How can we help?

Getting started

1. Download Dusk VM for your computer. On a Mac, open the disk image and drag the app to Applications. On a Windows PC, run Dusk VM Setup (details below).
2. Open it. The first time, you'll see a welcome screen with a Create Your First Virtual Machine button. After that, press + to add another machine.
3. Choose a system from the list (Dusk Linux Desktop or Server, Dusken OS on a Mac, Ubuntu Desktop or Server, Fedora Workstation, Debian, Kali, Alpine, macOS or Windows 11), or Custom ISO or .ipsw… for an image you already have. Set the name, CPUs, memory, disk size and an optional shared folder.
4. Dusk VM downloads the newest image from the publisher's own server and starts the installer. Images are kept, so the next machine of the same kind starts straight away; the list marks them as downloaded.
5. Once the guest is installed, add the guest tools: one command for Linux, automatic for Windows.

The toolbar starts, pauses, suspends and shuts down the selected machine, opens its snapshots and its settings. The same commands are in the Machine menu.

On a Mac, if starting a machine would give it more memory than the Mac can comfortably spare alongside the machines already running, Dusk VM warns you first and lets you start it anyway.

System requirements

Mac

• A Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later). Intel Macs aren't supported.
• macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
• Disk space: about 280 MB for the app.

Windows PC

• Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise or Education, 64-bit, on an Intel or AMD processor. Windows 11 Home doesn't include Hyper-V, which Dusk VM runs on.
• Virtualisation turned on in the PC's firmware (Intel VT-x or AMD-V). Most PCs have it on; Setup tells you if it's off.

Every computer

• Room for your machines: their disks only take the space the guest has actually written, plus the images you download.
• Memory: each running machine uses the memory you give it, on top of what your computer and its other apps need.
• An internet connection to download images and to activate a licence once on each computer.

Linux guests

Every Linux machine carries a small disc labelled DUSKTOOLS. Once Linux is installed, open a terminal inside the guest and run:

sudo mount -o ro /dev/disk/by-label/DUSKTOOLS /mnt && sudo sh /mnt/install.sh

The machine's idle screen in Dusk VM shows the same command with a Copy button. It:

• installs the clipboard agent (spice-vdagent) and the shared folder client (cifs-utils) with the guest's own package manager: apt, dnf, apk, pacman or zypper;
• mounts your shared folder at /media/dusk-share, now and at every boot, owned by the user who ran the command.

The screen follows the window size without the tools.

Machines made before September 2026 may still run on Apple's Virtualization framework. Their screen in Dusk VM offers Move to QEMU: the disk is converted in a minute or so and the original kept until you delete it in the machine's settings. Run the tools command again afterwards.

Dusk Linux

Dusk Linux is our own distribution, based on Debian 13. Its two editions are at the top of the list in New VM. Dusk VM downloads them from linux.duskengineering.services and checks each image against the SHA-256 published beside it; an image that doesn't match is deleted.

• Dusk Linux Desktop: GNOME with the Dusk look. On first start it asks you to create your account.
• Dusk Linux Server: a small server with the Dusk Cloud apps on board. Sign in as root and run dusk-setup to bring them up.

Express install

Express install is on by default. The installer writes the system to the machine's disk without asking anything, in about a minute, then powers off; Dusk VM ejects the installer disc and starts the installed system. For the server, choose root's password in New VM (at least 8 characters). Dusk VM keeps it in the machine's folder, readable only by your account, until the install has finished, then deletes it.

With Express install off, the installer asks which disk to use (and, for the server, root's password) and restarts when it's done; Dusk VM ejects the disc then too.

Add Dusk VM Tools with the same command as any Linux guest (see Linux guests). Both editions also take updates from our signed package repository, alongside Debian's, with sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade.

Dusken OS

Dusken OS is our own operating system, written from scratch: a desktop with apps, a web browser and games. It comes inside Dusk VM for Mac, so there is nothing to download: choose Dusken OS in New VM and it starts in seconds.

Give the machine a shared folder in New VM or in its settings and it appears in Dusken OS as /mac. Files can be read, written, renamed and deleted from either side, and keep their dates.

Windows 11

Getting the ISO

Microsoft only offers the Arm64 version of Windows 11 from its own download page, so Dusk VM can't fetch it for you. In New VM, choose Windows 11 and use Open Microsoft download page. Download Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO for Arm64), then choose that file.

Express install

Express install is on by default. Pick Home or Pro and enter a name, user name and password. Windows partitions the disk, installs, creates your account and signs in once, without asking questions. The small disc that carries your password is detached and deleted as soon as Windows is on the disk.

