rather than software-emulated, which came out ~2.5x faster in my benchmarks. It also boots faster and has a much smaller host closure. It's a genuine drop-in replacement — same port, same host key, same `nix.linux-builder` options. Migrating is two new lines in your config. See the readme! The longer-term goal is upstreaming into nixpkgs/nix-darwin so a vz-backed builder becomes a supported option. Feedback, bug reports, and benchmark results from other machines are very welcome!