How to run Mac OS Monterey on Ubuntu
Did you know you can run the latest Mac OS right on Ubuntu Linux? It’s true. Thanks to the fantastic Quickemu virtualization tool, anyone can quickly get a Mac OS Monterey VM going. Here’s how to do it on your Ubuntu system.
Note: emulating MacOS Monterey on Ubuntu can be iffy. Use this virtual machine at your own risk!
Installing Quickemu
While it is possible to run Mac OS Monterey on Ubuntu with tools like VMware, Quickemu is the way to go. Why? Quickemu automatically configures the VM for compatibility on your Ubuntu system. This tool makes running Mac OS apps on Ubuntu a breeze.
Setting up Quickemu on Ubuntu is pretty straightforward. To start, you must add the Quickemu PPA to your system. Thankfully, adding this PPA is easy, even if you’re new to Linux. To do it, start by opening up a terminal window.
Unsure about how to launch a terminal window on the Ubuntu desktop? Press Ctrl + Alt + T on the keyboard. Or, search for “Terminal” in the app menu and launch it that way. With the terminal window open, enter the following add-apt-repository command below.
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:flexiondotorg/quickemu
After adding the PPA to your system, you will need to run the update command to set up the PPA. This command needs to be run, or Quickemu will not install on Ubuntu correctly.
sudo apt update
Following the update command, you will install the Quickemu application on your Ubuntu computer. Then, using the apt install command, set up the latest version of Quickemu.
sudo apt install quickemu
Installing Quickgui
Installing Quickemu alone on Ubuntu will enable you to generate a Mac OS Monterey virtual machine. However, the Quickgui app makes it easier by providing a GUI.
To get your hands on the Quickgui application, you must add the PPA to Ubuntu. Just like Quickemu, the Quickgui PPA is straightforward to set up. To do it, ensure you have a terminal window open on Ubuntu. Then, run the following add-apt-repository command.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannick-mauray/quickgui
With the PPA added to Ubuntu, you must run the update command. If you do not run an update, Ubuntu will not be able to set up Quickgui correctly.
sudo apt update
When Ubuntu’s software sources are up to date, you can easily install the Quickgui application on your Ubuntu system using the apt install command.
sudo apt install quickgui
Setting up the Mac OS Monterey VM on Ubuntu
The Mac OS Monterrey VM needs to be set up before installing the operating system and using it on your Ubuntu computer. To set it up, launch the QuickGUI application on the Ubuntu desktop. Then, follow the step-by-step instructions below.
Step 1: Find the “Create new machines” button inside the Quickgui application and click on it with the mouse. Then, find the “Operating System” section, and click on the “Select” button.
Step 2: Once the “Select” button is clicked, a pop-up window will appear on the screen. This pop-up window will list a wide variety of Linux operating systems available.
Look through the pop-up window for the “Mac OS” section, and click on it with the mouse to tell Quickgui you wish to set up a Mac OS VM.
Step 3: Find the “Version” button, and click on it with the mouse to view the Mac OS versions menu. Then, select “Monterey” in the menu to tell Quickgui you wish to create a Mac OS Monterey VM.
Step 4: Select the “Download” button in Quickgui to download and configure your Mac OS Monterey virtual machine. Remember that this download/setup process could take some time to complete.
Installing Mac OS Monterey in the VM
Follow the step-by-step instructions below to install Mac OS Monterey in the Quickemu VM.
Step 1: Find the “Manage existing machines” button inside the Quickgui application, and click on it with the mouse. After selecting the button, Quickgui will show you a list of available VMs.
Step 2: Look through the list of VMs in Quickgui for “macos-monterey” and click on the “play” button to start up the virtual machine. After starting the VM, click inside the VM window, highlight the complex drive icon, and press Enter to load up the Mac OS installer.
Step 3: Inside the Mac OS installer, locate “Disk Utility” and click on it with the mouse. You’ll be brought to the Mac OS partition editor by selecting this button.
Inside the “Disk Utility” app, find “Apple Inc. VirtIO Block Media” in the sidebar and select it. Then, click “Erase” to erase and format the disk. Be sure to choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for “Format.”
Click the red button to close Disk Utility when done.
Step 4: Find “Reinstall macOS Monterey” and click on it to install Mac OS. Then, click “Continue” to install the operating system to the VM on the next page. You’ll be free to use Mac OS Monterey on Ubuntu when the installation is complete.
I ran thru your instructions, downloaded the mac os / monterey, but when I click on the ‘start’ button nothing happens
If the VM doesn’t start on your machine, consider updating Quickemu, or your operating system. If both of these options do not help, your computer may be incompatible, or your BIOS may have virtualization disabled.
Hi,
I tried to install macOS Monterey on Ubuntu 20.04 on a core i7 machine. I had 100GB of disk available on the virtual hard drive and I have 16GB of RAM.
The install started directly with 70% of the progress bar and approx 3h of install (that was totally wrong). After a couple of minutes, I ran out of my disk space and the install crashed…
Did you configure something special about hard disk space?
Bests,
Cyril
You may want to delete the VM, update the software, and try again. Mac OS support in QuickEMU is evolving, and each update will improve the installation process.