kubernetes/minikube

nice to have: Support VirtualBox on Arm64 Macos

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#21029 opened on Jul 3, 2025

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arch/arm64co/virtualboxhelp wantedkind/improvementos/macospriority/important-longterm

Description

Per slack conversation, @afbjorklund mentioned he could make a Virtuablox VM work on arm64 macos

Interestingly they just got VirtualBox working (with 7.1), but maybe that is Sailing Ship Syndrome
https://blogs.oracle.com/virtualization/post/oracle-virtualbox-71-4-things-to-know-about-the-new-release (edited

No I meant got it working on ARM Macs, but apparently it doesn't work on ARM Windows yet

[1:49](https://kubernetes.slack.com/archives/C1F5CT6Q1/p1751575742414449?thread_ts=1751563600.063039&cid=C1F5CT6Q1)
Or maybe that was just about Windows guests, it's not like I actually read it (just assumed it uses VZ)

if anyone interested to make virtualbox driver work for Arm64 and fix the x86 bindings I would accept that PR!

vbox driver might not be essential, since we already have vfkit and qemu on macos so it would be just a Nice to havve

Related Vbox Issue that needs love: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/15274

Contributor guide

Tech stack
goc
Domain
devopsinfrastructure
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
5
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
over 1 week
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
blocked
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
mostly clear
Prerequisites
Go programmingVirtualBox SDKC bindingsMinikube driver architecture
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
15
Research direction
Investigate VirtualBox 7.1 support for Arm64 MacOS. Review the existing VirtualBox driver in minikube, particularly the x86 bindings that need to be fixed. Look at the related issue #15274 for context. Determine what changes are needed in the driver to support the arm64 architecture and test on an Apple Silicon machine.