Orka: New tool allows macOS VMs to be set up quickly
The hoster MacStadium has released free software that allows you to quickly and easily create and test Mac instances.
Orka: VM creation made easy.
(Image: MacStadium)
It doesn't always have to be Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion: there are also free virtualization solutions for macOS. In addition to UTM and VirtualBox (unfortunately only available as a developer preview for Apple Silicon), another app has now been added that is designed to be particularly compact and easy to use. It comes from Mac server hoster MacStadium and goes by the name of Orka Desktop.
Installation from IPSW or download
The application is not quite 20 MB in size when unpacked and serves only one purpose: virtualizing macOS under macOS. After starting it, it is possible to install the operating system either in the form of a restore file (IPSW) or to automatically download the latest version available from Apple. (Alternatively, containers are also possible via the OCI registry.) You can then set how much CPU power (number of vCPUs), RAM and storage space you want to allocate to the VM and set the screen resolution.
The installation is surprisingly quick and easier than with Parallels Desktop. The installation of a fresh Ventura installation (macOS 14) took a good seven minutes on an M3 Mac. The VM performed well and reboots worked quickly. It is also possible to pause a VM, but it is forced to close after Orka Desktop is closed - so there is currently no way to freeze the VM state.
Still somewhat rudimentary, but practical
At the moment, Orka Desktop seems to be well implemented and quite practical, but it is still quite rudimentary in some areas. For example, we were unable to share the clipboard with the host Mac or gain access to a local server on the network. The data exchange, which has to take place via online services, is correspondingly annoying. The system's location data also does not appear to be passed on; we had to set the time manually. Nevertheless, the tool is a useful test environment, especially as VMs can also be deleted immediately.
Known problems with macOS VMs under Apple Silicon still exist, however, as Apple does not currently allow iCloud to be used. However, this should improve from macOS 15 alias Sequoia. However, access will only work if both VM and host are using macOS 15, which is by no means the case for all use cases. Orka Desktop is free of charge.
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