The Windows question
Can Kyvenza run Windows?
Yes, since 2.0.0.
For most of Kyvenza's life this page said no, and explained why the framework we build on cannot boot Windows. That reasoning was correct, and it is why version 2.0 took a different route: Windows guests run on a second engine. The framework answer has not changed. Our product has.
The short answer
Kyvenza 2.0 boots Windows 11 on ARM, with TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot enabled by default and the guest drivers already inside the app. What it does not give Windows is graphics acceleration, USB passthrough, or microphone input (sound output works). So the honest guidance still depends on what you actually need:
| You need | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday Windows applications on an Apple Silicon Mac | Kyvenza | The one Windows app with no Mac version, cross-platform testing, a Windows-only portal. Boots with TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot already configured, and lives in the same library as your macOS and Linux VMs. $49 once. |
| Windows games, 3D or CAD applications, GPU work | Parallels Desktop | Kyvenza gives Windows guests no 3D acceleration, so the desktop renders in software. Parallels is the solution Microsoft lists as authorized and it has the graphics stack this workload needs. |
| x86 / Intel operating systems | UTM | x86 on Apple Silicon requires emulation, which is what UTM's QEMU backend is for. Kyvenza runs ARM guests only. Expect emulation to be slow; that is physics, not a flaw in UTM. |
Yes, we just recommended two competitors by name on our own Windows page. A recommendation you can trust is worth more to us than a refund from someone the product could never serve.
What works, and what does not
Windows support in 3.0 is a real feature with real gaps. Both columns below are complete as of this release. If something you depend on is on the right, the free trial will tell you that before your money is involved.
Works today
- Windows 11 on ARM boots on any Apple Silicon Mac, M1 through M5, running macOS 26 or later
- TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot enabled by default, so setup passes Windows 11's hardware check with no registry edits
- Network and display drivers ship inside the app, on a disc already mounted in the VM
- Snapshots (including of a running VM, optionally with memory), cloning, and backup, the same as any other Kyvenza VM
- Once the guest tools are installed: clipboard sharing for text and images in both directions, a shared drive, and pasting or dropping files from the Mac
- Pause and resume a running Windows VM
- Display resolutions up to 2560×1600, rendered pixel for pixel
- Available on both the Mac App Store and the direct download
Not in Windows guests
- No GPU or 3D acceleration — the Windows desktop renders in software on the CPU
- No drag-and-drop between the Mac desktop and the Windows desktop in both directions; files move through the shared drive and through paste
- No microphone input (sound output works)
- No USB device passthrough
- NAT networking only — the guest reaches the internet, but is not reachable from other devices on your network
- A snapshot taken while running is crash-consistent, as if the power had been cut; adding memory freezes the VM for about half a minute with 4 GB of RAM (longer with more), and the snapshot is about as large as the memory
- Resolution is chosen before boot from five verified modes; resizing the window does not resize the Windows desktop
- Windows starts at 100% scaling, so higher resolutions look sharper but smaller until you set custom scaling inside Windows
- Running commands in a Windows guest through the MCP tools needs the driver installer run once inside Windows, and an SSH username made of plain ASCII
Audio and USB passthrough both work in macOS and Linux VMs. In Windows guests, audio is output only: sound plays through the Mac speakers, but there is no microphone input. USB passthrough is missing, because the guest driver support needed for it on Windows ARM64 has to be built rather than adopted. That is how the other two gaps closed: clipboard sharing in 2.1.0 and file sharing in 2.2.0, over a guest agent we built and published the source for. USB passthrough and microphone input have no date.
What you need before you start
- Microsoft's official Windows 11 ARM64 image. Kyvenza does not download, bundle, or redistribute Windows. The create wizard links you straight to Microsoft's download page, and you pick the file yourself.
- Your own valid Windows licence. Kyvenza does not supply, sell, or activate Windows, and it ships no activation workaround of any kind.
- An Apple Silicon Mac with room to spare. A Windows VM defaults to 4 virtual CPUs, 4 GB of memory, and a 64 GB disk. Windows VMs need macOS 26 or later: the Windows engine that ships inside the app is built for macOS 26 and does not load on macOS 14 or 15. macOS and Linux VMs still run from macOS 14. Windows support was validated on macOS 26 with an M4.
You do not need to download the virtio-win driver ISO. The network and display drivers Windows needs are already inside Kyvenza, on a disc mounted in the VM from the first boot.
Why Windows needed a second engine
On Apple Silicon there are two ways to build a virtual machine app. Apple's Virtualization framework is the high-level path: it hands you a complete, fixed virtual platform designed to boot macOS and Linux guests, and in exchange you accept its boundaries. The low-level path is Hypervisor.framework, where the app constructs the virtual machine itself: UEFI firmware, ACPI tables, interrupt controllers, storage controllers, and for Windows 11 a TPM.
