# Quickemu

Quickly create and run optimised Windows, macOS and Linux virtual machines

Repository: https://github.com/quickemu-project/quickemu
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/quickemu
Language: Shell
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: qemu, kvm, virtio, linux, macos, efi, hackintosh, windows, tpm, virgl, virglrenderer, spice, 9p, hacktoberfest, virtualization
Last push: 2026-08-14T14:03:22+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 77/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 97, release rhythm 37, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2362, "days_push": 19, "days_rel": 204, "gap_med": 203.0, "n_releases_24m": 3}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 15722, forks 712 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:13.925578+00:00)

## What it is
Quickemu is a QEMU wrapper that automatically creates and runs optimised virtual machines for Windows, macOS, Linux, BSDs and other operating systems without manual configuration. Its quickget script downloads OS images and generates configs, while quickgui provides a graphical frontend.

## Use cases
- run windows 11 vm on linux with tpm
- create a macos virtual machine quickly
- test linux distros without installing
- run vms from a usb drive without root
- simple gui to manage qemu virtual machines
- download and boot an os iso automatically

## When to choose
- you want zero-config QEMU VMs for Windows, macOS or Linux
- you need to run VMs without root or store them anywhere
- you want automatic OS downloads and optimal hardware-tuned settings

## When to avoid
- you need fine-grained manual control over QEMU options
- you need a full virtualization manager with snapshots and clustering
- your host is Windows, since hosts are Linux and macOS only

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: developer-tools, cli, gui
- domain: developer-tools, cross-platform
- platform: cli
- tags: qemu, kvm, virtualization, vm-management, windows-vm, macos-vm, spice, quickget, quickgui, command-line, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- quickemu-project/quickemu (main) score 77
- quickemu-project/quickgui (frontend) score 66

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:13.925578+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:05:33.794143+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/quickemu-project/quickemu (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:13.925578+00:00, sha f69bdece570f)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.