Timeout waiting for SSH when running "clawbox image build"

[thetonywu]

clawbox image build

Initializing packer plugins for template: packer/macos-base.pkr.hcl
Building base image from template: packer/macos-base.pkr.hcl
tart-cli.macos-base: output will be in this color.

==> tart-cli.macos-base: Cloning virtual machine...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Updating virtual machine resources...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Inspecting machine disk image...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Getting partition table...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Found a recovery partition at GPT entry 3, let's remove it to save space and allow for resizing the main partition...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Successfully updated partitions!
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Starting the virtual machine...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Successfully started the virtual machine...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Creating temporary RSA SSH key for instance...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Using SSH communicator to connect: 192.168.64.2
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Waiting for SSH to become available...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Timeout waiting for SSH.
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Shutting down the VM...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Waiting for the tart process to exit...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Cleaning up virtual machine...
Build 'tart-cli.macos-base' errored after 2 minutes 968 milliseconds: Timeout waiting for SSH.

==> Wait completed after 2 minutes 968 milliseconds

==> Some builds didn't complete successfully and had errors:
--> tart-cli.macos-base: Timeout waiting for SSH.

==> Builds finished but no artifacts were created.
Error: Command failed with exit code 1: packer build packer/macos-base.pkr.hcl

[joshavant]

Thanks for the report!

Could you run these on your host machine and let me know the output:

sw_vers
packer version
tart --version
packer plugins installed | grep -i packer-plugin-tart
packer init -upgrade packer/macos-base.pkr.hcl
PACKER_LOG=1 PACKER_LOG_PATH=/tmp/clawbox-packer.log clawbox image build
tart list --quiet
tart ip macos-base 2>/dev/null || true
grep -En "Using SSH communicator|Waiting for SSH|Timeout waiting for SSH|Connected to SSH|connect" /tmp/clawbox-packer.log || true
tail -n 200 /tmp/clawbox-packer.log

[thetonywu]

sw_vers
ProductName:		macOS
ProductVersion:		15.7.3
BuildVersion:		24G419


packer version
Packer v1.15.0


tart --version
2.30.6


packer plugins installed | grep -i packer-plugin-tart
/Users/tonywu/.config/packer/plugins/github.com/cirruslabs/tart/packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64


packer init -upgrade packer/macos-base.pkr.hcl
Error:
stat packer/macos-base.pkr.hcl: no such file or directory


PACKER_LOG=1 PACKER_LOG_PATH=/tmp/clawbox-packer.log clawbox image build
Initializing packer plugins for template: packer/macos-base.pkr.hcl
Building base image from template: packer/macos-base.pkr.hcl
tart-cli.macos-base: output will be in this color.

==> tart-cli.macos-base: Cloning virtual machine...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Updating virtual machine resources...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Inspecting machine disk image...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Getting partition table...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Found a recovery partition at GPT entry 3, let's remove it to save space and allow for resizing the main partition...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Successfully updated partitions!
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Starting the virtual machine...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Successfully started the virtual machine...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Creating temporary RSA SSH key for instance...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Using SSH communicator to connect: 192.168.64.2
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Waiting for SSH to become available...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Timeout waiting for SSH.
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Shutting down the VM...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Waiting for the tart process to exit...
==> tart-cli.macos-base: Cleaning up virtual machine...
Build 'tart-cli.macos-base' errored after 2 minutes 5 seconds: Timeout waiting for SSH.

==> Wait completed after 2 minutes 5 seconds

==> Some builds didn't complete successfully and had errors:
--> tart-cli.macos-base: Timeout waiting for SSH.

