{"slug": "webvm", "name": "WebVM", "category": "infra", "category_name": "Infrastructure and DevOps", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 4, "warners": 0, "score": 2.862, "rising": -0.98, "first": "2026-03-10", "latest": "2026-04-04", "why": "The fact that the WebVM linked inside can connect to tailscale is pretty cool", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 1, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "The fact that the WebVM linked inside can connect to tailscale is pretty cool", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": "webvm.io", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://webvm.io/", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["WebVM"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 762235728, "item_id": 47639733, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47639733", "by": "StilesCrisis", "date": "2026-04-04", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "emulating Linux in WASM is possible and ought to work on iOS", "excerpt": "Not to defend it, but emulating Linux in WASM is possible and ought to work on iOS in a reasonably performance way. See https://webvm.io/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Run Linux containers on Android, no root required"}, {"id": 758723744, "item_id": 47420234, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47420234", "by": "yomansat", "date": "2026-03-17", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The fact that the WebVM linked inside can connect to tailscale is pretty cool", "excerpt": "The fact that the WebVM linked inside can connect to tailscale is pretty cool: https://axlan.github.io/webvm/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Fatal Core Dump \u2013 a debugging murder mystery played with GDB"}, {"id": 757141808, "item_id": 47321363, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47321363", "by": "Lockal", "date": "2026-03-10", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "A somewhat better solution via tailnet you can find in https://webvm.io/", "excerpt": "A somewhat better solution via tailnet you can find in https://webvm.io/", "context": "", "use_case": "Browser-based Linux sandbox", "switched_from": "", "story": "JSLinux Now Supports x86_64"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["browser-based linux sandbox"], "compared": [{"slug": "cheerpj", "name": "CheerpJ", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [{"id": 780849520, "item_id": 48803095, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48803095", "by": "apignotti", "date": "2026-07-06", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "similar to our WebVM (https://webvm.io)", "excerpt": "As another commenter pointed out this is similar to our WebVM (https://webvm.io) , although this one is based on v86 so it will be less performant. Although the x86 virtualization angle is powerful we think that native WebAssembly executables on top of a Linux-compatible kernel are more viable for the execution of full workloads in the browser. BrowserPod is a newer project of ours that brings to vision to life, we h", "context": "", "use_case": "Linux VM in browser", "switched_from": "", "story": null}, {"id": 774981616, "item_id": 48436351, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48436351", "by": "apignotti", "date": "2026-06-07", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "WebVM (https://webvm.io): x86 Debian shell running client-side in the browser", "excerpt": "The architecture is a fairly straightforward WebAssembly-native monolithic kernel. Most of the complexities come from making things work well within the browser constraints for real world, large apps. We have quite a bit of experience on the topic however, these are previous projects of ours: WebVM (https://webvm.io): x86 Debian shell running client-side in the browser via x86 -> WebAssembly JIT compilation Browsercr", "context": "", "use_case": "in-browser Linux shell", "switched_from": "", "story": "Running Python code in a sandbox with MicroPython and WASM"}, {"id": 770891264, "item_id": 48180704, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48180704", "by": "apignotti", "date": "2026-05-18", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "WebVM (https://webvm.io): x86 virtualization in the browser", "excerpt": "Thanks :-) We have been building WebAssembly-based products for a while now, so for us it's second nature. But I think you are right, most developers, even experienced ones, have not yet come to grasp the fully capabilities of the Web platform in conjunction with WebAssembly. You might find previous projects from us also interesting: * WebVM (https://webvm.io): x86 virtualization in the browser * CheerpJ (https://che", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "A Linux-like kernel in a browser tab \u2013 deep dive in the BrowserPod architecture"}, {"id": 763130320, "item_id": 47695645, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47695645", "by": "apignotti", "date": "2026-04-08", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "lead dev of WebVM here", "excerpt": "Hi, lead dev of WebVM here. Can you link to the specific change that affects ephemeral devices? I cannot find this reference in the article. Keep in mind that we also plan to offer builtin networking in the near future, we are developing the infrastructure to do so as part of our newest product (In-browser sandboxes): https://browserpod.io", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Tailscale's Pricing v4"}, {"id": 748226081, "item_id": 46764130, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46764130", "by": "apignotti", "date": "2026-01-26", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "x86 binaries (Cheerpx / WebVM)", "excerpt": "The browser is the most effective environment to distribute and isolate applications. We have built technologies for years to leverage these capabilities to run legacy Java (CheerpJ) and x86 binaries (Cheerpx / WebVM). We are soon going to release a new technology, built on top of the same stack, to allow full-stack development completely in the browser. It's called BrowserPod and we think it will be a perfect fit fo", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "The Browser Is the Sandbox"}, {"id": 744821664, "item_id": 46551354, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46551354", "by": "apignotti", "date": "2026-01-09", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Run x86 binaries in the browser via JIT-ting (https://webvm.io)", "excerpt": "We use WebAssembly aggressively at Leaning Technologies across our tools. WebAssembly makes it possible to: * Run x86 binaries in the browser via JIT-ting (https://webvm.io) * Run Java applications in the browser, including Minecraft (https://browsercraft.cheerpj.com) * Run node.js containers in the browser (https://browserpod.io) It's an incredibly powerful tool, but very much a power-user one. Expecting your averag", "context": "works at Leaning Technologies", "use_case": "running x86 binaries in browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "What Happened to WebAssembly"}], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47311484", "title": "JSLinux Now Supports x86_64", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48800365", "title": "item 48800365", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48425347", "title": "Running Python code in a sandbox with MicroPython and WASM", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48178797", "title": "A Linux-like kernel in a browser tab \u2013 deep dive in the BrowserPod architecture", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47691281", "title": "Tailscale's Pricing v4", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47633131", "title": "Run Linux containers on Android, no root required", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {"neutral": 1, "recommend": 2}, "2026-04": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 762235728, "item_id": 47639733, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47639733", "by": "StilesCrisis", "date": "2026-04-04", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "emulating Linux in WASM is possible and ought to work on iOS", "excerpt": "Not to defend it, but emulating Linux in WASM is possible and ought to work on iOS in a reasonably performance way. See https://webvm.io/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Run Linux containers on Android, no root required"}, {"id": 758723744, "item_id": 47420234, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47420234", "by": "yomansat", "date": "2026-03-17", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The fact that the WebVM linked inside can connect to tailscale is pretty cool", "excerpt": "The fact that the WebVM linked inside can connect to tailscale is pretty cool: https://axlan.github.io/webvm/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Fatal Core Dump \u2013 a debugging murder mystery played with GDB"}, {"id": 757141808, "item_id": 47321363, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47321363", "by": "Lockal", "date": "2026-03-10", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "A somewhat better solution via tailnet you can find in https://webvm.io/", "excerpt": "A somewhat better solution via tailnet you can find in https://webvm.io/", "context": "", "use_case": "Browser-based Linux sandbox", "switched_from": "", "story": "JSLinux Now Supports x86_64"}, {"id": 757136608, "item_id": 47321038, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47321038", "by": "johndough", "date": "2026-03-10", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I thought they were the same and https://vitedemo.browserpod.io/ failed to load", "excerpt": "I see. I thought they were the same and https://vitedemo.browserpod.io/ failed to load, so I was not able to test there.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "JSLinux Now Supports x86_64"}]}