While running macOS is possible on a variety of hardware...

DarwinKVM will require most, if not all, of the following for proper usage:

  1. Compatible Dedicated Graphics Card.
    • This is a must. If you are not on a Desktop, you cannot use DarwinKVM.
      • Read more on this requirement later when checking your dGPUs support chart.
    • AMD GPU Support Table - Recommended (Runs Legacy OS X and modern macOS)
    • NVIDIA GPU Support Table - For Legacy OS X (High Sierra (10.13) or older)
  2. A Desktop/PC Host running a Linux Distribution.
    • For best results, an Arch based distribution is recommended for latest packages.
    • Usage of a Desktop is due to the dedicated GPU needing to be wired via PCIe
    • Some Laptops have hardware MUX switches, which will reroute the display.
    • Some confirmed working hosts are as follows:
  3. Host CPU Features Minimum Requirements:
    • Confirm Virtualization Support enabled in BIOS
      • Intel VT-x
      • AMD SVM
    • CPU Instruction Set Support:
      • SSE4 for >= Sierra (10.12)
      • SSE4.1 for >= Mojave (10.14)
      • AVX2 for >= Ventura (13)
        • You can bypass the limitation with CryptexFixup as of now.
        • Usage of CF will not bypass the requirement of AVX2 for GPU usage.
  4. Previous OpenCore Experience is helpful!
    • Experience creating an EFI for your baremetal system.
    • Reading/Understanding of the config.plist by OpenCore.
    • Experience using the various tools in the community.
  5. Patience! lots of it. It’s worth it.


If you're interested in DarwinPPC for PowerMac versions, the following is enough:
  1. A Host capable of running qemu-system-ppc.
    • Virtualization (KVM Mode) only supported on PowerPC Hosts. Yes, they still exist.
    • For best results, an Arch based distribution is recommended.
    • Utilizing Virt-manager is optional, this means Windows hosts can use the CLI instructions.
    • Sound is known to not work and slow down emulation.
  2. Previous PowerMac and QEMU Experience is helpful!
    • Experience using legacy OS X releases for PowerPC in general.
    • Understanding the management of drives in Virt-Manager/CLI.




DarwinKVM Logo
DarwinKVM Docs Version 3.0.0~prerelease
Copyright © 2023, 2024, 2025 RoyalGraphX
Copyright © 2025 Carnations Botanica
Distributed by a BSD 3-Clause License
Last Modified: Thu, 9 Apr 2025 15:45:02 CDT
Carnations Logo