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🛠️ Advanced Configuration

The full VM configuration editor. It opens from three places, all landing on the same screen: Advanced Create when creating a VM, a VM's own Configuration row in VM Details, and a template's Configure action.

Advanced Configuration hub with the Hardware section's rows visible

It covers general info, CPU & memory, display & sound, hardware (disks, networks, CD/DVD, serial ports, network block devices, USB, boot device), and system settings (security, auto snapshots, schedule, startup & shutdown, webhooks, SSH) — plus restore image, provisioning and Rosetta for macOS/Linux as applicable. Windows 11 is available on supported Apple silicon Macs — see Windows Virtual Machines for what differs. Every new network starts with its own MAC address.

A few fields worth knowing about:

  • Memory Balloon lets a running Linux or Windows guest give memory back to the Mac when it's idle, instead of holding onto it permanently.
  • Display has two resolution modes: Auto Resolution follows the window/screen you're viewing from, while Force Resolution locks the guest to a fixed size regardless of viewer.
  • Networks — editing a VM's network here is also how you set a static IP or add port forwarding rules for a Custom/Shared network, and where a network's MTU is set. For Windows, choose USB (NCM) (the default, using Windows' built-in driver) or VirtIO (PCI) (requires NetKVM, installed by install.cmd on the VirtualProgTools drive).
  • Security toggles control whether this VM allows Clipboard sharing, Screenshots, Screen Recording, and Dashboard Logs (usage/session tracking) — turning one off also disables the matching feature in the Live Screen and Statistics.
  • Auto Snapshots sets a frequency (on start, daily, weekly, monthly, on shutdown) and how many to keep; restoring any snapshot offers an optional Safety Snapshot of the current state first, in case you need to undo the restore itself.
  • Provisioning (macOS 27+ host) creates the guest's first account automatically on boot — the guest username must be different from every username already on the Mac, or it silently fails to run. For Windows VMs it sets up the Unattended Install until Windows is installed.
  • USB (macOS 27+ Mac; existing VMs and templates, and snapshots read only) lists the Mac's USB devices. Check a device to connect it each time the VM starts, for example to install Linux onto a USB disk. A change is saved at once, not with Save, and the VM must be shut down. For a Windows VM, Connect as → SATA Disk lets Windows Setup install onto a USB disk. See USB.
  • Sound turns the VM's audio input and output on or off. For existing Windows VMs and templates it also picks the Mac Microphone and Speakers: the Mac's default or a chosen device. See Sound.
  • Camera (Windows; existing VMs and templates, and snapshots read only) gives Windows the Mac's camera: turn on Enable Camera, and Use the Mac's preferred camera or a chosen one. Saved with Save; takes effect the next time the VM starts. See Camera.
  • Nested Virtualization and Entropy Device (Linux, Apple Silicon M3+) are off by default; turning off the Entropy Device can noticeably slow down anything that generates cryptographic keys in the guest, including SSH.

Note: Read-only while the VM is running or when your token is an Operator token.

Editable rows have a trailing trash button for removing disks, CD/DVD drives, serial ports, network block devices, networks, webhooks, and port-forwarding rules on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. These buttons are hidden in read-only mode;