Turn a spare Mac into throwaway macOS desktops for your agents
A developer built desktop-plane, an open-source tool that turns a spare Mac into fresh macOS virtual machines agents can use. Each VM starts in about 6 seconds and is deleted after use, and it works with Claude Code, Codex, Hermes or any agent.
Source
@sxhivs on X · 2026-10-17
Written in our own words. Credit to the original author. Link checked 2026-10-21.
What they did
A developer built desktop-plane, an open-source tool that turns a spare Mac into fresh macOS virtual machines agents can use. Each VM starts in about 6 seconds and is deleted after use, and it works with Claude Code, Codex, Hermes or any agent.
Result (as claimed)
Agents get a clean desktop for each task without touching your main Mac.
Tools they used
Cost: Claude Code: from $17/mo; OpenAI Codex: free plan, paid from $8/mo; Hermes Agent: free plan, paid from $20/mo.
Set it up
Pick a contained repo or task
Start on a branch or side project where mistakes are cheap.
Install and configure
Set up Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Hermes Agent, macOS. Read what it can run on your machine and limit permissions where possible.
Run it on a real task
Give it a well-scoped issue and let it work. Review the diff like any pull request.
Add guardrails
Keep tests and CI in the loop, and never let an agent push to main or touch production secrets unattended.
Copy the full setup prompt
Paste into your agent and it will walk you through the setup, asking before anything that sends, posts or spends.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Claude Code. Goal: Turn a spare Mac into throwaway macOS desktops for your agents What the original author did: A developer built desktop-plane, an open-source tool that turns a spare Mac into fresh macOS virtual machines agents can use. Each VM starts in about 6 seconds and is deleted after use, and it works with Claude Code, Codex, Hermes or any agent. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Agents get a clean desktop for each task without touching your main Mac. Source: https://x.com/sxhivs/status/2111476125415485720 Tools they used: Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Hermes Agent, macOS Category: Dev & ops Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Codex. Goal: Turn a spare Mac into throwaway macOS desktops for your agents What the original author did: A developer built desktop-plane, an open-source tool that turns a spare Mac into fresh macOS virtual machines agents can use. Each VM starts in about 6 seconds and is deleted after use, and it works with Claude Code, Codex, Hermes or any agent. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Agents get a clean desktop for each task without touching your main Mac. Source: https://x.com/sxhivs/status/2111476125415485720 Tools they used: Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Hermes Agent, macOS Category: Dev & ops Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Grok Bot. Goal: Turn a spare Mac into throwaway macOS desktops for your agents What the original author did: A developer built desktop-plane, an open-source tool that turns a spare Mac into fresh macOS virtual machines agents can use. Each VM starts in about 6 seconds and is deleted after use, and it works with Claude Code, Codex, Hermes or any agent. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Agents get a clean desktop for each task without touching your main Mac. Source: https://x.com/sxhivs/status/2111476125415485720 Tools they used: Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Hermes Agent, macOS Category: Dev & ops Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
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Guides for this use case
How to run AI coding agents in a sandbox · How to run multiple coding agents together · How to vibe code an app with Claude Code · How to use Claude Code and Codex together
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