How to Run macOS 26 Tahoe Beta in a VM on Your Mac using UTM
Apple just released the macOS 26 beta at WWDC, and if you're doing any kind of iOS or macOS development, it's a great time to spin up a test environment without risking your main system.
A while back, I shared a guide on how to install macOS on macOS in a virtual machine using UTM on macOS. That guide still works perfectly for macOS 26—there’s just one small extra step if you want to install the beta version.
After setting up your VM with a working version of macOS:
- Sign in to your Apple ID using your developer account inside the VM.
- Head to System Settings > General > Software Update.
- Enable Beta Updates and choose macOS Developer Beta.
From there, the system will detect and install the latest macOS 26 beta (a.k.a. macOS Tahoe). I’ve updated the original guide with this tweak, but wanted to call it out here separately since it’s the only real change.