Importing Images

Kyvenza fetches guest installer images for you rather than asking you to find them. There is no generic "import an image file" step: what you can bring in yourself is a Kyvenza backup, VMs from an older Kyvenza release, and extra read-only images to attach to a Linux VM.

Where installer images come from

• macOS on Apple Silicon — Kyvenza downloads the latest supported IPSW restore image automatically when you create the VM. The first macOS VM takes a while because the restore image is large.
• Linux arm64 — pick Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, or Alpine in the wizard. Kyvenza resolves the current ARM64 installer ISO from the distribution's official download site, downloads it, and attaches it on first boot.

x86_64 images do not run on Apple Silicon virtualization, so only arm64 (aarch64) guests are available.

Restoring from a backup

Use this to move a VM between Macs, or to bring back a VM you exported earlier.

1. In the main window, open the New menu and choose Restore Backup....
2. Select the .kyvenzabackup archive.
3. Give the restored VM a name.

The archive is expanded into your storage path, not linked in place.

Importing VMs from an older Kyvenza release

Releases before 1.2 stored VMs in a different layout. Kyvenza checks for those once, the first time you open it, and offers to import anything it finds.

If your old VMs live outside Kyvenza's container and were not picked up automatically, open the New menu and choose Import Older Virtual Machines… to grant access to the folder holding them.

Attaching extra images to a Linux VM

In the create-VM wizard, expand Advanced Linux Additional Images to attach your own image files alongside the official installer. These are mounted read-only when the VM starts, so they suit driver disks, data volumes, and cloud-init or kickstart media — not a replacement boot installer.

After importing

The VM appears in the sidebar. Review its configuration (CPU, memory, network) in the detail view before starting — a restored or imported VM may carry settings that don't match this machine.

If an import fails, check Diagnostics for details.