With Express install off, Windows Setup runs normally; only the hardware checks and the Microsoft account requirement are skipped.

Dusk VM Tools for Windows

Dusk VM Tools install themselves the first time you sign in to Windows. They:

• share the clipboard both ways (text only for now);
• pick the largest screen resolution that fits the window, which Dusk VM then scales to fill;
• map your shared folder as drive Z:;
• update themselves when a newer version comes with the app.

If something isn't working, the tools' log is at C:\ProgramData\DuskVM\agent.log. Include it when you email us.

Keyboard

Keys are sent to Windows as the physical keys you press, so Windows uses its own keyboard layout setting. The Command key acts as the Windows key.

Windows guests don't have sound or drag and drop yet.

macOS guests

Choose macOS in New VM and Dusk VM downloads Apple's latest supported restore image and runs the installer, with a progress bar. You can also install from an .ipsw file you already have. A shared folder appears in the guest automatically.

Apple's licence allows macOS virtual machines only on Apple hardware, on Apple's terms.

Suspend, quit and full screen

• Suspend saves the machine's state to disk. Starting it again resumes exactly where it left off, and the sidebar shows it as suspended.
• Quitting with machines running asks first, then suspends them so they resume where they were the next time you start them. Choose Cancel to keep the app open.
• Shut Down asks the guest to shut down properly. Force Stop turns it off at once, like pulling the plug, so use it only when the guest won't respond.
• Full screen hides the sidebar and toolbar so the guest fills the display. Move the pointer to the top edge for the menu bar: View > Exit Full Screen, and the Machine menu for pause, suspend, shut down and snapshots. The guest receives your keyboard shortcuts, except Control-Command-F, which leaves full screen.

Snapshots

The clock button in the toolbar, or Machine > Snapshots…, lists, takes, restores and deletes snapshots.

• Taken while running, a snapshot includes the machine's memory, and restoring it resumes exactly where it was.
• Taken while stopped, it holds the disk.
• Linux and macOS snapshots are APFS clones inside the machine's folder: instant, and they share space until the disk changes. Windows machines use their disk format's own snapshots.
• Changing a machine's CPUs or memory means its running snapshots can't be restored any more, because saved memory only loads into identical hardware. Disk-only snapshots are fine.
• Snapshots are a list, not a tree, and can't be renamed yet.

Snapshots live in the same folder as the machine, so they aren't a backup. Copy important machines somewhere else too.

Where machines are stored

Every machine is a folder: ~/Library/Application Support/DuskVM/<name>.duskvm. Inside are its settings (config.json), a sparse disk and its firmware state. Downloaded images are cached in ~/Library/Application Support/DuskVM/Images and reused by later machines.

• Moving to another Mac: copy the .duskvm folder and it runs there.
• Duplicate (Control-click a machine in the sidebar) makes a copy with a fresh machine identity.
• Show in Finder reveals the folder; Move to Trash deletes the machine.
• Uninstalling: drag Dusk VM from Applications to the Trash. Your machines and images stay in the folder above until you delete them.

Networking

Guests share your Mac's connection through NAT: they reach the internet through your Mac, but other devices can't connect in to them. Bridged networking needs a special entitlement from Apple that is granted on request only, so Dusk VM can't offer it yet. There is no port forwarding yet either; it's on the plan for Pro.

Dusk VM for Windows

Dusk VM for Windows is a native app built on Hyper-V, Windows' own hypervisor. Dusk VM Setup and the app are digitally signed by Dusk Engineering Services Ltd, so Windows shows our name when it asks whether to let Setup make changes.

Installing

Download Dusk VM Setup from the download page, run it and click Install. Windows asks once whether to let it make changes. Setup checks the PC, installs Dusk VM, turns on Hyper-V and lets your account manage virtual machines. If Hyper-V wasn't on already, it finishes with Restart now; after the restart everything is ready.

To uninstall, use Settings > Apps. Your machines stay where they are.

Windows and Linux guests

Press + for a new machine: Windows or Windows Server from your own ISO, Dusk Linux Desktop or Server, Ubuntu Desktop or Server, Fedora Workstation, Debian, Kali, Alpine, or any other ISO. Dusk Linux images are checked against the checksums published beside them before they're used. Linux images download with progress, speed and time left, and are kept for your next machine.

