Kyvenza: run macOS and Linux VMs on Apple Silicon without touching a config file. $49 one-time.
I made this, so weigh everything below accordingly.
Problem:
I needed a clean macOS install to reproduce a bug that only showed up on a fresh system. Ninety minutes later I had four tabs open about disk image formats and still no VM. That's the whole origin story. VM tooling on Apple Silicon splits into CLI tools that assume you enjoy configuring things, and commercial suites that want to be a platform. I wanted the boring middle, something that treats a VM the way Finder treats a folder.
Kyvenza is a native Swift app on Apple's Virtualization framework. No QEMU, no emulation layer, no CLI it's quietly shelling out to, zero third-party dependencies. You fill in a form and get a VM. macOS guests and Linux ARM, with Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and Alpine fetched and verified for you, or point it at any other ARM64 ISO yourself. Clone, snapshot, import and export. Pause a running VM and pick it up later, or force power off when a guest stops answering. Rosetta shared into Linux guests so x86-64 binaries still run. Shared folders. A diagnostics panel for when virtualization does what virtualization does.
Comparison:
The honest way to sort this is by what you actually want to run.
If you want Windows, VMware Fusion is free now for personal and commercial use, and it runs Windows 11 ARM. That beats me, and it beats Parallels on price. I can't run Windows at all: Apple's Virtualization framework can't boot Windows on ARM. That's a framework limit rather than a hardware one, and it's not a roadmap item I'm being coy about. Go get Fusion.
If you want a macOS guest, Fusion is out entirely. Broadcom's own docs say the Arm variants of macOS aren't supported in a Fusion VM. So on Apple Silicon the field is Parallels, UTM, the CLI tools, and me. That's the case I built this for, and it's where one-click snapshot and clone earns its money, because testing against a clean system means rolling back constantly.
Parallels is more mature than I am and does both Windows and macOS guests. It sells a perpetual Standard licence alongside the subscriptions, but that one is current-version-only, same shape as mine and more expensive. Pro is subscription.
UTM is free, more flexible, and does x86 emulation through QEMU, which I don't do at all. If you already have a UTM setup you like, stay. I'm not going to beat free on flexibility. What's different here is that snapshot and clone are one click instead of a disk image chore, and sharing Rosetta into a Linux guest is a toggle instead of a mount you look up every time.
Tart, lume and the other CLI tools beat me if you're scripting CI. This is for when you want a window, not a pipeline. And if Docker already solves your problem, keep using Docker, this isn't a container replacement.
Two limits worth knowing before you download rather than after. Apple Silicon only, macOS 14 or later, no Intel Macs. And Apple's own license caps you at two macOS guests per host, which no app on this list can change.
Pricing:
$49 one time, not a subscription. Twelve months of updates, then a perpetual fallback license, so when the update window closes the app keeps working. 7-day trial, no card, because virtualization performance depends far too much on your specific hardware for me to ask anyone to take it on faith.
Link: https://kyvenza.com
Also on the Mac App Store. The direct download is a signed and notarized DMG.
One bit of history since someone always finds it: versions before 1.1 bundled lume (MIT, by the trycua folks). Since 1.2 it runs on its own engine, but the credit is still in the app's Open Source Notices, because that project is what got this off the ground.
I'll be in the comments, including for the "why would I pay for this" ones.
https://redd.it/1vu4nvz
@macappsbackup
I made this, so weigh everything below accordingly.
Problem:
I needed a clean macOS install to reproduce a bug that only showed up on a fresh system. Ninety minutes later I had four tabs open about disk image formats and still no VM. That's the whole origin story. VM tooling on Apple Silicon splits into CLI tools that assume you enjoy configuring things, and commercial suites that want to be a platform. I wanted the boring middle, something that treats a VM the way Finder treats a folder.
Kyvenza is a native Swift app on Apple's Virtualization framework. No QEMU, no emulation layer, no CLI it's quietly shelling out to, zero third-party dependencies. You fill in a form and get a VM. macOS guests and Linux ARM, with Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and Alpine fetched and verified for you, or point it at any other ARM64 ISO yourself. Clone, snapshot, import and export. Pause a running VM and pick it up later, or force power off when a guest stops answering. Rosetta shared into Linux guests so x86-64 binaries still run. Shared folders. A diagnostics panel for when virtualization does what virtualization does.
Comparison:
The honest way to sort this is by what you actually want to run.
If you want Windows, VMware Fusion is free now for personal and commercial use, and it runs Windows 11 ARM. That beats me, and it beats Parallels on price. I can't run Windows at all: Apple's Virtualization framework can't boot Windows on ARM. That's a framework limit rather than a hardware one, and it's not a roadmap item I'm being coy about. Go get Fusion.
