Note: macOS virtual machines have certain limitations compared to virtual machines with other operating systems, namely, no Coherence mode, no Shared Profile, etc. For more on this, consult this KB article.
To install Parallels Tools in a macOS virtual machine:
Start the macOS virtual machine.
When macOS boots up, go to the menu bar and choose <VM_name> > Install Parallels Tools. The Parallels Tools ISO image gets connected to the virtual machine CD/DVD drive. The guest OS mounts it automatically.
Open the Parallels Tools volume folder in Finder and double-click Install.
When prompted, enter the administrator password.
When the installation of Parallels Tools is complete, restart your virtual machine.
To reinstall Parallels Tools:
Start your macOS virtual machine.
When macOS boots up, log in to the graphical session and choose Reinstall Parallels Tools from the Virtual Machine menu. Parallels Tools will be reinstalled automatically.
If a newer version of Parallels Tools for Mac is available, Parallels Tools update automatically.
You can easily confirm whether Parallels Tools were installed. Start your virtual machine and look at the status bar of its window. If the tip "Press Ctrl + Alt to release the mouse and keyboard" appears in the status bar of the virtual machine's window, this means that Parallels Tools were not installed. When Parallels Tools are installed, you do not need to press any key to release the mouse and keyboard. They are released automatically.
Parallels Tools are a suite of behind-the-scenes tools that allow seamless operating between macOS and Windows or another guest operating system.
This section gives an overview of Parallels Tools, and has information about how to install them for various guest operating systems.
Parallels Tools are a suite of special utilities that help you use your virtual machines in the most comfortable and efficient way. With Parallels Tools, you can move the mouse seamlessly between the virtual machine and your Mac, change the virtual machine's screen resolution by simply resizing its window, synchronize your virtual machine's time and date settings with the time settings of the host computer, share your Mac's disks and folders with its virtual machines, copy text and drag and drop objects from macOS to a virtual machine and vice versa.
Parallels Tools are available for the most popular Windows, Linux, and macOS operating systems, and include the utilities listed below. All utilities supported by your guest OS are installed in your virtual machine as a single package when you install Parallels Tools.
| Utility | Available for | Description |
|---|---|---|
Note: the features marked with * are not available in the App Store Edition. For more information on the differences between the Standard and App Store editions, follow this link.
Parallels Tools are located on disc images that are installed together with Parallels Desktop. There is a separate Parallels Tools disc image for each type of the supported guest operating systems.
prl-tools-win.iso - disc image with Parallels Tools for Windows guest operating systems.
prl-tools-lin.iso - disc image with Parallels Tools for Linux guest operating systems.
prl-tools-mac.iso - disc image with Parallels Tools for macOS guest operating systems.
These disc images can be found in the following location on your Mac: /Applications/Parallels Desktop.app/Contents/Resources/Tools.
Note: The aforementioned disc images are for Intel Macs. If you have an Apple Silicon Mac, the same folder contains disc images which are designated as -arm.
Mouse Synchronization Tool
Windows
Linux
macOS
Mouse Synchronization Tool captures the mouse input in the virtual machine each time the pointer moves over its window and automatically releases the input when the pointer moves outside the window.
Time Synchronization Tool
Windows
Linux
macOS
Time Synchronization Tool enables you to customize your virtual machine time settings. You can:
Automatically synchronize the time settings of your virtual machine with your Mac time settings.
Set up and maintain the time difference between your Mac and your virtual machine.
Drag-and-Drop Tool
Windows
Linux
Drag-and-Drop Tool allows dragging and dropping files between your virtual machines and macOS.
Clipboard Synchronization Tool
Windows
Linux
macOS
Clipboard Synchronization Tool enables you to easily exchange texts between:
the virtual machine and your Mac.
different virtual machines irrespective of the guest operating systems installed in them.
To copy and paste text, you should use the standard procedure for the current operating system. For example, to copy some text in the Windows guest OS, select the text, and press Ctrl+C. To paste this text in macOS, press Cmd+V, or select Paste from the shortcut menu.
Dynamic Resolution Tool
Windows
Linux
macOS
Dynamic Resolution Tool enables you to work with dynamic resolution. When you resize the guest OS window by dragging its lower right corner, the guest OS window resolution changes automatically.
Shared Folders Tool
Windows
Linux
macOS
Shared Folders Tool enables you to share Mac folders with the virtual machine and vice versa. With this tool, you can access your Mac folders from the virtual machine.
Coherence Tool*
Windows
The Coherence tool allows you to launch and use your Windows applications as if they were Mac applications. It hides the virtual machine's main interface, leaving only guest OS and Mac applications visible.
