GStars
    leaningtech

    leaningtech/webvm

    Virtual Machine for the Web

    web
    cheerp
    cheerpx
    cpp
    lwip
    repl
    Svelte
    Apache-2.0
    17.5K stars
    3.4K forks
    17.5K GitHub watchers
    Updated Nov 2, 2026
    View on GitHub

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    Where it stands

    Rank, growth pace and release cadence relative to everything GStars tracks.

    The project lists 22 contributors on GitHub.

    Peaked at #64 in the weekly ranking the week of Oct 12, its best in the past year.

    Use Cases & Benefits

    • Runs a Linux virtual machine fully client-side in the browser using WebAssembly and x86 virtualization.
    • Enables server-less, sandboxed execution of unmodified Debian Linux with native toolchains on any modern browser.
    • Use for running Linux development environments directly in-browser without server infrastructure.
    • Use for creating customized, deployable Linux VMs via Dockerfiles and GitHub Pages workflows.
    • Use for experimenting with x86 binary execution, Linux syscall emulation, and networking via Tailscale VPN in web apps.

    Should you depend on it?

    License terms, project hygiene and risks, from GitHub metadata and GStars' snapshots.

    License

    Apache 2.0

    Permissive: commercial use, modification and redistribution are allowed with attribution; includes an explicit patent grant from contributors.

    Community files

    • README: present

    Watch-outs

    No watch-outs from GStars' checks.

    General guidance from repository metadata, not legal advice. How we score

    From the README

    This repository hosts the source code for https://webvm.io, a Linux virtual machine that runs in your browser.

    Try out the new Alpine / Xorg / i3 graphical environment: https://webvm.io/alpine.html

    WebVM is a server-less virtual environment running fully client-side in HTML5/WebAssembly. It's designed to be Linux ABI-compatible. It runs an unmodified Debian distribution including many native development toolchains.

    WebVM is powered by the CheerpX virtualization engine, and enables safe, sandboxed client-side execution of x86 binaries on any browser. CheerpX includes an x86-to-WebAssembly JIT compiler, a virtual block-based file system, and a Linux syscall emulator.

    Modern browsers do not provide APIs to directly use TCP or UDP. WebVM provides networking support by integrating with Tailscale, a VPN network that supports WebSockets as a transport layer.

    You can now customize dockerfiles/debian_mini to suit your needs, or make a new Dockerfile from scratch. Use the Path to Dockerfile workflow parameter to select it.

    Excerpt from the leaningtech/webvm README on GitHub (Apache-2.0 license). © its authors.Read the full README on GitHub

    Daily snapshots

    Stars gained per day, and how forks and open issues moved, from GStars' daily snapshots

    Aug 14: +8Aug 18: +2

    +300 stars over 85 days across 10 snapshot days; best day +8 on Aug 14.

    Forks

    3.4K+88

    Open issues

    12-1

    Compared with peers in Web

    Fastest-growing repositories GStars tracks in this cohort for the week of Nov 8, by 7-day star growth

    View category →
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