VirtualBuddy

VirtualBuddy can virtualize macOS 12 and later on Apple Silicon, with the goal of offering features that are useful to developers who need to test their apps on multiple versions of macOS, especially betas.

System Requirements

• Apple Silicon Mac
• macOS 13 or later

Important Note About macOS Golden Gate

To install macOS Golden Gate beta on a macOS 26 host, make sure you are running VirtualBuddy 2.2 beta 2 (opens in a new tab) or later and that you have downloaded and installed the latest device support files (opens in a new tab) from Apple. If you already have the Xcode 27 beta installed, then you don't need to install the device support files separately.

Feature Checklist

• [x] Ability to boot any version of macOS 12 or macOS 13, including betas
• [x] Ability to boot some ARM-based Linux distros (tested with Ubuntu Server and Ubuntu Desktop)
• [x] Built-in installation wizard
• [x] Select from a collection of restore images available on Apple’s servers
• [x] Install the latest stable version of macOS
• [x] Local restore image IPSW file
• [x] Custom restore image URL
• [x] Install a Linux distro from a local .iso file
• [x] Select from a collection of Linux distros
• [x] Install Linux from URL
• [x] Boot into recovery mode (in order to disable SIP, for example)
• [x] Networking and file sharing support
• [x] Clipboard sharing
• [x] Customize virtual machine hardware configuration