Run macOS Sequoia 15 in a Proxmox VE VM

This article adapts i12bretro’s complete workflow for running macOS Sequoia 15 in Proxmox VE. It is a HomeLab experiment; verify licensing, hardware compatibility, and the ability to recover the VM before using it for anything important.

Source reference: i12bretro – Running a MacOS 15 Sequoia VM in Proxmox VE. The original video belongs to i12bretro on YouTube.

Files and prerequisites

• A CPU with AVX2 support for macOS versions newer than 12.
• A legally obtained macOS Sequoia ISO. The source tutorial references Internet Archive; verify your own usage rights.
• The KVM OpenCore bootloader ISO from KVM-OpenCore releases.
• The KVM OpenCore EFI folder for the post-install EFI step.
• MountEFI from GitHub.
• An unused VM ID; the examples below use 1500.

Create the VM in Proxmox

1. Upload the Sequoia ISO and KVM OpenCore ISO to the Proxmox ISO library.
2. Log into the Proxmox Web UI.
3. Right-click the Proxmox node name and select Create VM.
4. Set the VM name to MacOSSequoia; use VM ID 1500 if it is free, then click Next.
5. On OS, choose Type: Other and select the KVM OpenCore ISO in ISO Image, then click Next.
6. On System, set Graphic card to VMware compatible.
7. Set BIOS to OVMF (UEFI).
8. Clear Pre-Enroll Keys.
9. Enable Add EFI Disk.
10. Set Machine to q35.
11. Set SCSI Controller to VirtIO SCSI, then click Next.
12. On Hard Disk, set Bus/Device to VirtIO Block.
13. Set the disk size to 64 GB or more.
14. Set Cache to Write back (unsafe), then click Next.
15. On CPU, set Cores to 4 and Type to host, then click Next.
16. On Memory, assign 8192 MB or more, then click Next.
17. On Network, set Model to VMware vmxnet3, then click Next.
18. Verify the summary and click Finish.

Attach the Sequoia ISO and edit the VM configuration

1. Select MacOSSequoia and open Hardware.
2. Choose Add > CD/DVD Drive.
3. Select the uploaded Sequoia ISO and click Add.
4. Right-click the Proxmox node and open Console.
5. Edit the VM configuration. Replace 1500 if the VM ID is different:

nano /etc/pve/qemu-server/1500.conf

6. On an Intel host, append this line to the configuration:

args: -device isa-applesmc,osk="ourhardworkbythesewordsguardedpleasedontsteal(c)AppleComputerInc" -smbios type=2 -device qemu-xhci -device usb-kbd -device usb-tablet -global nec-usb-xhci.msi=off -global ICH9-LPC.acpi-pci-hotplug-with-bridge-support=off -cpu host,vendor=GenuineIntel,+invtsc,+hypervisor,kvm=on,vmware-cpuid-freq=on

7. On an AMD host, use this CPU argument instead:

args: -device isa-applesmc,osk="ourhardworkbythesewordsguardedpleasedontsteal(c)AppleComputerInc" -smbios type=2 -device qemu-xhci -device usb-kbd -device usb-tablet -global nec-usb-xhci.msi=off -global ICH9-LPC.acpi-pci-hotplug-with-bridge-support=off -cpu Haswell-noTSX,vendor=GenuineIntel,+invtsc,+hypervisor,kvm=on,vmware-cpuid-freq=on

8. Press Ctrl+W and search for ,media=cdrom.
9. Remove ,media=cdrom from the KVM OpenCore and Sequoia ISO entries.
10. Add cache=unsafe to the two ISO devices according to the source workflow.
11. Press Ctrl+O, Enter, then Ctrl+X to save and exit nano.

Install macOS Sequoia

1. Return to the Proxmox Web UI, right-click MacOSSequoia, and select Start.
2. Open Console.
3. At the OpenCore menu, press Enter to start the installer.
4. If Install macOS is not listed, select UEFI Shell and press Enter.
5. In the UEFI Shell, switch to the filesystem containing the Sequoia ISO. The number may differ:

fs0:

6. Launch the installer:

System\Library\CoreServices\boot.efi

7. Wait through the initialization sequence until macOS Setup appears.
8. Select Disk Utility.
9. Select VIRTIO Block Media and click Erase.
10. Name the disk MacOS, choose APFS, and click Erase.
11. Click Done and close Disk Utility.
12. Select Install macOS Sequoia.
13. Click Continue, Agree, and Agree again.
14. Select the formatted macOS disk and click Install.
15. Wait while macOS copies files; the VM will reboot several times.
16. Select the country or region and click Continue.
17. Confirm the languages and keyboard layout and click Continue.
18. Select Not Now on the Accessibility screen.
19. Click Continue on Data & Privacy.
20. Select Not Now on Migration Assistant.
21. On the Apple ID screen, choose Set Up Later, then choose Skip.
22. On Terms and Conditions, click Agree, then Agree again.
23. Enter a name, username, and password, then click Continue.
24. Click Continue, then choose Use or Don’t Use for Location Services.
25. Select a timezone and click Continue.
26. Clear Share Mac Analytics with Apple and click Continue.
27. Select Set Up Later on Screen Time.
28. Select a theme and click Continue.
29. Confirm that macOS Sequoia 15 has loaded.

Configure booting without the OpenCore ISO

1. Log into the MacOSSequoia VM.
2. Open a browser and download the KVM OpenCore EFI folder.
3. Download MountEFI from GitHub.
4. Open LaunchPad from the dock.
5. Search for Terminal and launch it.
6. Run:

cd ~/Downloads/MountEFI-updatechmod +x MountEFI.command./MountEFI.command

7. Enter the number corresponding to the macOS disk created during installation, for example 2, and press Enter.
8. Open a Finder window.
9. Navigate to the mounted EFI location.
10. If an EFI folder already exists, rename it to EFI.orig as a backup.
11. Copy the downloaded KVM OpenCore EFI folder to the mounted EFI partition.
12. Shut down the VM after the copy completes.
13. In Proxmox, select MacOSSequoia and open Hardware.
14. Select the OpenCore ISO and click Detach.
15. Select the macOS Sequoia ISO and click Detach.
16. Right-click MacOSSequoia and select Start.
17. Open Console and confirm that Sequoia still boots without the OpenCore disk image mounted.

Warning: This is an experimental workflow. Snapshot or back up the VM configuration before updates, avoid untrusted ISO/EFI files, and verify the macOS license before use.

Source and video

• Original tutorial: i12bretro 0944
• Original video: Running a MacOS 15 Sequoia VM in Proxmox VE
• KVM OpenCore: thenickdude/KVM-Opencore
• MountEFI: corpnewt/MountEFI