umbrelOS is designed for Umbrel Home and Umbrel Pro, but you can also run it in a virtual machine using any virtualization software that supports EFI boot — such as Proxmox, VirtualBox, or VMware. Some features are unavailable on DIY hardware — see Umbrel Home & Pro vs. DIY for details.
- RAM: 4 GB (8 GB+ recommended)
- Storage: 32 GB virtual hard drive (more depending on your use case)
- Download the latest umbrelOS USB installer ISO.
- Create a new VM and allocate at least 4 GB of RAM and a 32 GB virtual hard drive.
- Attach the ISO to the VM's virtual CD-ROM drive.
- Important: Set the VM to boot in EFI mode, not legacy BIOS. The installer requires EFI mode.
- Boot the VM. The installer will show a drive selection screen — select your virtual hard drive and confirm.
- Once installation is complete, shut down the VM.
- Remove the installer ISO from the VM's virtual drives.
- Boot the VM.
- Wait about 5 minutes for the first boot to complete, then open http://umbrel.local in your browser.
See Connecting to your Umbrel if you need help accessing it.
- You may see a terminal login prompt on the VM's console — this is for terminal access only. Use the web interface at http://umbrel.local instead.
- If your VM doesn't have a bridged network adapter, http://umbrel.local may not resolve from your host machine. Make sure your VM's network is set to bridged mode so it gets its own IP on your local network.