# How to Run Ubuntu instances on M1-Based Mac

I got a new laptop a few days ago and one of my concerns is the compatibility with my day to day work tools. One of them is to virtualize linux instances to emulate a local kubernetes cluster.

Surfing the internet, 99.9% of the results say that you can only do it with [Parallels](https://www.parallels.com/) or [VMware Fusion](https://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/fusion-evaluation.html), the truth is that I am not a fan of these tools.

However I wanted to try with one of my favorite tools [Multipass](https://multipass.run/), which until then I used it with VirtualBox. Unfortunately VirtualBox does not work on M1-Based Mac.

![https://ubuntu.com/blog/canonical-transforms-linux-on-mac#:~:text=Multipass%2C%20the%20quickest%20way%20to,as%20little%20as%2020%20seconds.](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1652760694442/SCXILXxBZ.png align="center")

But I was surprised to discover that [Canonical](https://canonical.com/) had already been working on a version for M1-Based Mac without Virtualbox as of Multipass version 1.18.

![image.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1652760827618/9RtAGfkYo.png align="center")

I tried it and in two steps I had an instance of ubuntu running on my m1 based mac.

Below I quote the two steps needed:

1. Install Multipass for macOS at this [link](https://multipass.run/download/macos).
    
2. Open the terminal and run:
    

`$ multipass launch --name node1`

![image.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1652762418090/0AGzXi8rG.png align="left")

Fifty seconds later ...

![image.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1652762591596/ViZqw180X.png align="left")

![image.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1652762849982/ocPg83gHl.png align="left")

We can check the instance type with the following command:

`$ multipass exec node1 -- lsb_release -a`

![image.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1652762680724/ox7cOU7Gw.png align="left")

We can also enter to our Ubuntu instance:

![image.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1652762981851/oO0LUcA8_.png align="left")

Do not forget to stop your instance when you are not using it, you can even delete it completely if necessary. With the following commands:

```plaintext
$ multipass stop node1
$ multipass delete node1
$ multipass purge
```

If you wish, you can adjust the resources assigned to your instance, to generate several of them. You can view the available properties when running a new instance with the following command:

`$ multipass launch -h`

![image.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1652763571542/ZiInFa_E7.png align="left")

I hope you find it helpful, thank you very much for reaching the end of the post :).

Happy hacking!