Logging in with my Apple ID anywhere in the system (feedback assistant, Xcode, iCloud, etc.) fails when running under virtualization. Is this a known 'issue'? (networking in general is working fine)

I m trying to identify if my launched process is running on a local mac machine(desktop/laptop) or a virtual macOS X instance like AWS EC2, Azure, MacStadium etc. I have followed this link which searched for its limited providers in the output, but I m not bound to any limited providers and looking for a general solution which is applicable to all the providers. Is there some hardware/network/virtualization-related information that can be used to identify if the process is launched on a virtual MacOS instance? OR is there some system Information that I can use to be sure that my process is running on a local machine?

Virtualization framework is a high-level API to create macOS and Linux virtual machines. Hypervisor is a low-level API to build virtualization solutions without the need for a kernel extension. If you’re interested in containers on the Mac, check out the Containerization package and its associated container tool. Virtualization: Forums subtopic: App & System Services > Core OS Forums tag: Virtualization Virtualization framework documentation Using iCloud with macOS virtual machines documentation article Use iCloud on a virtual machine support article Running macOS in a virtual machine on Apple silicon sample code Running Linux in a Virtual Machine sample code Running GUI Linux in a virtual machine on a Mac sample code Building macOS apps with Xcode 26 on macOS 26 VM forums thread — This thread describes how the development experience in VMs has improved recently, and one remaining issue that you might bump in to. Hypervisor: Forums subtopic: App & System Services > Core OS Forums tag: Hypervisor Hypervisor framework documentation Share and Enjoy — Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

When trying to update from beta 2 to beta 3 and from beta 3 to the revised beta 3 build, softwareupdate failed at the personalization step. This was because a USB-C accessory passed through to a VM via Virtualization.framework was holding the USB-C controller. This blocked I²C access to the AppleTypeCRetimer chip during the preflight personalization phase. In the unified log, this appears as: AppleTypeCRetimerIICDeviceHandle readRegister: Read result 0xe00002d5 AppleHPMLibRT13Interface: HPM is NOT in ADFU, modeData=0x20505041 [SPI] MSUParsedToleratedFailureForStep | step:update_usbcretimer → FAILURE MSUPreflightUpdate | FAILURE → "failed to copy firmware identity" 0xe00002d5 = IOKit I²C device not responding 0x20505041 = "APP " — HPM stuck in application mode, can't enter ADFU (firmware update mode) Without retimer firmware identity, the SFR installer can't complete personalization I was able to work around this by physically unplugging the passed through device (which is suboptimal for a headless server in a rack). Feedback ID: FB23772773 Hardware: Mac16,9 (Apple Silicon) Update: macOS 27 Beta 3 (26A5378j → 26A5378n), full OTA via Software Update Failure: SUMacControllerErrorPreflightPersonalizeFailed (7723) → MSU_ERR_PERSONALIZATION_FAILURE (2) → "failed to copy firmware identity" (1259)

Trying to virtualize macOS 27 on a 26.6 host failed at 77% install progress, even with Xcode 27 beta installed. But worked fine on a macOS 27 host. Are there any tricks to use a 26 host? Thanks!

When running a macOS virtual machine using Virtualization.framework, I am encountering a reproducible issue where the kernel’s internal VM slot counter (hv_apple_isa_vm_quota) is not decremented after a guest-initiated shutdown. This leads to subsequent VM launches failing with VZErrorVirtualMachineLimitExceeded, even though no active VMs appear to be running. Steps to Reproduce: Create a valid VZVirtualMachineConfiguration for a macOS guest Initialize and start a VZVirtualMachine instance Inside the guest macOS, perform a normal shutdown (Apple menu → Shut Down) Wait until VZVirtualMachine.state becomes .stopped Attempt to start the same VZVirtualMachine instance again Expected Behavior: The VM should restart successfully.
The kernel should release the VM slot once the guest shuts down, allowing a new VM instance to start without requiring any host-side intervention. Actual Behavior: start() fails with: Domain: VZErrorDomain Code: 6 (VZErrorVirtualMachineLimitExceeded) Description: “The number of virtual machines exceeds the limit. The maximum supported number of active virtual machines has been reached.” Despite the VM reporting .stopped, the system continues to behave as if a slot is still allocated. Workarounds Tested: The following approaches did not resolve the issue: Releasing and recreating the VZVirtualMachine instance Introducing delays (5s, 30s, 60s) before restarting Terminating all processes related to Virtualization.framework The only reliable recovery is a full macOS host reboot, which resets the VM quota state. Environment: macOS 26.5 (Tahoe) Apple Silicon: M4 Max Virtualization.framework (system-provided) Impact: This issue makes reliable VM lifecycle management difficult for applications relying on Virtualization.framework (e.g., UTM and similar tools). In automated environments (CI/CD, testing pipelines), it can cause persistent VM launch failures and require full host reboots, interrupting all workloads. Suspected Issue: It appears the kernel VM slot counter (hv_apple_isa_vm_quota) is not consistently decremented when a VM exits via guest-initiated shutdown, despite the VZVirtualMachine transitioning to .stopped. This suggests a race condition or missing cleanup path in the shutdown lifecycle handling. Request: Could you confirm whether this is a known issue or expected behavior, and whether there is a recommended API-level workaround to ensure VM slot cleanup after guest shutdown?

