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qemu for Mac

Generic machine emulator and virtualizer

Quick answer: qemu is a command-line tool for macOS. Install it with brew install qemu. It is distributed under the GPL-2.0-only licence. It has 19,261 Homebrew installs in the last 30 days.

What qemu is

qemu is a command-line tool for macOS: generic machine emulator and virtualizer.

It is distributed as a Homebrew formula, which builds or pours a binary and puts it on your PATH. It is distributed under the GPL-2.0-only licence.

How to install qemu

  1. Open Terminal (press ⌘ + Space and type “Terminal”).
  2. If Homebrew is not installed yet, run the installer below once.
  3. Run brew install qemu.

Homebrew installer, if you need it:

Prefer a graphical installer? Download it from the official site. MacPicks never hosts or mirrors binaries — the Homebrew command always pulls from the vendor's own release.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I install qemu on Mac?

Run brew install qemu in Terminal. This requires Homebrew; if you do not have it, install it first with the command below.

Is qemu open source?

Yes — Homebrew distributes it under the GPL-2.0-only licence.

Does qemu run on Apple silicon?

Homebrew publishes this formula for macOS. If upstream does not ship an Apple silicon build, Rosetta 2 handles the Intel binary.

How popular is qemu?

It was installed 19,261 times in the last 30 days according to Homebrew analytics, ranking #104 in this catalogue.

What version of qemu is current?

The latest packaged version is 11.1.2.