==> Builds finished but no artifacts were created.
Error: Command failed with exit code 1: packer build packer/macos-base.pkr.hcl


tart list --quiet
ghcr.io/cirruslabs/macos-sequoia-vanilla:latest
ghcr.io/cirruslabs/macos-sequoia-vanilla@sha256:e0a0d651b7aba2e6d8fae510b3b31c2b927d288384bcb1a32405768747ad9961


tart ip macos-base 2>/dev/null || true
<no output>


grep -En "Using SSH communicator|Waiting for SSH|Timeout waiting for SSH|Connected to SSH|connect" /tmp/clawbox-packer.log || true
16:2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:36 Waiting for connection...
18:2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:36 Serving a plugin connection...
33:2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: Waiting for connection...
35:2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: Serving a plugin connection...
65:2026/02/19 14:58:41 ui: ==> tart-cli.macos-base: Using SSH communicator to connect: 192.168.64.2
66:2026/02/19 14:58:41 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:41 [INFO] Waiting for SSH, up to timeout: 2m0s
67:2026/02/19 14:58:41 ui: ==> tart-cli.macos-base: Waiting for SSH to become available...
69:2026/02/19 14:58:41 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:41 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
71:2026/02/19 14:58:46 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:46 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
73:2026/02/19 14:58:51 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:51 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
75:2026/02/19 14:58:56 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:56 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
77:2026/02/19 14:59:01 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:01 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
79:2026/02/19 14:59:06 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:06 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
81:2026/02/19 14:59:11 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:11 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
83:2026/02/19 14:59:17 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:17 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
85:2026/02/19 14:59:22 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:22 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
87:2026/02/19 14:59:27 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:27 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
89:2026/02/19 14:59:32 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:32 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
91:2026/02/19 14:59:37 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:37 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
93:2026/02/19 14:59:42 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:42 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
95:2026/02/19 14:59:47 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:47 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
97:2026/02/19 14:59:52 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:52 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
99:2026/02/19 14:59:57 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:57 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
101:2026/02/19 15:00:02 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:02 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
103:2026/02/19 15:00:07 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:07 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
105:2026/02/19 15:00:12 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:12 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
107:2026/02/19 15:00:17 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:17 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
109:2026/02/19 15:00:22 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:22 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
111:2026/02/19 15:00:27 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:27 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
113:2026/02/19 15:00:32 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:32 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
115:2026/02/19 15:00:37 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:37 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
116:2026/02/19 15:00:41 ui error: ==> tart-cli.macos-base: Timeout waiting for SSH.
123:2026/02/19 15:00:42 ui error: Build 'tart-cli.macos-base' errored after 2 minutes 5 seconds: Timeout waiting for SSH.
129:2026/02/19 15:00:42 machine readable: tart-cli.macos-base,error []string{"Timeout waiting for SSH."}
130:2026/02/19 15:00:42 ui error: --> tart-cli.macos-base: Timeout waiting for SSH.


