Run Vagrant VMs in a M1/M2/M3 Apple Sillicon Chip

If you're a Mac user equipped with an Apple Silicon chip (M1/M2/M3...) and facing challenges setting up a Vagrant infrastructure due to the lack of supported hypervisors, this tutorial is tailored for you. It will guide you through configuring Vagrant to run using VMware Fusion technology as a hypervisor. Simply follow the steps outlined, and should you encounter any issues along the way, feel free to reach out to me for assistance.

Step 1: Install Rosetta

/usr/sbin/softwareupdate --install-rosetta --agree-to-license

Step 2: Install VMware Fusion tech (you will have to create a VMware account)

https://customerconnect.vmware.com/downloads/get-download?downloadGroup=FUS-TP2023

You may also need to provide a license key, you can opt for the free one.

Step 3: Create a symbolic link

ln -s /Applications/VMWare\ Fusion\ Tech\ Preview.app /Applications/VMWare\ Fusion.app

Step 4: Install vagrant (on MacOS)

brew tap hashicorp/tap
brew install hashicorp/tap/hashicorp-vagrant

Step 5: Install vagrant vmware utility

https://releases.hashicorp.com/vagrant-vmware-utility/1.0.22/vagrant-vmware-utility_1.0.22_darwin_amd64.dmg

Step 6: Install vagrant plugin

vagrant plugin install vagrant-vmware-desktop

Step 7: Create a Vagrantfile

This configuration will create 2 VMs (master and slave)

mkdir vagrant-project
cd vagrant-project
touch Vagrantfile
cat << EOF > Vagrantfile
Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
    config.vm.define "master" do |master|
        master.vm.box = "spox/ubuntu-arm" 
        master.vm.box_version = "1.0.0"
        master.vm.hostname = 'master'
        master.vm.provision "docker"

        master.vm.network :private_network, ip: "192.168.56.101"

        master.vm.provider "vmware_desktop" do |v|
            v.allowlist_verified = true
            v.gui = false
            v.vmx["memsize"] = "2048"
            v.vmx["numvcpus"] = "2"
      end
    end

    config.vm.define "slave" do |slave|
        slave.vm.box = "spox/ubuntu-arm" 
        slave.vm.box_version = "1.0.0"
        slave.vm.hostname = 'slave'
        slave.vm.provision "docker"

        slave.vm.network :private_network, ip: "192.168.56.102"

        slave.vm.provider "vmware_desktop" do |v|
            v.allowlist_verified = true
            v.gui = false
            v.vmx["memsize"] = "2048"
            v.vmx["numvcpus"] = "2"
      end
    end
  end
EOF

Note: gui parameter is mandatory

Step 8: Now you can run the vagrant program

vagrant up

Additional commands

Check the status of the VMs

vagrant status

Connect to the VMs

vagrant ssh <hostname>

In our example we can use either

vagrant ssh master

Or

vagrant ssh slave

Stop the VMs

vagrant halt

Delete the VMs

vagrant destroy