Filed a feedback on this: FB23038153 I am unable to install a new Sequoia 15.6.1 (latest available .ipsw) on a Tahoe 26.5.1 host using a Virtualization.framework-based VM app. I’ve tried both Tart and VirtualBuddy. Both get to 90% of the installation, then fail with this error: Error Domain=VZErrorDomain Code=10007 "Installation failed." UserInfo={NSLocalizedFailure=An error occurred during installation., NSLocalizedFailureReason=Installation failed., NSUnderlyingError=0xc2ac2e280 {Error Domain=com.apple.MobileDevice.MobileRestore Code=-1 "AMRestorePerformRestoreModeRestoreWithError failed with error: 11" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=AMRestorePerformRestoreModeRestoreWithError failed with error: 11, NSLocalizedFailureReason=An unknown error occurred during installation.}}} I have tried re-installing MobileDevice.pkg from both Xcode 27 beta 1 and Xcode 26.5.0. I’ve rebooted my Mac. I get the same result each time. I’ve also tried using an older Sequoia restore image (15.4.1), same result. Installing a Tahoe guest works fine.

I work for a company which develops as part of our product suite a System Extension implementing an Endpoint Security client. Our local developer workflow for testing and validating changes is to build locally with Developer certificates (not a legitimate/production Developer ID certificate) and deploy local builds in to a VM, where to get the System Extension to load and be accepted we need to disable SIP & AMFI. macOS 27 VM is refusing to allow me to disable SIP. Is there an alternate approach we can use for this workflow to allow macOS VMs to accept our software when signing with a (same teamID, but different certificate to the provisioningprofile) developer certificate for local validation?

Hi, I installed Xcode 27 beta 2 and now I can't create any VMs using Virtualization. I tried uninstalling the beta Xcode and re-installing the Xcode 26, but it's still failing. I was able to create VMs using ipsws before I installed Xcode 27, so I'm certain it's the cause. Is there a way to fully uninstall everything having to do with Xcode from the machine without having to re-install my entire macOS?

I am using Virtualization framework for running Golden Gate VM in swift ui window with VZVirtualMachineView. i have set the automaticallyReconfiguresDisplay to true. but when i resize the window the resolution of Golden Gate does not change automatically to fit the window. This works fine for Tahoe. Golden Gate is not respecting the automaticallyReconfiguresDisplay. Any help in fixing this bug would be very helpful to me. Thanks in advance

VM are quite interesting options in a BYOD environment but im not able to enforce a proper segregation between VM and Host. Examples: If the VM is MDM enrolled the Host can access the VM Disk quite easily If the Host is managed a VM can be used to bypass Network security Is a mdm enrolled VM a scenario you have on your roadmap?

Hi, I would like to dipslay resource monitoring graph of CPU, Memory & Network of a running VM with Virtuization Framework. How can i do it with Swift? Is there a way we can do it without the need of guest agents.

Hi everyone, I am developing a macOS virtualization manager (VirtualProg) using the Virtualization.framework. The application is distributed via the Mac App Store, so it operates strictly within the App Store Sandbox. I am looking for a reliable, programmatic way to discover the IP address assigned to a guest (both macOS and Linux). Is there a recommended "Sandbox-safe" API or pattern within the Virtualization framework—or a lower-level networking entitlement—that allows a host application to retrieve the guest's assigned IP address? Ideally, I am looking for a solution that does not require the user to manually install a non-sandboxed helper tool. Thanks in advance for any insights or guidance!

Hi, I am trying to use AAUSBAccessoryManager with mac os 27 to connect host usb device to guest vm. here is my code // // USBPassthroughManager.swift // VirtualProg import AccessoryAccess import Foundation import IOKit @available(macOS 27.0, *) class USBPassthroughManager: NSObject, ObservableObject, AAUSBAccessoryListener { static let shared = USBPassthroughManager() @Published var availableDevices: [AAUSBAccessory] = [] func startListening() async { do { let existing = try await AAUSBAccessoryManager.shared .registerListener(self, matchingCriteria: []) await MainActor.run { self.availableDevices = existing } } catch { LogManager.shared.log(vmName: AppConstants.logGeneral, type: .error, message: "USB passthrough listener failed: \(error.localizedDescription)") } } func usbAccessoryDidConnect(_ usbAccessory: AAUSBAccessory) { DispatchQueue.main.async { guard !self.availableDevices.contains(where: { $0.registryID == usbAccessory.registryID }) else { return } self.availableDevices.append(usbAccessory) print(self.displayName(for: usbAccessory)) } } The usb icon in status bar menu is displayed and i can select the the usb device to connect to my app. the usb device is connected to my app. it is shown in the status bar. but usbAccessoryDidConnect is not firing. i have the entitlement com.apple.developer.accessory-access.usb in the capabilities. i get this in the xcode console start failed ((iokit/common) not permitted) for plugin for .......... and also disconnect is also not firing. Not sure what i am doing wrong. How can i determine the name of the USB Device from AAUSBAccessory. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi, Is there way to connect the host usb devices directly to guest vms using mac os Virtualization framework? Thanks

