How to install Linux on Mac

Which way suits your Mac

Choose Apple menu › About This Mac. A line called Chip means a Mac with Apple silicon, a line called Processor means an Intel-based Mac.

• Any Mac: a virtual machine. Safe, nothing to partition, but Linux shares the Mac’s memory with macOS.
• Apple silicon: Asahi Linux, a full install next to macOS, for Macs with M1 and M2 chips.
• Intel: a full install next to macOS from a USB installer.

Boot Camp installs only Windows, not Linux: see Boot Camp for Mac.

Run Linux in a virtual machine

Two well-known free apps do it: UTM (mac.getutm.app), which uses Apple’s own virtualization on Apple silicon, and VirtualBox (virtualbox.org), which runs on both Apple silicon and Intel Macs.

1. Download your Linux distribution’s installer image (ISO) from its official site. On Apple silicon take the ARM64 (AArch64) version, on an Intel Mac the x86-64 (amd64) one.
2. Install UTM or VirtualBox from its official site.
3. Create a new virtual machine, choose Linux and select the ISO file. Give it memory and disk space, for example 4 GB of memory and 30 GB of disk.
4. Start the virtual machine and install Linux the same way as on a regular computer.

On Apple silicon, an x86-64 version of Linux runs only through emulation, which is much slower. Pick the ARM64 version whenever the distribution has one.

Install Asahi Linux on a Mac with Apple silicon

Asahi Linux is a community project, not an Apple one. Its distribution, Fedora Asahi Remix, supports all Macs with M1 and M2 chips. Support for M3 is at an early stage, and Macs with M4 and later chips can’t install it yet. Check the device list on asahilinux.org before you start.

1. Back up your Mac: see how to back up a Mac.
2. Open Terminal and paste the command below from asahilinux.org.
3. Follow the installer: enter your password, choose how much space to give Linux and pick Fedora Asahi Remix. It tells you how to finish the setup after a restart.
4. To switch systems later, shut down, then press and hold the power button until the startup options appear, and choose macOS or Linux.

The installer shrinks the macOS partition to make room for Linux. It doesn’t delete macOS or your files, but changing partitions is risky without a backup:

Install Linux next to macOS on an Intel Mac

1. Back up your Mac and download the x86-64 installer image of your distribution.
2. Write the image to a USB drive with the tool your distribution’s site recommends.
3. On a Mac with the Apple T2 Security Chip, start up in macOS Recovery, choose Utilities › Startup Security Utility and allow booting from external media. Linux usually also needs Secure Boot set to No Security.
4. Shut down, connect the USB drive, turn the Mac on and immediately hold Option. Select the USB drive (often called EFI Boot) and press Return.
5. In the Linux installer, choose to install alongside macOS or on free space. An option like “Erase disk” deletes macOS and all your files.

Built-in Wi-Fi, the keyboard or the trackpad of some Intel Macs need extra drivers in Linux. Look up your Mac model in your distribution’s documentation before you install.