Windows, Mac and Linux

Virtual machines that set themselves up.

Guestbay installs Windows unattended, boots Linux cloud images ready to use, and runs macOS. A native app on Windows, Mac and Linux, built on QEMU.

Get it from Microsoft StoreOr download directlyDownload for MacAlso with Homebrew: brew install --cask ontiqo/tap/guestbayDownload for Linuxcurl -fsSL https://guestbay.app/install.sh | sh For Windows, Mac and Linux. All downloads

US$29.99 · 30-day free trial · Other systems and versions

Guestbay: five virtual machines as tiles, Ubuntu running and Alpine, Debian, Fedora and Windows 11 stopped, with their memory, disk and forwarded SSH ports

Features

QEMU, without the flags.

Guestbay: the templates for a new virtual machine, Linux cloud image, installer or live ISO, Windows 10 or 11, macOS and custom

New virtual machines from templates

Pick a template, fill in a few details, and check the command before it runs.

Linux cloud images start with your user, SSH key and packages.
Windows 10 and 11 install unattended from Microsoft’s ISO.
On an Apple silicon Mac, macOS installs from Apple, with Apple’s own virtualization.

Guestbay: a running Ubuntu virtual machine’s overview, with its state, accelerator, live CPU and memory graphs, and a forwarded SSH port with the command to connect

See what every virtual machine is doing

Start, shut down, pause or relaunch, and watch CPU and memory live.

Forwarded ports come with the command to connect.
A warning when a virtual machine falls back to slow emulation.
Logs and QEMU’s monitor a tab away.

Guestbay: the hardware of a virtual machine as tiles for processor, memory, firmware, disk, network, display and USB, with its general settings below

Hardware you can read

Every setting has a plain name and explanation, and Guestbay offers only what your QEMU supports.

CPU, memory, UEFI, disks, network, display, port forwards, USB and boot order.
Extra QEMU arguments for anything else.

Guestbay’s console: Windows 11 running, its desktop shown inside Guestbay with Send keys, Paste as keys, screenshot and full screen

The console in the window

Use each virtual machine’s screen without leaving Guestbay, or take it full screen.

Copy and paste text, pictures and files between your computer and the guest.
Drag files onto the console to put them in the guest.
Send keys such as Ctrl+Alt+Del, and take a screenshot in one click.
Remote Desktop and SSH ports that stay the same every time.

Native apps

At home on each computer.

Three apps, each made the way its system does things, around the same engine.

Windows

Mica, your accent colour, light and dark. Close the window and Guestbay waits in the tray; it can start when you sign in.

x64 and ARM64. The Microsoft Store edition includes QEMU; the download uses yours.

Mac

A toolbar, a Settings window and a menu bar icon. On Apple silicon, macOS virtual machines run with Apple’s own virtualization.

Intel and Apple silicon. Uses the QEMU from Homebrew or MacPorts.

Linux

GTK 4 and libadwaita, the GNOME way, with KVM for fast guests and a desktop entry in your apps.

x64 and ARM64. QEMU from your distribution.

Guests

Windows, Linux and macOS, each set up properly.

Built-in guides show where to get the installation media.

Windows 10 and 11

Installed unattended from Microsoft’s ISO: pick a user name and walk away. Windows 11 on ARM too.

You bring the ISO and licence.

Linux

Cloud images for Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, CentOS Stream, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, openSUSE, Arch and Alpine boot with your user, SSH key and packages. Or use any installer ISO.

Downloaded from their publishers, checksums checked.

macOS

On an Apple silicon Mac, Guestbay downloads macOS from Apple and installs it. Elsewhere, through OpenCore, with tested settings and a network card Recovery can use.

Apple’s licence allows two macOS virtual machines per Mac. On Windows or Linux, Guestbay downloads the rest; you bring the SMC key.

And the rest

The everyday jobs.

The console

Each virtual machine’s screen in its own tab, with Send keys for Ctrl+Alt+Del, Paste as keys, screenshots and full screen.

Shared folders

Share folders on your computer with a virtual machine, read only if you like. Changes show on both sides as they happen.

Guestbay sets up its guest tools when it installs the guest.

Know them at a glance

Each virtual machine shows its system’s logo. Guestbay knows 75, from Ubuntu and Windows to FreeBSD and Haiku.

From another computer

Turn on LAN access to use Guestbay from a browser on your network, over HTTPS, behind a password.

Snapshots and disks

Save a stopped virtual machine, and go back if something breaks. Resize, clone and convert disks, or export a virtual machine to import elsewhere.

Bring your virtual machines

Paste a QEMU command line, or import a virtual machine exported from Guestbay.

How it works

Built on QEMU, not hidden behind it.

Virtual machines are folders

Settings, disks and logs in one folder. Back it up, move it, keep it.

They keep running

Close the window and they carry on. Quit Guestbay and they still run.

The command line in view

Shown before each virtual machine starts. Copy it or run it yourself.

Get Guestbay.

Every feature works for 30 days. Windows 11 guests need 4 GB of memory and 64 GB of disk.

Get it from Microsoft StoreOr download directlyDownload for MacAlso with Homebrew: brew install --cask ontiqo/tap/guestbayDownload for Linuxcurl -fsSL https://guestbay.app/install.sh | sh For Windows, Mac and Linux. All downloads

US$29.99 · 30-day free trial · Other systems and versions

Windows: Windows 10 (version 1809 or later) or Windows 11, on x64 and Arm64; fast guests need Windows Hypervisor Platform turned on. The Microsoft Store edition includes QEMU; the download uses yours, or installs it.
Mac: Intel Macs with macOS 13 or later, and Apple silicon Macs with macOS 15 or later. Uses the QEMU from Homebrew or MacPorts, or installs it.
Linux: Ubuntu 22.04 or later, Debian 12, Fedora, openSUSE, Arch and other current distributions, on x86_64 and Arm64, with KVM for fast guests. The packages bring your distribution’s QEMU; the Flatpak has QEMU built in.

Questions? See Help, or contact support.