tail -n 200 /tmp/clawbox-packer.log
2026/02/19 14:58:36 [INFO] Packer version: 1.15.0 [go1.24.12 darwin arm64]
2026/02/19 14:58:36 [INFO] PACKER_CONFIG env var not set; checking the default config file path
2026/02/19 14:58:36 [INFO] PACKER_CONFIG env var set; attempting to open config file: /Users/tonywu/.packerconfig
2026/02/19 14:58:36 [WARN] Config file doesn't exist: /Users/tonywu/.packerconfig
2026/02/19 14:58:36 [INFO] Setting cache directory: /Users/tonywu/.cache/packer
2026/02/19 14:58:36 [TRACE] listing potential installations for "github.com/cirruslabs/tart" that match ">= 1.14.0". plugingetter.ListInstallationsOptions{PluginDirectory:"/Users/tonywu/.config/packer/plugins", BinaryInstallationOptions:plugingetter.BinaryInstallationOptions{APIVersionMajor:"5", APIVersionMinor:"0", OS:"darwin", ARCH:"arm64", Ext:"", Checksummers:[]plugingetter.Checksummer{plugingetter.Checksummer{Type:"sha256", Hash:(*sha256.Digest)(0x140007a0000)}}, ReleasesOnly:false}}
2026/02/19 14:58:36 [TRACE] Found the following "github.com/cirruslabs/tart" installations: [{/Users/tonywu/.config/packer/plugins/github.com/cirruslabs/tart/packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 v1.19.0 x5.0}]
2026/02/19 14:58:36 [INFO] found external [cli] builders from tart plugin
2026/02/19 14:58:36 [TRACE] listing potential installations for <nil> that match "". plugingetter.ListInstallationsOptions{PluginDirectory:"/Users/tonywu/.config/packer/plugins", BinaryInstallationOptions:plugingetter.BinaryInstallationOptions{APIVersionMajor:"5", APIVersionMinor:"0", OS:"darwin", ARCH:"arm64", Ext:"", Checksummers:[]plugingetter.Checksummer{plugingetter.Checksummer{Type:"sha256", Hash:(*sha256.Digest)(0x140004bd180)}}, ReleasesOnly:false}}
2026/02/19 14:58:36 [INFO] found external [cli] builders from tart plugin
2026/02/19 14:58:36 [TRACE] Using protobuf for communication with plugins
2026/02/19 14:58:36 [INFO] Starting external plugin /Users/tonywu/.config/packer/plugins/github.com/cirruslabs/tart/packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 start builder --protobuf cli
2026/02/19 14:58:36 Starting plugin: /Users/tonywu/.config/packer/plugins/github.com/cirruslabs/tart/packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 []string{"/Users/tonywu/.config/packer/plugins/github.com/cirruslabs/tart/packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64", "start", "builder", "--protobuf", "cli"}
2026/02/19 14:58:36 Waiting for RPC address for: /Users/tonywu/.config/packer/plugins/github.com/cirruslabs/tart/packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:36 Plugin address: unix /var/folders/97/hklkjy0j1h7f6mkjd2zvflbm0000gn/T/packer-plugin3271638741
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:36 Waiting for connection...
2026/02/19 14:58:36 Received unix RPC address for /Users/tonywu/.config/packer/plugins/github.com/cirruslabs/tart/packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64: addr is /var/folders/97/hklkjy0j1h7f6mkjd2zvflbm0000gn/T/packer-plugin3271638741
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:36 Serving a plugin connection...
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:36 [TRACE] starting builder cli
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:36 [DEBUG] - common: sending ConfigSpec as protobuf
2026/02/19 14:58:36 [DEBUG] - common: receiving ConfigSpec as protobuf
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:36 [DEBUG] - common: sending ConfigSpec as protobuf
2026/02/19 14:58:36 [DEBUG] - common: receiving ConfigSpec as protobuf
2026/02/19 14:58:36 [INFO] Starting external plugin /opt/homebrew/bin/packer execute --protobuf packer-provisioner-shell
2026/02/19 14:58:36 Starting plugin: /opt/homebrew/bin/packer []string{"/opt/homebrew/bin/packer", "execute", "--protobuf", "packer-provisioner-shell"}
2026/02/19 14:58:36 Waiting for RPC address for: /opt/homebrew/bin/packer
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: [INFO] Packer version: 1.15.0 [go1.24.12 darwin arm64]
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: [INFO] PACKER_CONFIG env var not set; checking the default config file path
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: [INFO] PACKER_CONFIG env var set; attempting to open config file: /Users/tonywu/.packerconfig
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: [WARN] Config file doesn't exist: /Users/tonywu/.packerconfig
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: [INFO] Setting cache directory: /Users/tonywu/.cache/packer
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: Plugin address: unix /var/folders/97/hklkjy0j1h7f6mkjd2zvflbm0000gn/T/packer-plugin571106930
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: Waiting for connection...
2026/02/19 14:58:36 Received unix RPC address for /opt/homebrew/bin/packer: addr is /var/folders/97/hklkjy0j1h7f6mkjd2zvflbm0000gn/T/packer-plugin571106930
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: Serving a plugin connection...
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: [DEBUG] - common: sending ConfigSpec as protobuf
2026/02/19 14:58:36 [DEBUG] - common: receiving ConfigSpec as protobuf
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: [DEBUG] - common: sending ConfigSpec as protobuf
2026/02/19 14:58:36 [DEBUG] - common: receiving ConfigSpec as protobuf
2026/02/19 14:58:36 ui: tart-cli.macos-base: output will be in this color.
2026/02/19 14:58:36 ui:
2026/02/19 14:58:36 Build debug mode: false
2026/02/19 14:58:36 Force build: false
2026/02/19 14:58:36 On error:
2026/02/19 14:58:36 Waiting on builds to complete...
2026/02/19 14:58:36 Starting build run: tart-cli.macos-base
2026/02/19 14:58:36 Running builder: tart-cli
2026/02/19 14:58:36 [INFO] (telemetry) Starting builder tart-cli.macos-base
2026/02/19 14:58:36 ui: ==> tart-cli.macos-base: Cloning virtual machine...
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:36 Executing: /opt/homebrew/bin/tart [clone ghcr.io/cirruslabs/macos-sequoia-vanilla:latest macos-base]
2026/02/19 14:58:36 ui: ==> tart-cli.macos-base: Updating virtual machine resources...
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:36 Executing: /opt/homebrew/bin/tart [set macos-base --cpu 4 --memory 8192]
2026/02/19 14:58:36 ui: ==> tart-cli.macos-base: Inspecting machine disk image...
2026/02/19 14:58:36 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:36 Executing: /opt/homebrew/bin/tart [set --disk-size 80 macos-base]
2026/02/19 14:58:36 ui: ==> tart-cli.macos-base: Getting partition table...
2026/02/19 14:58:36 ui: ==> tart-cli.macos-base: Found a recovery partition at GPT entry 3, let's remove it to save space and allow for resizing the main partition...
2026/02/19 14:58:36 ui: ==> tart-cli.macos-base: Successfully updated partitions!
2026/02/19 14:58:36 ui: ==> tart-cli.macos-base: Starting the virtual machine...
2026/02/19 14:58:36 ui: ==> tart-cli.macos-base: Successfully started the virtual machine...
2026/02/19 14:58:36 ui: ==> tart-cli.macos-base: Creating temporary RSA SSH key for instance...
2026/02/19 14:58:37 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:37 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:58:38 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:38 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "--resolver", "agent", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:58:40 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:40 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "--resolver", "arp", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:58:41 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:41 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "120", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:58:41 ui: ==> tart-cli.macos-base: Using SSH communicator to connect: 192.168.64.2
