Using PHZ temporary Lima code to force the use of qemu-xhci,id=usb on QEMU

Author: FlUxIuS

README.md

@@ -114,8 +114,10 @@ https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/14b6d50f-5250-420e-94e4-474991113372
 Docker Desktop and Podman on macOS **cannot forward USB devices** (SDR dongles, HackRF, RTL-SDR, etc.) into containers. RF Swift solves this with **Lima**, which runs a QEMU VM with USB hot-plug support:
 
 ```bash
-# Install Lima
-brew install lima
+# Install Lima (PentHertz fork with USB passthrough support) + QEMU
+brew install qemu
+curl -fsSL https://github.com/PentHertz/lima/releases/download/v2.1.1/lima-2.1.1-Darwin-$(uname -m).tar.gz -o /tmp/lima.tar.gz
+sudo tar xz -C /usr/local -f /tmp/lima.tar.gz
 
 # Attach your SDR dongle to the Lima VM
 rfswift macusb list                              # see host USB devices

get_rfswift.sh

@@ -980,12 +980,7 @@ offer_lima_for_usb_get_rfswift() {
     fi
   else
     if prompt_yes_no "   Would you like to install Lima for USB passthrough?" "n"; then
-      if command_exists brew; then
-        brew install lima qemu
-        color_echo "green" "   Lima installed. Use 'rfswift --engine lima' when you need USB devices."
-      else
-        color_echo "red" "   Homebrew is required. Install it first: https://brew.sh/"
-      fi
+      install_lima_fork
     fi
   fi
 }
@@ -1087,15 +1082,7 @@ check_container_engine() {
       if [ "$(uname -s)" = "Darwin" ]; then
         # Lima option on macOS
         color_echo "blue" "🦙 Installing Lima..."
-        if command_exists brew; then
-          brew install lima qemu
-          color_echo "green" "✅ Lima installed."
-          color_echo "cyan" "   RF Swift will auto-create a QEMU VM on first 'rfswift run'."
-          color_echo "cyan" "   Or create one manually: limactl create --name rfswift lima/rfswift.yaml"
-        else
-          color_echo "red" "❌ Homebrew is required. Install it first: https://brew.sh/"
-          return 1
-        fi
+        install_lima_fork
       else
         color_echo "yellow" "⚠️  Container engine installation skipped."
         color_echo "yellow" "   You will need Docker or Podman before using RF-Swift."
@@ -1134,6 +1121,65 @@ check_container_engine() {
 # Podman Installation
 # ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
 
+# Install Lima from PentHertz fork (with USB passthrough support) + QEMU
+LIMA_VERSION="2.1.1"
+LIMA_RELEASE_BASE="https://github.com/PentHertz/lima/releases/download/v${LIMA_VERSION}"
+
+install_lima_fork() {
+  if [ "$(uname -s)" != "Darwin" ]; then
+    color_echo "yellow" "Lima is only needed on macOS for USB passthrough."
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  if ! command_exists brew; then
+    color_echo "red" "Homebrew is required to install QEMU."
+    color_echo "yellow" "Install Homebrew: https://brew.sh/"
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  # Install QEMU via Homebrew
+  if ! command_exists qemu-img; then
+    color_echo "blue" "Installing QEMU via Homebrew..."
+    brew install qemu
+  fi
+
+  # Remove Homebrew Lima if present (we use the PentHertz fork)
+  if brew list lima &>/dev/null; then
+    color_echo "yellow" "Removing Homebrew Lima in favor of PentHertz fork (USB support)..."
+    brew uninstall lima
+  fi
+
+  local arch
+  arch=$(uname -m)
+  case "$arch" in
+    arm64|aarch64) arch="arm64" ;;
+    x86_64|amd64)  arch="x86_64" ;;
+    *)
+      color_echo "red" "Unsupported architecture: $arch"
+      return 1
+      ;;
+  esac
+
+  local tarball="lima-${LIMA_VERSION}-Darwin-${arch}.tar.gz"
+  local url="${LIMA_RELEASE_BASE}/${tarball}"
+  local tmp="/tmp/${tarball}"
+
+  color_echo "blue" "Installing Lima ${LIMA_VERSION} (PentHertz fork with USB support)..."
+  curl -fsSL "$url" -o "$tmp"
+  sudo tar xz -C /usr/local -f "$tmp"
+  rm -f "$tmp"
+
+  if ! command_exists limactl; then
+    color_echo "red" "Lima installation failed — limactl not found in PATH."
+    color_echo "yellow" "Ensure /usr/local/bin is in your PATH."
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  color_echo "green" "✅ Lima ${LIMA_VERSION} (PentHertz fork) and QEMU installed."
+  limactl --version
+  color_echo "cyan" "   Use 'rfswift --engine lima' when you need USB devices."
+}
+
 install_podman() {
   color_echo "blue" "🦭 Installing Podman..."
 
@@ -2331,7 +2377,7 @@ main() {
           color_echo "cyan" "   Or let RF Swift auto-create it on first 'rfswift run' when no Docker/Podman is found."
         fi
       else
-        color_echo "yellow" "   Lima is not installed. Install with: brew install lima qemu"
+        color_echo "yellow" "   Lima is not installed. Run the installer or see https://github.com/PentHertz/lima/releases"
         color_echo "cyan" "   After installing, RF Swift can auto-manage a QEMU VM with USB passthrough."
         color_echo "cyan" "   USB commands: rfswift macusb list | attach | detach | status"
       fi

go/rfswift/dock/engine_lima.go

@@ -281,6 +281,7 @@ func findLimaTemplate() string {
