Vagrant

Vagrant is HashiCorp's command-line tool for creating and managing reproducible development environments. Developers and teams describe an environment in a Vagrantfile, select a compatible box image and provider, and use a consistent workflow to start, configure, connect to and remove development machines.

Environments as code

The Vagrantfile describes machine resources, networking, synced folders and provisioning. Provisioners can install software and configure a guest through supported tools such as shell scripts or Ansible. Multi-machine configurations can model several cooperating systems. Boxes package base environments and can be versioned and shared; provider-specific boxes are not interchangeable simply because their names match.

Common commands include init to create configuration, up to create or start the environment, ssh to connect, halt to stop, and destroy to delete a managed machine. Destroy can remove guest data, so preserve important work separately. Synced folders connect host and guest files and networking exposes selected guest services. Treat both configuration and provisioning scripts as executable code from the project, not harmless documents.

Install and choose a provider

Install the vagrant Homebrew Cask or the official macOS package. This is a CLI installation, not a graphical VM desktop app. The Mac Cask installs vagrant.pkg, the executable and completion scripts; installer actions can require administrator authorization. Official packages include their supported runtime, so a separate system Ruby installation is not the normal setup path. The tagged README also requires bsdtar and curl on PATH.

The recorded Apple Silicon download is vagrant_2.4.9_darwin_arm64.dmg, 56,202,968 bytes according to HTTP HEAD. Intel Macs use the separate darwin_amd64 download. This transfer size excludes provider software, box downloads, VM disks, plugins and caches. The Cask declares no numeric minimum macOS version or extra provider dependency. Match the package, provider, host OS and guest architecture to your system; an arm64 Vagrant executable does not make an x86 guest image compatible with an ARM hypervisor. Official packages also support Windows and Linux, with their own providers and installation requirements.

Vagrant orchestrates providers rather than including a hypervisor. VirtualBox support is built in, but VirtualBox must be installed separately; 2.4.9 adds support for VirtualBox 7.2. Choose a supported stable provider version and suitable host/guest architecture. VirtualBox's base product and its optional Extension Pack have different licensing terms, so do not assume every optional component is unrestricted for business use.

For VMware, separately install the matching Fusion or Workstation product, Vagrant VMware Utility and vagrant-vmware-desktop plugin. The provider plugin is MPL licensed rather than the former paid plugin model. VMware has made Fusion and Workstation free for commercial, educational and personal use; an older HashiCorp provider overview still says they must be purchased. Follow the current VMware download/license terms and distinguish the free hypervisor from paid support contracts. Docker and other providers have their own runtime, plugin, account and licensing requirements.

Accounts, costs and trust

Local Vagrant use does not require a mandatory HashiCorp cloud subscription. Public box downloads, private registries, remote cloud providers and hosted services have separate authentication and usage terms. Private box access can require account credentials or tokens. Cloud providers can bill for instances, storage and network traffic even though Vagrant itself has no recurring CLI fee.

Use trusted boxes, Vagrantfiles, provisioning code and plugins. Provisioners can run privileged commands inside guests, plugins run as part of the host tool, and synced folders can expose host files. Review network forwarding and shared folders. Providers may request host permissions or install privileged services; the Vagrant Cask alone does not configure every provider. Multiple active hypervisors can conflict depending on the host platform.

Current and historical licenses

The recorded Vagrant 2.4.9 source is under Business Source License 1.1 with HashiCorp's Additional Use Grant. It permits production use subject to its restriction on hosted or embedded competitive paid offerings. Internal organizational use is expressly distinguished from a competitive offering. Review the license and vendor FAQ for redistribution or product embedding.

The licensed work changes to MPL 2.0 four years after its publication under the stated Change Date. Earlier Vagrant releases historically used MPL 2.0; that history does not make this current release an unrestricted MPL release today. Provider plugins and third-party software can carry separate licenses.

Official sources: Documentation, Tagged source and requirements, Current license, VMware installation, VMware free-use announcement.