2026/02/19 14:58:41 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:41 [INFO] Waiting for SSH, up to timeout: 2m0s
2026/02/19 14:58:41 ui: ==> tart-cli.macos-base: Waiting for SSH to become available...
2026/02/19 14:58:41 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:41 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:58:41 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:41 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 14:58:46 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:46 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:58:46 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:46 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 14:58:51 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:51 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:58:51 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:51 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 14:58:56 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:56 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:58:56 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:58:56 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 14:59:01 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:01 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:59:01 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:01 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 14:59:06 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:06 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:59:06 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:06 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 14:59:11 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:11 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:59:11 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:11 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 14:59:16 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:16 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:59:17 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:17 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 14:59:22 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:22 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:59:22 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:22 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 14:59:27 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:27 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:59:27 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:27 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 14:59:32 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:32 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:59:32 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:32 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 14:59:37 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:37 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:59:37 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:37 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 14:59:42 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:42 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:59:42 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:42 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 14:59:47 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:47 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:59:47 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:47 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 14:59:52 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:52 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:59:52 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:52 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 14:59:57 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:57 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 14:59:57 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 14:59:57 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 15:00:02 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:02 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 15:00:02 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:02 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 15:00:07 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:07 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 15:00:07 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:07 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 15:00:12 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:12 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 15:00:12 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:12 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 15:00:17 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:17 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 15:00:17 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:17 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 15:00:22 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:22 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 15:00:22 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:22 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 15:00:27 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:27 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 15:00:27 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:27 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 15:00:32 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:32 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 15:00:32 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:32 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 15:00:37 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:37 Executing tart: []string{"ip", "--wait", "1", "macos-base"}
2026/02/19 15:00:37 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:37 [DEBUG] TCP connection to SSH ip/port failed: dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host
2026/02/19 15:00:41 ui error: ==> tart-cli.macos-base: Timeout waiting for SSH.
2026/02/19 15:00:41 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:41 [DEBUG] SSH wait cancelled. Exiting loop.
2026/02/19 15:00:41 ui: ==> tart-cli.macos-base: Shutting down the VM...
2026/02/19 15:00:41 ui: ==> tart-cli.macos-base: Waiting for the tart process to exit...
2026/02/19 15:00:41 ui: ==> tart-cli.macos-base: Cleaning up virtual machine...
2026/02/19 15:00:41 packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64 plugin: 2026/02/19 15:00:41 Executing: /opt/homebrew/bin/tart [delete macos-base]
2026/02/19 15:00:42 [INFO] (telemetry) ending tart-cli.macos-base
2026/02/19 15:00:42 ui error: Build 'tart-cli.macos-base' errored after 2 minutes 5 seconds: Timeout waiting for SSH.
2026/02/19 15:00:42 ui:
==> Wait completed after 2 minutes 5 seconds
2026/02/19 15:00:42 machine readable: error-count []string{"1"}
2026/02/19 15:00:42 ui error:
==> Some builds didn't complete successfully and had errors:
2026/02/19 15:00:42 machine readable: tart-cli.macos-base,error []string{"Timeout waiting for SSH."}
2026/02/19 15:00:42 ui error: --> tart-cli.macos-base: Timeout waiting for SSH.
2026/02/19 15:00:42 ui:
==> Builds finished but no artifacts were created.
2026/02/19 15:00:42 [INFO] (telemetry) Finalizing.
2026/02/19 15:00:42 waiting for all plugin processes to complete...
2026/02/19 15:00:42 /opt/homebrew/bin/packer: plugin process exited
2026/02/19 15:00:42 /Users/tonywu/.config/packer/plugins/github.com/cirruslabs/tart/packer-plugin-tart_v1.19.0_x5.0_darwin_arm64: plugin process exited

