Run and control VMs - MacVisor Docs

Start and open

Starting a VM launches its dedicated runner. The VM can open in a separate display window or run headlessly without a graphics device.

Closing a display window follows the VM's configured policy: hide the window, ask each time, or shut down the VM. Hiding is not the same as stopping.

Actions that lose guest state — Power Off and Discard Saved State — ask for confirmation first and say what will be lost.

Lifecycle actions

Action	Result
Pause	Temporarily freezes execution in memory
Resume	Continues a paused or suspended VM
Suspend	Saves VM state so it can resume later
Stop	Requests a normal guest shutdown
Power off	Immediately stops the virtual hardware; use only when shutdown is unavailable
Restart	Restarts through the VM control service
Discard Saved State	Throws away a suspended session so the VM cold-boots next time

Input and display

MacVisor can capture common system keys for the guest. Use the configured Control-Command or Control-Option shortcut to release input.

Display settings include fixed presets, dynamic window-matched resolution, headless mode, and additional displays for macOS guests. Accelerated graphics is available for macOS guests; Linux uses software-rendered Virtio graphics.

Headless and autostart

Headless mode omits the graphics device for servers and automation. Start Automatically at Login asks MacVisorService to start that VM in the background for each login session. A suspended autostart VM resumes its saved state.

vz start <vm> --headless
vz autostart <vm> on
vz open <vm>
vz discard-state <vm>
vz screenshot <vm> frame.jpg

Auto-start after an unattended reboot depends on host settings outside MacVisor — see Always-on host. For lifecycle actions without opening the main window, enable the menu bar item in Settings → General.

Every setting on this page, and what changing it costs a running VM, is listed in the VM settings reference.

Serial console

Enable Serial Console under advanced VM settings, restart the VM, then attach from Terminal:

vz console <vm>

Press Control-] to detach from the console.