SwiftVMVirtual Machines
A virtual machine is a computer that runs in a window on your Mac. SwiftVM runs macOS and Linux guests with Apple's Virtualization framework.
The panel#
Click SwiftVM's item in the menu bar to open the panel. It lists every machine, running ones first, with what each is doing and where to reach it.
| In the panel | What it does |
|---|---|
| The button on a machine | Start, resume, or suspend it |
| Open Window | Show the machine's display |
| … on a machine, or right-click | Everything else: power, settings, snapshots, SSH, delete |
| + | New virtual machine (Cmd+N) |
| … at the top | Sort by date or name, show one kind of system, check for updates |
| Settings… | App settings (Cmd+,) |
SwiftVM is in the Dock only while one of its windows is open.
Creating#
Choose New Virtual Machine and pick the operating system at the top of the form. The window opens on the one you made last. You can also drop an installer disc (ISO), a macOS restore image (IPSW), or an existing virtual machine on the window.
- Linux guests: from a ready-made image, or from an installer disc.
- macOS guests: the latest macOS, or your own restore image.
New machines get half of your Mac's cores (between 2 and 4), 8 GB of memory (4 GB on Macs with less than 16 GB), and a 64 GB disk for Linux or 128 GB for macOS. Disks only take up what the guest has written.
Power#
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Start | Boots the machine |
| Shut Down | Asks the guest to shut down cleanly |
| Restart | Shuts down, then starts again |
| Suspend | Saves the machine's memory to disk and frees your Mac's. Resume continues where it was |
| Pause | Freezes the machine in memory. It still uses your Mac's memory |
| Force Stop | Cuts the power. The guest loses what it hasn't saved |
| Discard Saved State | Throws away a suspended machine's memory, to start it fresh |
A macOS guest without the guest tools asks on its screen before it shuts down. See macOS guests.
The machine's window#
The window shows the guest's display, which resizes with the window. Its toolbar has:
- Power: the actions above, and everything else in the machine's menu.
- Network: the cable, the machine's addresses, and port forwarding.
- Shared Folders: folders the guest can use.
- Disc and Disk Images: images plugged in as USB drives.
- USB Devices: your Mac's USB devices.
- Sound and Microphone.
- Settings: the machine's settings.
Shortcuts such as Cmd+Tab and Cmd+Space go to the guest while its window
has focus. Turn off Send System Shortcuts to the Guest in the machine's
settings to keep them for your Mac.
Keyboard shortcuts#
These work while one of SwiftVM's windows is in front.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| New virtual machine | Cmd+N |
| Settings | Cmd+, |
| Start or resume | Cmd+R |
| Suspend | Cmd+Opt+S |
| Take snapshot | Cmd+Shift+S |
| Duplicate | Cmd+D |
| Copy SSH command | Cmd+Shift+C |
| Open in Terminal | Cmd+Shift+T |
Duplicating#
Duplicate copies a machine that is shut down. The copy is a machine of its own, with a new name, address, and SSH name.
- It takes no time and no extra space at first: the copy shares disk space with the original until they differ.
- Forwarded ports, writable disk images, and USB devices the original takes by itself stay with the original. Snapshots aren't copied.
Deleting#
Delete… moves a machine that is shut down, with its disks and snapshots, to the Trash.
Quitting#
Quitting SwiftVM while machines are running asks what to do with them:
- Suspend and Quit saves their state. They continue where they were the next time you start them.
- Shut Down and Quit turns them off. Machines without the guest tools are stopped at once.
Quitting while a machine is being created cancels it. A download carries on where it stopped the next time you create that system.