Configuring Deployment Options

The autodeploy package contains a special script, which is automatically executed on a target Mac after the package is transferred to it. When executed, the script reads the configuration parameter values from the deploy.cfg file, which you can modify according to your needs.

To modify the parameters, expand the License Key and Configuration folder in the autodeploy package and open the deploy.cfg file in a text editor. The configuration parameters are organized in sections, which are described below.

License

The License section is used to specify the Parallels Desktop Enterprise Edition license key. It contains only one parameter, license_key, which should be left commented for SSO activation but needs to be uncommented and specified with a working 30-character license key for the license key activation experience. Read Parallels Desktop Licensing Guide for more information.

Virtual Machines (VM(s))

This section contains the parameters that specify how and where the virtual machines get deployed once a local copy of Parallels Desktop for Mac is installed and activated.

Variable	Description
Destination options and file name conflict resolution strategies	The (Optional) Deploy virtual machines section of the configuration guides describes strategies that define virtual machine deployment options: Option 1: Parallels Desktop only. This option installs and activates a copy of Parallels Desktop without provisioning a virtual machine, which in turn happens via the Management Portal. Option 2: Specifying a VM download link in the package without including a VM image itself in the package. This option requires you to upload an image to a shared network location. You will need to create separate packages and virtual machines for each architecture if you have both Intel and Apple silicon Macs. If you choose to upload virtual machines to a file share destination and deploy them using a publicly available link, you should set their names and destinations by providing an uncommented string with the link and the new name and destination, e.g. "https://storage.company.com/VM.zip"="~/Parallels/Windows.zip" or "https://example-my.sharepoint.com/exmpleurl1?e=XXXX&download=1"="~/Parallels/CorporateVM.tar.gz" Option 3: Including a VM in the deployment package (requires separate images for Apple silicon and Intel x86 processor architectures) by placing them in the package's Bundle/Virtual Machine (s) folder, taking into account the possible total package size limitations of your company's device management solution. By default, the package will place the virtual machines as defined by the vm_register_mode and vm_destination_folder variables (see below). For custom deployment paths, use the variable/value pair as described below, making sure to retain the original virtual machine file name, including the .pvm or .pvmp extensions. For .pvmp source file extension (packed virtual machines), the destination extension should also be .pvmp. If the vm_register_mode is set to shared, the specified path must be relative to /Users/Shared/Parallels. The section also contains advice on file conflict resolution strategy in case the target Mac already contains Parallels virtual machines: replace (default), which permanently deletes the existing VM; copy, which renames the new VM and registers it under the new name; and skip, which leaves the existing VM in place. Examples: "Shared VM.pvm"="./Shared VM.pvm" "Private VM.pvm"="/Parallels/Private VM.pvm" "Packed Shared VM.pvmp"="./Shared VM2.pvmp" "Packed Private VM.pvmp"="/Parallels/Private VM2.pvmp" "Shared VM.pvm"=copy("./Shared VM.pvm") "Private VM.pvm"=skip("/Parallels/Private VM.pvm") "Packed Shared VM.pvmp"=replace("./Shared VM2.pvmp")
unknown_vms_policy	This parameter specifies what is to be done with the existing virtual machines that are not part of the deployment package. The default value is keep, and the alternative is remove, which permanently deletes any existing virtual machines that are not used by other users of the target Mac.
vm_reset_hwid	Specifies whether the virtual machine's SMBIOS ID (hardware ID) will be regenerated. Each Parallels virtual machine is assigned a universally unique SMBIOS ID when created. For your enterprise management software (e.g., Microsoft Intune) to properly account for unique Windows and software activations, unique SMBIOS IDs are required. However, specific scenarios like software development and testing may require keeping SMBIOS IDs unchanged. Set the value of the vm_reset_hwid variable as follows: "yes" [RECOMMENDED]— Regenerate the ID. "no" — Keep the original SMBIOS ID.
vm_register_mode	Specifies the registration mode for the deployed virtual machines. The accepted values are: "Private" — The virtual machines will be registered for the active user only. The virtual machines will be placed in the /Users/<username>/Parallels folder. "Shared" — The virtual machines will be registered for all users of a Mac. The virtual machines will be placed in the /Users/Shared/Parallels folder. The default destination folder for virtual machines can be modified using the vm_destination_folder variable (see below).
vm_destination_folder (Optional)	Allows you to change the default destination folder for virtual machines. The default folder is determined by the value of the vm_register_mode variable (see above). The vm_destination_folder variable allows you to change the default folder while retaining the selected virtual machine's registration mode parameter value.
vm_deploy_mode	Specifies whether the virtual machine(s) will be copied or moved from the autodeploy package to their destination folder on a Mac (see the explanation below). Accepted values: "Copy" — Copy the virtual machine(s). "Move" — Move the virtual machine(s). If your autodeploy package contains one or more virtual machines, they need to be copied or moved to their destination folder on a Mac during deployment (see vm_register_mode and vm_destination_folder variables). Moving a virtual machine file is almost instantaneous, while copying it will take a considerable time due to the large size of a typical virtual machine. The option you specify here depends on the following: If the deployment tool that you are using copies the entire autodeploy package to a Mac computer before running it, you can use the fast "Move" option. Jamf Pro and Apple Remote Desktop copy packages to a Mac before running them so you can use the "Move" option when using these tools. Note that the package and the destination folder must be located on the same mount point on a Mac for the "Move" operation to be fast; otherwise, it'll be essentially a copy-and-delete operation, hence slow. If you are running the autodeploy package from a network share mounted on a Mac (e.g., manually) or a read-only destination, then you should use "Copy" because moving a virtual machine from a remote location will be as slow as copying it. Additionally, moving the virtual machine from the package will remove it, rendering the package incomplete (you want it to stay intact if you want to install it on other Macs).
vm_set_hv_mode_apple_forcibly_since_macos_11_0	Specify whether the installer should override the hypervisor type of each deployed VM to 'Apple' on macOS 11.0 Big Sur and newer. All macOS versions since macOS Big Sur require a Mac reboot to run a VM with a hypervisor type other than 'Apple'. To forcibly change the hypervisor type to 'Apple', use the following setting: vm_set_hv_mode_apple_forcibly_since_macos_11_0="yes"