• Windows guests can use Express install: Dusk VM creates your account and answers every Setup question. Once installed, they switch to an enhanced session by themselves: a shared clipboard, sound, a screen that follows the window, and your shared folder as a drive. Enhanced sessions need a Pro, Enterprise or Education edition of Windows inside the machine.
• GNOME desktops (Ubuntu 24.04 or newer, Dusk Linux, Debian 13) and Kali get the same once you add Dusk VM Tools: start the machine, choose Settings > Install Dusk VM Tools, then run the command it shows in a terminal inside Linux (or let it type the command for you). When it says Done, Dusk VM switches to the enhanced session by itself; sign in as usual.
• Other Linux systems show their screen with keyboard and mouse, without the shared clipboard for now.

Windows inside a machine needs its own licence to activate.

Machines, snapshots and networking

• Machines live in the Dusk VM folder in your user folder, with images in Dusk VM\Images. They're ordinary Hyper-V machines too, so they also show in Hyper-V Manager. Settings > Show in Explorer opens a machine's folder.
• Suspend saves a machine's state so it resumes exactly where it left off, even after the PC restarts.
• Snapshots taken while a machine runs include its memory, so restoring one puts you back in that moment.
• Full screen (F11) gives the guest the whole display; move the pointer to the top edge for the toolbar.
• Guests reach the internet through Hyper-V's Default Switch (NAT).

Dusk VM for Linux In development

A native Linux app, built on KVM and QEMU, is being built now. It will run Linux and Windows guests from the same catalogue. Your Dusk VM licence will cover it, and it will appear on the download page when it's ready.

Trial and licences

• The free trial counts from the first time you open Dusk VM. It has every feature and needs no sign-up.
• When the trial ends, you can still open the library, change settings and delete machines. Starting a machine needs a licence.
• To enter a key on a Mac, choose Dusk VM > Licence… in the menu bar. On Windows, click the badge at the bottom of the machine list (it shows the days left in your trial), then paste the key.
• Each computer you enter the key on uses one seat. To move to a new computer, remove the old one in your account, then enter the key on the new one.
• Lost your key? We'll email it again.
• A Standard licence keeps working offline. A Pro subscription works offline until the end of its paid period, and the app checks for renewals in the background when it's online.

Crash reports and privacy

If Dusk VM for Mac or the engine it runs Windows and Linux guests on crashed, the app asks the next time it opens whether to send the crash report, with room for a note about what happened. You can send it or not, and ask it to remember your choice. Automatic sending is off unless you turn it on, and you can switch it any time with Dusk VM > Send Crash Reports Automatically. A report carries the crash log (with your home folder path shortened to ~), the app and macOS versions and your note, and nothing from inside your machines. Dusk VM for Windows doesn't send crash reports yet.

Dusk VM has no analytics. The privacy policy lists everything the app and this website send.

Updates

On a Mac, Dusk VM checks for updates by itself and asks before installing one. To check now, choose Dusk VM > Check for Updates…. Updates are signed, and the app verifies each one before installing it.

On Windows, Dusk VM checks for updates by itself and shows a bar at the top of the window when one is ready: choose Update and restart. Before running an update it checks that the download is intact and signed by Dusk Engineering Services Ltd. To check now, open the licence window from the bottom of the machine list and choose Check for updates. You can also run the latest Dusk VM Setup from the download page over the top; your machines are kept.

Known limits

What Dusk VM can't do yet, so you know before you buy:

• Networking is NAT only: no bridged networking and no port forwarding.
• No CPU or memory usage display while a machine runs.
• Linux guest tools are a one-line command you run yourself inside the guest.
• On a Mac: Windows guests have no sound, no drag and drop, no USB passthrough and no printing, and their clipboard is text only. Guest audio is output only, with no microphone input.
• On a Mac: snapshots are a list, not a tree, and can't be renamed. There's no export or import of a machine as a single archive yet (copying the folder works), and no way to move a machine to another disk from the app.
• On a Windows PC: Windows 11 Home isn't supported. The shared clipboard, sound and resizing work for Windows guests, and for the Linux systems above once Dusk VM Tools are added.
• The Linux app isn't available yet.

Contact us

Email support@duskvm.app. To help us answer quickly, include:

• your Dusk VM version (on a Mac, Dusk VM > About Dusk VM; on Windows, Settings > Apps) and your macOS or Windows version;
• the guest system and what you were doing when it went wrong;
• for Windows guests on a Mac, the tools log from C:\ProgramData\DuskVM\agent.log if you can reach it.

For licence and billing questions, your account is usually quickest: it shows your keys, the computers using them and a link to manage billing with Paddle.