Shared Profile Tool
Windows
Linux
Shared Profile Tool enables you to share your Mac desktop, pictures, documents, downloads, music and videos with your virtual machine, which allows you to access them right from the guest OS.
Shared Applications Tool*
Windows
Linux
Shared Applications Tool enables you to specify default applications for certain types of files, so that you can open some types of files in Windows or Linux applications by default, and others - in macOS.
Shared Internet Applications Tool
Windows
Shared Internet Applications Tool enables you to specify default Internet browsers, including those installed in the virtual machine, for different types of Internet pages. For example, you may set the Internet pages to open in your default macOS Internet browser, and FTP pages to open in your virtual machine Internet browser.
SmartMount
Windows
Linux
SmartMount automatically detects volumes connected to your Mac and makes them available to the virtual machine as well.
Printing Tool
Windows
Linux
Printing Tool allows you to synchronize the host and guest OS printers.
Tray Integration Tool*
Windows
Tray Integration Tool allows you to use Windows tray icons in the Mac menu bar.
Important: To take advantage of much of the functionality Parallels Desktop offers, Parallels Tools must be installed.
Parallels Tools can be installed in the following Windows guest operating systems:
Windows 11
Windows 10
Windows 8, 8.1
Windows 7
Windows Server 2008
For information on support for older versions of Windows, consult this KB article.
If you chose Express Installation when you first installed Windows, Parallels Tools were installed automatically after the installation.
If you didn't choose Express Installation, do the following to install Parallels Tools:
When Windows boots up, connect the Parallels Tools image to the virtual machine: in the menu bar, click Devices > CD/DVD > Connect image....
Browse to the image location Application > Parallels Desktop.app > Contents > Resources > Tools > select prl-tools-win-arm.iso if your Mac runs on Apple silicon or prl-tools-win.iso for Intel Macs.
This will mount a virtual CD/DVD with the Parallels Tools.
Click on the autorun file to start the installation.
When the installation is complete, click Restart to restart the virtual machine or wait for it to restart automatically.
To reinstall Parallels Tools:
Once Windows starts, if Parallels Desktop is in Coherence mode, click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Exit Coherence.
When Windows boots up, choose Reinstall Parallels Tools from the Actions menu in the menu bar.
This option is available only if Parallels Tools are up-to-date. If Parallels Tools are outdated, you will see the Update Parallels Tools option instead.
You can easily confirm whether Parallels Tools were installed. Start your virtual machine and look at the status bar of its window. If the tip "Press Ctrl + Alt to release the mouse and keyboard" appears in the status bar of the virtual machine's window, this means that Parallels Tools were not installed. When Parallels Tools are installed, you do not need to press any key to release the mouse and keyboard, as they are released automatically.
If you chose Express Installation when you first installed Linux, Parallels Tools were installed automatically after the installation.
Note: You may find the updated list of Linux distributives supported in Parallels Desktop on Apple Silicon Macs here.
If you didn't choose Express Installation, do the following to install Parallels Tools:
Launch the Linux virtual machine.
When it boots up, connect the Parallels Tools image to the virtual machine: in the menu bar, click Devices > CD/DVD > Connect image....
Browse to the image location Application > Parallels Desktop.app > Contents > Resources > Tools > select prl-tools-lin-arm.iso if your Mac runs on Apple silicon or prl-tools-lin.iso for Intel Macs.
This will mount a virtual CD/DVD with the Parallels Tools.
Double-click on the install-gui file to start the installation.
When the installation is complete, click Restart to restart the virtual machine or wait for it to restart automatically.
The details on installing Parallels Tools for Linux using Terminal are maintained and updated in this KB article.
You can easily confirm whether Parallels Tools were installed. Start your virtual machine and look at the status bar of its window. If the tip "Press Ctrl + Alt to release the mouse and keyboard" appears in the status bar of the virtual machine's window, this means that Parallels Tools were not installed. When Parallels Tools are installed, you do not need to press any key to release the mouse and keyboard - they are released automatically.
Parallels Tools may fail to install because not all mandatory packages are available. Check the /var/log/parallels-tools-install.log file in the guest OS for error messages, install the missing packages, and try to install Parallels Tools again.
For more information on installing Parallels Tools, please refer to the Parallels Knowledge Base.
When a newer version of Parallels Tools for Linux becomes available, the Parallels Tools Installation Agent window will appear. You will be prompted to choose the command to gain root privileges and enter the password (if su - root password, if sudo - your user's password). After that, Parallels Tools update automatically.
To reinstall Parallels Tools in Linux, remove them first and install them once again.