How To Setup Linux on Apple M-Chips

Bitten retro apple next to Tux.

Running Linux on Apple’s M-series Macs isn’t as straightforward as it used to be on Intel-based machines.

Because Apple Silicon uses an ARM-based architecture instead of x86, many traditional installation methods don’t work out of the box, leaving even experienced users scratching their heads. In this guide, I’ll walk you through three reliable ways to get Linux up and running on an M-chip Mac: using QEMU, UTM, and OrbStack. Whether you’re a developer testing ARM builds, a student learning Linux, or just a tinkerer exploring what your M-series Mac can do, this post will help you pick the method that best fits your workflow.

I’ve personally tried each of these approaches on my MacBook M1, and I’ll share practical tips and gotchas to save you hours of trial and error.

In this article I will refer mostly to other guides with step-by-step instructions, as they already did a great job explaining the setup. No need for me to just copy them.

How To Setup Linux

QEMU

QEMU is a versatile open-source machine emulator and virtualizer.

On traditional x86 machines you might use QEMU to create a virtual machine; on ARM hardware (such as Apple’s M1/M2 chips) it works a bit differently because the underlying architecture is ARM-based, not x86. For Macs with Apple Silicon, QEMU can leverage the macOS hypervisor framework, meaning you can run an aarch64 (ARM64) Linux guest with relatively good performance.

QEMU supports running an ARM build (e.g. a Linux build for aarch64) as a guest on an M1 Mac.

Here is a straightforward blog post from oracle to setup a linux for M-chips with QEMU.

UTM

UTM is a user-friendly virtualization app for macOS and iOS that builds on QEMU’s emulation engine but adds an elegant graphical interface. On Apple Silicon, UTM can use macOS’s built-in Hypervisor Framework for near-native performance when running ARM-based systems such as Kali Linux ARM64. It’s ideal for users who prefer not to deal with command-line QEMU setup.

Installing Linux, e.g. Kali Linux with UTM is very straightforward. I recommend reading the guides from UTM and Kali directly.

UTM Guide

Kali Guide

Orbstack

OrbStack is a lightweight virtualization and container platform for macOS that lets you run full-blown Linux machines and Docker containers in a way that feels very similar to Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). It targets developers using Apple Silicon (and Intel) Macs and offers improved performance, tight macOS integration (file sharing, networking), and CLI tools for rapid workflows.

Key features

• You can create “machines” (Linux distros) that run almost like native, with fast file sharing between macOS and Linux.
• Fully CLI-driven: you can manage machines, run commands, transfer files, etc., all via the orb command.
• Supports ARM64 & x86_64 via emulation/translation on Apple Silicon. Thus, for users who want a command-line focused Linux environment on their M-chip Mac (rather than full GUI VM), OrbStack is an excellent choice.

Installing and configuring Linux with Orbstack is fast and easy. Checkout their site with their supported distributions: Linux distributions.

Unlike the other two variants, this one is not open source and may be subject to a fee.

Summary

Getting Linux to run on Apple’s M-series Macs used to be a technical challenge, but with tools like QEMU, UTM, and OrbStack, it’s now easier, faster, and far more reliable.

Whether you prefer a full desktop experience with UTM, a lightweight command-line setup using OrbStack, or the full control of QEMU, each method delivers a stable Linux environment tailored to your workflow. The performance on Apple Silicon is impressive, especially when using ARM-native builds. Most common distributions, including Kali, Ubuntu, and Oracle Linux, now offer ARM64 versions that work seamlessly with these platforms.

In short: running Linux on your M-chip Mac is no longer a workaround, it’s a viable, productive setup for developers, researchers, and tinkerers alike.

Resources

• UTM Documentation — Kali Linux Guide
• Kali Linux on UTM (Official Docs)
• Oracle Blog — Oracle Linux with QEMU on M1 Mac
• OrbStack Documentation