[joshavant]

Thanks for that feedback. That helps.

Quick question first: do you have any networking controls enabled on this Mac (VPN, firewall/filtering tools, endpoint security, or similar)?

I reviewed your logs, and this looks like a host routing issue, not an SSH credential/plugin issue.

The key line is repeated:
dial tcp 192.168.64.2:22: connect: no route to host

That means your Mac can’t route to the VM IP at all, so the SSH timeout is a downstream symptom.

Also, packer init -upgrade packer/macos-base.pkr.hcl failed earlier only because it was run outside the repo directory.

Could you run this and paste the output?

PACKER_LOG=1 PACKER_LOG_PATH=/tmp/clawbox-packer.log clawbox image build

ifconfig bridge100
netstat -rn -f inet | grep -E '192\.168\.64|bridge100' || true
route -n get 192.168.64.2 || true

tart clone ghcr.io/cirruslabs/macos-sequoia-vanilla:latest tart-netdiag
tart run tart-netdiag --no-graphics &
sleep 8
VM_IP="$(tart ip tart-netdiag 2>/dev/null)"; echo "VM_IP=$VM_IP"
route -n get "$VM_IP" || true
nc -vz "$VM_IP" 22 || true
ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null
admin@"$VM_IP" 'echo ok' || true
tart stop tart-netdiag || true
tart delete tart-netdiag || true

If this also shows no route to host, the next thing I'll want to check is local network permission + VPN/firewall interference with 192.168.64.0/24.

[mikewaters]

FYI I had the same issue, I did not capture any good output though - I just killed the process, killed the orphaned packer process, and re-ran. This worked.

[thetonywu]

Ok so I closed my terminal and tried again with a new one and it works. Seems like there is still something to be worked out, but im not blocked anymore. Thanks