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Driving smolvm over HTTP

Lets an agent create, run, and tear down smolvm micro-VMs through its local HTTP API.

Source Download skill
Repository
smol-machines/smolvm
Stars
6,901
Licence
Apache-2.0
Files
9 files

What it does

Normally you would control smolvm (a tool for running lightweight virtual machines) by typing commands in a terminal. With this skill installed, the agent instead talks to smolvm's local HTTP API: it can create a machine, start it, run commands inside it, stream output, copy files in and out, and delete it. It also ships shell scripts that check each step and clean up afterwards, and it warns about known pitfalls such as uploads that silently disappear and failed commands that still return HTTP 200.

Great for

  • Developers building a client, test harness, agent tool or MCP backend on top of smolvm
  • Engineers who need to script sandboxed machine lifecycles through an API rather than the CLI

Skip it if

  • Simple one-off shell automation, where the smolvm CLI is the better fit and the skill itself advises against using the API there
  • Setups that would expose the server on a network address without mutual TLS, because the plain server has no authentication and the skill warns this is unsafe

Try asking

  • “Set up a smolvm HTTP server on a Unix socket and run a create, exec, file round-trip and teardown lifecycle check”
  • “Build a small client that creates a Python 3.12 machine over the API and streams a command's output”
  • “Debug why a machine created over the API ignores a memory setting”
Step-by-step guide: how to use Driving smolvm over HTTPInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 9 original files, the Apache-2.0 licence and an attribution note.

    local-api.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip local-api.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip local-api.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Run scripts/preflight.sh first to confirm the smolvm version and host support before following the steps
  • Always assert exitCode from the response body and never trust the HTTP status alone
  • Keep the default Unix socket transport unless you have configured mutual TLS, since the transport is the only access control

What's inside

  • README.md
  • references/api-fields.md
  • references/traps.md
  • references/windows.md
  • scripts/cleanup.sh
  • scripts/lifecycle-check.sh
  • scripts/preflight.sh
  • scripts/serve-start.sh
  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from smol-machines/smolvm under the Apache-2.0 licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-11-02. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.