OpenCore for Virtual Machines (OC4VM) has been built to run macOS VMs on Intel based Apple Macs. It provides an OpenCore disk image that can be used to boot Intel based macOS using QEMU, UTM and VMware Fusion.
Using OpenCore allows for a flexible patching system to overcome limitations of the virtualisation software. It basically creates a virtual Hackintosh, which is similar in implementation to the OpenCore Legacy Patcher used to run unsupported macOS versions on older Apple Mac computers.
It is also a replacement for the Unlocker and does not require patching VMware, but that is not the primary purpose of OC4VM which was originally created to fix issues on VMware Fusion when running macOS guests.
What OC4VM can do?
- Run macOS on Intel CPUs
- Boot to macOS Recovery mode which is broken in VMware's EFI implementation
- Easily change SIP settings using an EFI utility
- Add Intel e1000e virtual NIC compatibility for Ventura and later versions of macOS
What OC4VM can do but not recommended:
- Boot Intel macOS on an Apple Silicon CPU
What OC4VM cannot do:
- Use the Apple para-vitrualised GPU on none Apple hardware
- Use the Apple para-vitrualised GPU in QEMU on Apple hardware
The OC4VM system has been tested on an Intel Mac mini mid-2014 with these guest OSes:
- Ventura
- Sonoma
using:
- QEMU 8
- UTM 4
- VMware Fusion 13
- Download a binary release from https://github.com/DrDonk/oc4vm/releases
- Optionally check the sha512 checksum matches that published with the release
- Unzip the archive to extract the files
- Navigate to the folder with the extracted files
Note: If you are not using an Apple computer and have installed the VMware Unlocker it is recommended that the Unlocker is uninstalled. OC4VM does not alter anything in the VMware program folders.
OC4VM has several folders:
| Folder | Function |
|---|---|
| config | OpenCore config.plist files for reference |
| disks | OpenCore boot variants in DMG, VMDK and QCOW2 formats |
| iso | VMware Fusion macOS guest tools |
| templates | Template VMs for VMware and QEMU |
The most import folders are the 'templates' and 'iso' folders.
TODO
The 'templates' folder has a sub-folder called "vmware" which contains VM templates for VMware macOS virtual machines. Each folder has an OpenCore booter and VMX file tailored for the OC4VM variant you choose.
The templates are designed for maximum compatibilty between different releases and platforms, and you should not upgrade the virtual hardware if prompted to by the VMware software. Also do not change the guestOS settings in the VMX file. It will not change any of the behaviours of the guest and could cause issues in the future.
templates
└── vmware
├── intel-release
│ ├── macos.vmdk
│ ├── macos.vmx
│ └── opencore.vmdk
└── intel-verbose
├── macos.vmdk
├── macos.vmx
└── opencore.vmdk
Each folder contains these files:
| File | Function |
|---|---|
| opencore.vmdk | OpenCore boot virtual disk |
| macos.vmx | macOS VMX settings file |
| macos.vmdk | Pre-formated HFS+J virtual disk |
To create a new virtual machine copy either the Intel or AMD template to a new folder:
- opencore.vmdk
- macos.vmx
- macos.vmdk
OC4VM provides a copy of the VMware macOS guest tools ISO images. These are useful for VMware Fusion and also QEMU/UTM. To install mount the darwin.iso file using the VMs virtual CD/DVD drive.
TO DO
TO DO
These URLs will link to the latest versions of VMware's products:
- VMware Fusion https://vmware.com/go/getfusion
- VMware Workstation for Windows https://www.vmware.com/go/getworkstation-win
- VMware Workstation for Linux https://www.vmware.com/go/getworkstation-linux
- VMware Player for Windows https://www.vmware.com/go/getplayer-win
- VMware Player for Linux https://www.vmware.com/go/getplayer-linux
- VMware ESXi https://customerconnect.vmware.com/en/evalcenter?p=free-esxi8
- VMware Guest Tools https://vmware.com/go/tools
Building must be done on macOS, either real or virtualized. The Homebrew package manager will need to be installed to allow installation of the following pre-requisites. Please follow the instructions at https://brew.sh.
Once brew is installed run the following commands to install the required software:
brew install qemu
brew install p7zip
Now clone the OC4VM repository using:
git clone https://github.com/DrDonk/OC4VM.git
Using the terminal OC4VM can be built by simply running the make.sh command from tbe cloned repository.
./make.sh
The build artefacts will be found in the "build" folder and the release zip file in the "dist" folder.
Many thanks to the great developers and community around the OpenCore scene. The OC4VM pacakge uses the following:
- OpenCore - https://github.com/acidanthera/OpenCorePkg
- Lilu - https://github.com/acidanthera/Lilu
- CryptexFixup - https://github.com/acidanthera/CryptexFixup
- DebugEnhancer - https://github.com/acidanthera/DebugEnhancer
- VirtualSMC - https://github.com/acidanthera/VirtualSMC
- AppleHDA - https://github.com/acidanthera/AppleHDA
Also thanks to the testers who helped me out with the project.
(c) 2023-4 David Parsons