Creating macOS VMs
macOS VMs are created from IPSW restore images and require a two-step process: initialization and installation.
Step 1: Initialize the VM bundle
vmctl init ~/VMs/sandbox.GhostVM \
--cpus 6 \
--memory 16 \
--disk 128 \
--restore-image ~/Downloads/UniversalMac_15.2_Restore.ipswOptions:
| Option | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
--cpus | 4 | Number of virtual CPUs |
--memory | 8 | Memory in GiB |
--disk | 256 | Disk size in GiB (sparse file) |
--restore-image | auto | Path to IPSW file |
--shared-folder | — | Host folder to share with guest |
--writable | false | Make shared folder writable |
Step 2: Install macOS
vmctl install ~/VMs/sandbox.GhostVMThis installs macOS from the restore image onto the VM's disk. Installation takes several minutes and shows progress.
Step 3: Start the VM
vmctl start ~/VMs/sandbox.GhostVMRestore Image Discovery
If you don't specify
--restore-image, GhostVM auto-discovers IPSW files from ~/Downloads/*.ipsw and /Applications/Install macOS*.app.Using the GUI
- Click Create in the main window
- Select “macOS” as the guest OS
- Configure CPU, memory, and disk
- Select a restore image from the dropdown
- Optionally add shared folders
- Click Create, then Install
Apple's EULA requires macOS guests to run on Apple-branded hardware.