README

!macOS inside a VirtualBox window with the dock positioned on the left

 Push-button installer of macOS on VirtualBox

macos-guest-virtualbox.sh is a Bash script that creates a macOS virtual machine guest on VirtualBox with unmodified macOS installation files downloaded directly from Apple servers.

A default install only requires the user to sit patiently and, less than ten times, press enter when prompted by the script, without interacting with the virtual machine.

Tested on bash and zsh on Cygwin. Works on macOS, CentOS 7, and Windows on x86 CPUs with VT-x or AMD-V. Should work on most modern Linux distros.

macOS Catalina (10.15), Mojave (10.14), and High Sierra (10.13) currently supported.

 Maintainer wanted

If you would like to become the maintainer of this repository, please see issue 645 - maintainer wanted.

 Documentation

Documentation can be viewed by executing the command ./macos-guest-virtualbox.sh documentation

The majority of the script is either documentation, comments, or actionable error messages, which should make the script straightforward to inspect and understand.

 iCloud and iMessage connectivity and NVRAM

iCloud, iMessage, and other connected Apple services require a valid device name and serial number, board ID and serial number, and other genuine (or genuine-like) Apple parameters. These can be set in EFI and NVRAM by editing the script. See the documentation command for further information.

 Storage size

The script by default assigns a target virtual disk storage size of 80GB, which is populated to about 25GB on the host on initial installation. After the installation is complete, the storage size may be increased. See the documentation command for further information.

 Primary display resolution

The following primary display resolutions are supported by macOS on VirtualBox: 5120x2880 2880x1800 2560x1600 2560x1440 1920x1200 1600x1200 1680x1050 1440x900 1280x800 1024x768 640x480. See the documentation command for further information.

 Scope and unsupported features

The scope of the script is completing a default macOS install process on VirtualBox on supported hardware. Further functioning order of VirtualBox or macOS is beyond the scope of this script. Some features may behave unexpectedly, such as USB device support, audio support, FileVault boot password prompt support, and other features, including critical functionality.

 CPU compatibility

The script is designed for x86 CPU Mac hardware. macOS guests on VirtualBox are generally incompatible with other CPU models. If the guest macOS boot process hangs on “LoadKernelFromStream”, “EndRandomSeed”, or "EXITBS", see the documentation command regarding VirtualBox CPU profiles and CPUID settings. Some CPU models released in 2020 and later may fail to start or complete the installer, and may require manually adjusting the CPUID settings.

 Upgrading to Big Sur and Monterey 

The virtual machine may be upgraded to the latest macOS Big Sur (11) and macOS Montere