Free tools · Machines

Run a Windows 11 ARM guest on an Apple silicon Mac

Create and boot a Windows on ARM virtual machine on an Apple silicon Mac. 1VMTool ships its own virtual machine monitor on Apple's Hypervisor.framework, so there is no QEMU to download and nothing GPL to redistribute.

macOS 26 or later · Apple silicon · free on both tiers

Step by step

  1. 1vm guide windows

    Read what the Windows path supports, and what it does not, before creating anything.

  2. 1vm create win --guest windows --iso ~/Downloads/Win11_ARM64.iso --drivers ~/Downloads/virtio-win.iso

    Windows defaults to the native 1VM engine. The virtio ISO supplies network and display drivers to the unattended setup.

  3. 1vm start win

    Boot into setup. `1vm eject win` detaches the installer once the guest boots on its own.

  4. 1vm exec win -- <cmd>

    Runs through the Windows guest agent rather than SSH.

Worth knowing

  • Windows on the 1VM engine is at tier N3 — it installs and boots to a desktop, but the certification gates for N4 have not been passed. The app says so on every screen that offers it.
  • There is no DirectX, no 3D and no compute: the console is accelerated scanout of the guest framebuffer, not a virtual GPU.
  • You supply the Windows image and the licence. 1VMTool does not download or bundle either.

The long version

This page is the short path. For the whole area in prose — the options, the edge cases and what to do when it does not work — read Windows guests.

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Frequently asked questions

Does 1VMTool use QEMU?

No. The QEMU path was retired deliberately; there is no QEMU process and no QEMU code in the source tree. Machines created under the old path have their configuration migrated to the native engine automatically, and the disk image is unchanged.

Can I play games or run CAD in the guest?

No. There is no virtual GPU, so anything needing Direct3D or GPU compute will not run. `1vm doctor --graphics` explains why Direct3D is off and what the state of it is.

Is the Windows path production ready?

Not yet, and the app is explicit about it. Treat it as experimental — a place to test an installer or a Windows-only tool, not a machine to depend on.