How to download and install UTM on Mac

Before you download

UTM is one file for Macs with Apple Silicon and Intel, but what runs fast depends on the chip:

• Apple Silicon: Arm versions of Windows 11 and Linux run at near-native speed. Intel versions of systems run through emulation, which is much slower. macOS itself can run in a virtual machine too.
• Intel: Intel versions of Windows and Linux run at full speed. Arm systems are emulated.
• Disk space. Each virtual machine needs space for its system and programs, often 20 GB or more.
• The system to install. UTM doesn’t include Windows or Linux: you download an installer image (ISO) from Microsoft or the Linux distribution, and Windows needs its own license.

The download button here gets UTM.dmg from UTM’s official GitHub page, the same file the developer’s website links to.

How to install UTM

1. Open the downloaded UTM.dmg in your Downloads folder.
2. In the window that opens, drag UTM to the Applications folder, then eject the UTM disk in the Finder sidebar.

3. Open UTM from Applications and click Open when macOS asks about an app downloaded from the internet.
4. Click Create a New Virtual Machine and choose Virtualize for a system made for your Mac’s chip, or Emulate for another one.
5. Pick the system, select its installer image and follow UTM’s steps, then start the virtual machine and install the system as on a real computer.

The App Store version of UTM is the same app. Buying it supports the developer and gives you automatic updates.

What to set up after the first launch

• Guest tools. In a Windows virtual machine, install the SPICE guest tools UTM offers: they add a shared clipboard and resize the screen with the window.
• Disk space. Virtual machines are stored in UTM’s own folder and keep growing as you install programs in them. Delete the ones you no longer need in UTM.
• Updates. The website version doesn’t update through the App Store: check UTM’s website from time to time, or update it with Homebrew if you installed it that way.
• The installer. Move UTM.dmg from Downloads to the Trash once UTM runs. Keep the system’s ISO only until the virtual machine is set up.

If UTM won’t install or a virtual machine won’t start

• «UTM is damaged and can’t be opened». The download was incomplete. Delete it and download it again from UTM’s website.
• The virtual machine is very slow. On Apple Silicon, take the Arm version of the system and choose Virtualize: emulating an Intel system is many times slower.
• UTM itself misbehaves. Remove UTM and install it again. Delete your virtual machines first if you no longer need them: see how to uninstall UTM on Mac.

Alternatives to UTM

• Parallels DesktopThe smoothest Windows on a Mac, paid.
• VMware FusionFree virtual machines for personal use.
• VirtualBoxFree and open source, popular on Intel Macs.