If you want a macOS guest, Fusion is out entirely. Broadcom's own docs say the Arm variants of macOS aren't supported in a Fusion VM. So on Apple Silicon the field is Parallels, UTM, the CLI tools, and me. That's the case I built this for, and it's where one-click snapshot and clone earns its money, because testing against a clean system means rolling back constantly.
Parallels is more mature than I am and does both Windows and macOS guests. It sells a perpetual Standard licence alongside the subscriptions, but that one is current-version-only, same shape as mine and more expensive. Pro is subscription.
UTM is free, more flexible, and does x86 emulation through QEMU, which I don't do at all. If you already have a UTM setup you like, stay. I'm not going to beat free on flexibility. What's different here is that snapshot and clone are one click instead of a disk image chore, and sharing Rosetta into a Linux guest is a toggle instead of a mount you look up every time.
Tart, lume and the other CLI tools beat me if you're scripting CI. This is for when you want a window, not a pipeline. And if Docker already solves your problem, keep using Docker, this isn't a container replacement.
Two limits worth knowing before you download rather than after. Apple Silicon only, macOS 14 or later, no Intel Macs. And Apple's own license caps you at two macOS guests per host, which no app on this list can change.
Pricing:
$49 one time, not a subscription. Twelve months of updates, then a perpetual fallback license, so when the update window closes the app keeps working. 7-day trial, no card, because virtualization performance depends far too much on your specific hardware for me to ask anyone to take it on faith.
Link: https://kyvenza.com
Also on the Mac App Store. The direct download is a signed and notarized DMG.
One bit of history since someone always finds it: versions before 1.1 bundled lume (MIT, by the trycua folks). Since 1.2 it runs on its own engine, but the credit is still in the app's Open Source Notices, because that project is what got this off the ground.
I'll be in the comments, including for the "why would I pay for this" ones.
https://redd.it/1vu4nvz
@macappsbackup
Kyvenza
Kyvenza – Mac VM Manager and Virtual Machine for Apple Silicon
A Mac VM manager and virtual machine manager for Mac on Apple Silicon. Create, configure, and run macOS ARM and Linux ARM VMs with no x86 emulation overhead.
Skein: a native Mac notes app with a graph that is actually useful. Free, 9 MB, no account, no plugins.
https://redd.it/1vu76d4
@macappsbackup
https://redd.it/1vu76d4
@macappsbackup
Reddit
From the macapps community on Reddit: Skein: a native Mac notes app with a graph that is actually useful. Free, 9 MB, no account…
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Is 4-directional Space switching possible with trackpad gestures on macOS?
# Is there any method or app that can enable the touchpad of a MacBook to perform four-finger sliding (not just left and right, but also up and down), allowing for the virtual space switching in four directions?
Because I usually have to swipe left or right twice each time (using four fingers for the swipe)
I prefer to place four commonly used apps in four virtual spaces, and switch between the interfaces by swiping up, down, left, and right.
why always delete my post?
https://redd.it/1vu9n6b
@macappsbackup
# Is there any method or app that can enable the touchpad of a MacBook to perform four-finger sliding (not just left and right, but also up and down), allowing for the virtual space switching in four directions?
Because I usually have to swipe left or right twice each time (using four fingers for the swipe)
I prefer to place four commonly used apps in four virtual spaces, and switch between the interfaces by swiping up, down, left, and right.
why always delete my post?
https://redd.it/1vu9n6b
@macappsbackup
Reddit
From the macapps community on Reddit
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Built a radial menu app for mac after getting tired of switching context while working
https://redd.it/1vudods
@macappsbackup
https://redd.it/1vudods
@macappsbackup
Bolt AI Memory vs Fluent RAG?
Has anyone used both of these apps and can speak to how Bolt AI's Memory vs Fluent's RAG?
(Reposting as I had not hit the 'Read the Rules' acknowledgement.
https://redd.it/1vujnqu
@macappsbackup
Has anyone used both of these apps and can speak to how Bolt AI's Memory vs Fluent's RAG?
(Reposting as I had not hit the 'Read the Rules' acknowledgement.
https://redd.it/1vujnqu
@macappsbackup
Reddit
From the macapps community on Reddit
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[OS] Sxitch v1.4 - customisable alternative to macOS Cmd + Tab [Giveaway]
https://redd.it/1vuli02
@macappsbackup
https://redd.it/1vuli02
@macappsbackup
Reddit
From the macapps community on Reddit: [OS] Sxitch v1.4 - customisable alternative to macOS Cmd + Tab [Giveaway]
Explore this post and more from the macapps community