Virtual Machine Management

The prlctl utility is used to perform management tasks on virtual machines. The utility supports a full range of tasks from creating and administering virtual machines to getting statistics and generating problem reports.

The general syntax is as follows:

prlctl command <vm_ID | vm_name> [options] [-v, --verbose number]

The parameters are:

• command: one of the available commands.
• vm_ID | vm_name: ID or name of the target virtual machine.
• options: command options.
• -v, --verbose number: Show verbose output. The greater the number, the more verbose output will be produced.

The subsequent sections describe the available prlctl commands grouped by functionality.

Note: Due to changes introduced by Apple, this section of the guide largely does not apply to macOS VMs run on Apple Silicon Macs. We are working on bringing the functionality of such VMs in line with all other types of VMs supported on Parallels Desktop. For a complete list of limitations and possible workarounds, please refer to the following guides:

Known limitations of macOS virtual machines on Mac computers with Apple M-series chips

Configuring macOS virtual machines running on a Mac computer with Apple M-series chip