How to enable or disable Rosetta for a Linux virtual machine using prlctl in Parallels Desktop 27

In previous versions of Parallels Desktop, the Use Rosetta to run x86-64 binaries checkbox was available for Linux virtual machines in Configuration > Hardware > CPU & Memory. As from Parallels Desktop 27, this checkbox is no longer shown in the virtual machine configuration.

The feature itself has not been removed. Rosetta support for Linux virtual machines can still be turned on or off with the prlctl command-line utility on the Mac. This article describes how.

Important: Rosetta is an Apple technology, and Apple has announced that it will be dropped from macOS in an upcoming release. Parallels Desktop relies on Rosetta being available on the host Mac, so Rosetta support for Linux virtual machines will stop being available once it is removed from macOS. Plan any workflow that depends on running x86-64 binaries in Linux virtual machines accordingly.

See Apple Developer news post and Apple Support article for more information.

How to enable Rosetta for a Linux virtual machine

1. Shut down the Linux virtual machine. The setting can only be changed while the virtual machine is powered off.
2. On the Mac, open Terminal.
3. Find the name or UUID of the virtual machine:

   prlctl list -a

4. Enable Rosetta for the virtual machine, replacing "Ubuntu Linux" with the name or UUID from the previous step:

   prlctl set "Ubuntu Linux" --rosetta-linux on

5. Start the virtual machine. When it starts, Parallels Tools automatically registers the handler for x86-64 binaries.
6. To confirm that x86-64 binaries run, install Docker Engine in the virtual machine and start an x86-64 container:

   sudo docker run -it --rm amd64/ubuntu uname -m

   The expected output is x86_64.

How to disable Rosetta for a Linux virtual machine

1. Shut down the Linux virtual machine.
2. On the Mac, run:

   prlctl set "Ubuntu Linux" --rosetta-linux off

3. Start the virtual machine.

Check whether Rosetta is enabled

To view the virtual machine's configuration and confirm the Rosetta setting, run:

prlctl list -i <VM_ID_or_Name>

Example:

prlctl list -i {2b3a93d1-21b8-43b4-a80a-0333f6d613d9}