Windows on ARM expects that second kind of machine. It probes for firmware and platform devices the Virtualization framework does not present, and there is no configuration option to add them. Our earlier prototype on that path powered on and did nothing at all: no CPU activity, no boot progress, not one byte written to the virtual disk. That was an API boundary, not a bug, and it is still true today.
So Windows guests take the low-level path instead. Kyvenza runs them on a second engine built into the app, running against Apple's Hypervisor framework, with UEFI firmware we build ourselves with Secure Boot keys enrolled, and an emulated TPM 2.0. macOS and Linux guests are untouched by this: they still run on Apple's framework directly. Two engines, chosen automatically by guest type, and you never configure which one you get.
The Windows engine includes GPL-licensed open-source components, and they stay separate programs. Kyvenza launches them as their own processes and talks to them over published protocols; none of that code is linked into the app. We publish the exact sources we built, our patches, and the build scripts for every release on the open source page. That page also lists every component that now ships inside the app.
What we would still like to fix
- Moving files between macOS and Windows. The gap we heard about first, and mostly closed in 2.2.0: a shared drive, pasting files copied on the Mac, and dropping files onto the VM window. What is left: paste only goes from the Mac to Windows and tops out at 64 MB, so larger files go through the shared drive or a drop.
- Graphics. The guest display driver available for Windows on ARM does no acceleration, so this is not something we can simply turn on. We will not claim otherwise on a spec sheet.
- Tell us which one matters. Email support@kyvenza.com. We read every message and we count them, and that is genuinely how Windows support got built in the first place.
Frequently asked questions
Can Kyvenza run Windows 11 on ARM?
Yes, since Kyvenza 2.0.0. Windows 11 on ARM runs on a second engine built into the app, on Apple’s Hypervisor framework, with TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot enabled by default, so Windows 11 installs without registry workarounds. You supply your own Windows 11 ARM64 image from Microsoft and your own Windows licence. It is built for everyday Windows tools rather than games or 3D work: there is no GPU acceleration in Windows guests.
What does not work in a Windows VM yet?
Five things, and we would rather list them here than let you discover them after paying. There is no GPU or 3D acceleration; the Windows desktop renders in software. USB device passthrough is macOS and Linux only, and Windows guests have no microphone input (they do play sound). Windows VMs use NAT networking, so the guest reaches the internet but is not addressable from other devices on your network. A snapshot of a running Windows VM is crash-consistent unless you include memory, which freezes the VM for about half a minute with 4 GB of RAM. Display resolution is chosen before boot from five verified modes up to 2560x1600; resizing the window does not resize the Windows desktop. Moving files is not on this list: Once the bundled guest tools are installed, files move through a shared drive that appears in Windows as a network drive, by pasting files copied on the Mac, or by dropping them onto the VM window.
Do I need my own Windows licence and installer?
Yes, both. Kyvenza does not download, bundle, sell, or activate Windows. The create wizard links straight to Microsoft’s official Windows 11 ARM64 download page, you pick the image you downloaded, and you use your own valid Windows licence. What Kyvenza does ship is the guest driver disc: the network and display drivers are already inside the app, so you never download the 837 MB virtio-win ISO.
How is this different from UTM?
The difference is how much work is left to you. UTM exposes QEMU’s configuration surface, which is why it is the more flexible tool and can also emulate x86 guests. Kyvenza ships one tested Windows configuration: virt machine type, TPM 2.0, Secure Boot with enrolled keys, virtio devices, and a driver disc already attached, so the install path is a wizard rather than a set of decisions. Neither app gives Windows guests 3D acceleration on Apple Silicon.
How does Windows performance compare with Parallels Desktop?
Parallels is the better Windows product and we are not going to pretend otherwise. It is the solution Microsoft lists as authorized, it has 3D acceleration, dynamic resolution, and the guest integrations Kyvenza is still building out for Windows, and it is the right choice for Windows games, 3D applications, or GPU-heavy work. Kyvenza covers everyday Windows tools on a machine you already use for macOS and Linux VMs, for $49 once instead of a subscription. Pick on that basis, not on a benchmark.
Why did Kyvenza need a second engine for Windows?
Apple’s Virtualization framework gives you a fixed virtual platform designed for macOS and Linux guests. Windows on ARM probes for firmware and platform devices that framework does not present, and there is no option to add them, which is why our earlier prototype on that path never got past the platform handshake. Windows guests therefore run on a second engine built into the app, on Apple’s Hypervisor framework as a separate process, while macOS and Linux guests keep using Apple’s framework directly. The Windows engine includes GPL-licensed open-source components, so we publish the exact sources, our patches, and the build scripts for every release.
Try it against your own Windows apps
The 7-day free trial unlocks everything on any Apple Silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later, and Windows VMs on macOS 26 or later. No account required. Install your own Windows image and run the applications you actually care about before you decide.