Hi, I saw the mac os 27 new features video https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2026/224/?time=64 and was trying Provisioning and i get this warning [Internal] Thread running at User-interactive quality-of-service class waiting on a lower QoS thread running at Default quality-of-service class. Investigate ways to avoid priority inversions at the line try startupOptions.setGuestProvisioning(opts) i have my vm q declared like this let vmQueue = DispatchQueue(label: "VZVirtualMachineQueue", qos: .userInteractive) and i am executing like this self.vmQueue.async { [weak self] in ......... ......... let startupOptions = VZMacOSVirtualMachineStartOptions() try? startupOptions.setGuestProvisioning(opts) vm.start(startupOptions) } and it fails with treading warning and provisioning does not happen. Thanks in advance for the help

Hi, I wanted to develop a small tool to launch Home Assistant OS in a Virtualization.framework VM. Something lean (no UI, no daemons), zero-config, and Apple Silicon only. I got that running, but I wanted to also use bridge networking and USB device pass-through which require the com.apple.vm.networking and com.apple.developer.accessory-access.usb entitlements, respectively. I was unable to use those for local development using ad-hoc signing, so I guess it requires a paid Apple Developer account and official approval so that they can be enabled in provisioning profiles. I'm open to reactivating my developer subscription which I let expire years ago, but wanted to first assess the chances of getting approval (no point in renewing the subscription if I won't get the permission in the end). I could make this an open source project, if it helps.

I have successfully booted the Linux Kernel with VirtIOFS as the rootfs, but file permission issues render it completely unusable. A file on the macOS host belongs to uid 0, gid 0, but on the Linux guest, this file belongs to uid 1000, gid 10. Why does this happen? How are file permissions directly mapped between the host and the guest? If there is no mapping mechanism in place, why does this discrepancy occur? This leads to errors in Linux, such as: sudo: /etc/sudo.conf is owned by uid 1000, should be 0 sudo: /usr/bin/sudo must be owned by uid 0 and have the setuid bit set bootLoader.commandLine = "console=hvc0 rootfstype=virtiofs root=myfs rw" let directorySharingDevice = VZVirtioFileSystemDeviceConfiguration(tag: "myfs") directorySharingDevice.share = VZSingleDirectoryShare(directory: VZSharedDirectory(url: rootURL!, readOnly: false)) The VMM is running as root.

We are looking to scale up our automated testing infrastructure for macOS development. Ideally, we want to create a large-scale testing farm capable of running parallel integration tests across multiple OS versions and configurations. However, we are running into a major roadblock with the Software License Agreement (SLA) limitation, which restricts the concurrent execution of macOS within virtualized environments to a maximum of two (2) instances per physical host. This restriction creates a massive bottleneck for high-end hardware. Investing in powerful machines like the Mac Studio or Mac Pro feels entirely inefficient for this use case; their massive core counts and memory capacities are effectively wasted if the host is legally throttled to just two concurrent VMs. Given this friction, we have a few questions for the community and any Apple engineers tuning in: are there any known plans, official updates, or historical precedents suggesting Apple might revise or remove this 2-VM limit for enterprise testing workflows? Any insights, policy updates, or architectural recommendations on building large-scale, compliant macOS test farms without underutilizing high-end hardware would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I have the following code for port forwarding in mac os virtualization var ipAddr = in_addr() // 1. Convert String to in_addr inet_pton(AF_INET, guestIP, &ipAddr) let status = vmnet_network_configuration_add_port_forwarding_rule( config, UInt8(IPPROTO_TCP), // TCP protocol sa_family_t(AF_INET), // address family guestPort, // internal port (guest) externalPort, // external port (host) &ipAddr // internal address (guest IP) ) if status == .VMNET_SUCCESS { print("✅ Port Forwarding set: Mac:\(externalPort) -> VM(\(guestIP)):\(guestPort)") } else { print("❌ Port Forwarding failed for \(guestIP): \(status.rawValue)") } It is returning success but when i test it it does not work. Is there anything i am doing wrong? Please help me also in fixing this problem. Note: The app runs in sandbox i tried without sandboxing and it does not work either. Please refer to this link https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/822025?login=true&page=1#884236022 how i am creating the VZVmnetNetworkDeviceAttachment

Hi, I see that with mac os 27 we have diskimagekit https://developer.apple.com/documentation/DiskImageKit the stacked disk image gives us the possibility of creating incremental snapshots which is wonderful addition to the virtualization framework. But is there a way to merge back stacked image to base image? Thanks & Regards

There are some async/await methods in Virtualization; however there's also the ability to specific DispatchQueue. What's the guidance on using these all safely? What are use cases for specifying specific DispatchQueues?

Does Virtualization.framework support delegating a Thunderbolt/PCIe device to a Linux guest VM running on Apple Silicon? We're developing a custom PCIe device and would like to iterate on the driver in a Linux VM environment on the same host.