User Experience (optional)

The User Experience section contains parameters that control various aspects of user interaction with Parallels Desktop, including a way to completely obscure Windows from the user and present a Windows app almost like a native Mac app.

Variable	Description
control_center_banner_url	This and the two variables below are grouped together and allow you to customize Parallels Desktop Control Center by displaying a custom HTML banner at the top of its window. For additional information, see Using custom graphics and links in the Control Center. The URL of a custom HTML page is to be displayed as a banner in the Parallels Desktop Control Center window. To disable the banner, comment out the variable or specify an empty string as a value.
control_center_banner_height	The banner height, in pixels. The recommended value is 350. To use the current value (if you are updating Parallels Desktop on a Mac), comment out the variable.
control_center_banner_min_width	The banner's minimum width measured in pixels. When resizing the Control Center window, its minimum width will be limited accordingly. The recommended value is 350. To use the current value (if you are updating Parallels Desktop on a Mac), comment out the variable. To disable the minimum width limitation, comment out the variable or specify 0 (zero) as a value.
enable_single_application_mode(Windows VMs only)	Specifies whether to enable Single Application Mode. For more information, please see Single Application mode. Possible values: "yes" — enable Single Application Mode. If the parameter is commented out, Parallels Desktop will be deployed using the "standard" mode. When using the Single Application Mode, it is recommended to prepare the Windows guest operating system to have auto login enabled.
vm_set_hv_mode_apple_forcibly_since_macos_11_0(Deprecated, x86-only)	This parameter overrides hypervisor choice on Intel Macs and is important for scenarios where nested virtualization is expected to be required: Hyper-V, WSL2, or Docker inside Windows virtual machines. For virtual machines on Intel Macs that need nested virtualization, set the parameter to "no". To forcibly change the hypervisor type to 'Apple', use the following setting: vm_set_hv_mode_apple_forcibly_since_macos_11_0="yes"
show_developers_menu	Specifies whether to show or hide developer tools in the Parallels Desktop GUI. For more information, please see Hiding Developer Tools in the Parallels Desktop GUI. Possible values: "no" — hide developer tools. "yes" — show developer tools. Please note that this setting will be applied to every virtual machine included in the autodeploy package. You can also configure each virtual machine to hide (or show) developer tools before deployment, but with this option, you can apply the setting automatically during deployment.

Help & Support

The Help and Support section is used to specify the action for the Help > Support Center menu item in the Parallels Desktop graphical user interface.

Variable	Description
support_url	Specifies a URL of a page that will be displayed when a user selects the Help > Support Center menu option in the Parallels Desktop graphical user interface. To display the default message, specify an empty string (this is the default behavior). To display your own Web page (help desk, wiki, etc.), specify its URL. See also Customizing the Support Center options.
lic_admin_url	Specifies a URL that will be included in error message dialogs related to licensing operations. The URL should point to a web page or a resource that the user can visit to get help with the problem. The error message appears when there's a problem activating, renewing, or deactivating a Parallels Desktop license. If you specify a URL using this variable, it will be included in the message dialog in the form "For details click <URL>". If you don't specify a URL (comment out the variable or specify an empty string), the default "Contact your system administrator" message will be displayed.

Privacy (previously, Technical Data Reports)

The Technical Data Reports section is used to specify whether Parallels Desktop issue reports should contain screenshots of the macOS and virtual machine desktops. You can exclude screenshots for security reasons.

Variable	Description
report_allow_screenshots	"yes" — Include screenshots of the macOS and virtual machine desktops in Parallels Desktop problem reports. "no" — Do not include the screenshots.
hide_license_request_params	This parameter allows you to hide hostnames in activation and heartbeat requests. The possible values are on and off.

Deprecated Options

Over the course of the Parallels Desktop product evolution, some previously available settings have been deprecated (e.g., customer experience program participation), and others (e.g., security and software updates) have been redesigned to be managed centrally from the Parallels Management Portal.