 func createLimaInstanceInline(instance string) error {
 	template := `# RF Swift Lima VM - auto-generated
 vmType: qemu
+usb: true
 cpus: 4
 memory: "8GiB"
 disk: "100GiB"

go/rfswift/rfutils/hostcli_mac.go

@@ -239,6 +239,24 @@ func AttachUSBToLima(vendorID, productID, instance string) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to attach USB device %s:%s: %w", vendorID, productID, err)
 	}
 
+	// If no USB bus exists, add a qemu-xhci controller and retry
+	if result != "" && strings.Contains(result, "No 'usb-bus' bus found") {
+		addBusCmd := "device_add qemu-xhci,id=usb-bus"
+		busResult, busErr := qmpHumanCommand(sockPath, addBusCmd)
+		if busErr != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to add USB controller: %w (ensure Lima YAML has 'usb: true')", busErr)
+		}
+		if busResult != "" && strings.Contains(strings.ToLower(busResult), "error") {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to add USB controller: %s (ensure Lima YAML has 'usb: true')", busResult)
+		}
+
+		// Retry the device attach now that the USB bus exists
+		result, err = qmpHumanCommand(sockPath, hmpCmd)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to attach USB device %s:%s after adding USB controller: %w", vendorID, productID, err)
+		}
+	}
+
 	if result != "" && strings.Contains(strings.ToLower(result), "error") {
 		return fmt.Errorf("QMP device_add failed: %s", result)
 	}

lima/rfswift.yaml

@@ -12,11 +12,14 @@
 #   rfswift macusb status            # Check setup status
 #
 # IMPORTANT: vmType must be "qemu" for USB passthrough (not "vz")
-# Prerequisites: brew install lima qemu
+# Prerequisites: QEMU (brew install qemu) + Lima from https://github.com/PentHertz/lima/releases
 
 # Use QEMU backend - required for USB passthrough via QMP
 vmType: qemu
 
+# Enable USB controller (qemu-xhci) for USB device passthrough without requiring a display
+usb: true
+
 # VM resources - adjust as needed for your SDR workloads
 cpus: 4
 memory: "8GiB"

scripts/common.sh

@@ -1264,15 +1264,20 @@ is_lima_instance_running() {
     limactl list --json 2>/dev/null | grep "\"name\":\"${instance}\"" | grep -q "\"status\":\"Running\""
 }
 
-# Install Lima and QEMU on macOS via Homebrew
+# Lima version and release URL (PentHertz fork with USB passthrough support)
+LIMA_VERSION="2.1.1"
+LIMA_RELEASE_BASE="https://github.com/PentHertz/lima/releases/download/v${LIMA_VERSION}"
+
+# Install the PentHertz fork of Lima (with usb: true support) and QEMU on macOS
 install_lima() {
     if [[ "$(uname -s)" != "Darwin" ]]; then
         echo -e "${YELLOW}Lima is only needed on macOS for USB passthrough.${NC}"
         return 0
     fi
 
+    # QEMU still comes from Homebrew
     if ! command_exists brew; then
-        echo -e "${RED}Homebrew is required to install Lima.${NC}"
+        echo -e "${RED}Homebrew is required to install QEMU.${NC}"
         echo -e "${YELLOW}Install Homebrew: /bin/bash -c \"\$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)\"${NC}"
         return 1
     fi
@@ -1282,9 +1287,47 @@ install_lima() {
         return 0
     fi
 
-    echo -e "${BLUE}Installing Lima and QEMU for USB passthrough support...${NC}"
-    brew install lima qemu
-    echo -e "${GREEN}Lima and QEMU installed successfully.${NC}"
+    # Install QEMU via Homebrew
+    if ! command_exists qemu-img; then
+        echo -e "${BLUE}Installing QEMU via Homebrew...${NC}"
+        brew install qemu
+    fi
+
+    # Remove Homebrew Lima if present (we use the PentHertz fork)
+    if brew list lima &>/dev/null; then
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}Removing Homebrew Lima in favor of PentHertz fork (USB support)...${NC}"
+        brew uninstall lima
+    fi
+
+    # Install PentHertz Lima from GitHub release
+    local arch
+    arch=$(uname -m)
+    case "$arch" in
+        arm64|aarch64) arch="arm64" ;;
+        x86_64|amd64)  arch="x86_64" ;;
+        *)
+            echo -e "${RED}Unsupported architecture: $arch${NC}"
+            return 1
+            ;;
+    esac
+
+    local tarball="lima-${LIMA_VERSION}-Darwin-${arch}.tar.gz"
+    local url="${LIMA_RELEASE_BASE}/${tarball}"
+    local tmp="/tmp/${tarball}"
+
+    echo -e "${BLUE}Installing Lima ${LIMA_VERSION} (PentHertz fork with USB support)...${NC}"
+    curl -fsSL "$url" -o "$tmp"
+    sudo tar xz -C /usr/local -f "$tmp"
+    rm -f "$tmp"
+
+    if ! command_exists limactl; then
+        echo -e "${RED}Lima installation failed — limactl not found in PATH.${NC}"
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}Ensure /usr/local/bin is in your PATH.${NC}"
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    echo -e "${GREEN}Lima ${LIMA_VERSION} (PentHertz fork) and QEMU installed successfully.${NC}"
+    limactl --version
 }
 
 # Offer to update the Lima template if a newer one ships with the installation.
@@ -1445,6 +1488,7 @@ setup_lima_instance() {
         local tmp_template=$(mktemp /tmp/rfswift-lima-XXXXXX.yaml)
         cat > "$tmp_template" << 'LIMAEOF'
 vmType: qemu
+usb: true
 cpus: 4
 memory: "8GiB"
 disk: "100GiB"