I'm currently working on a university project that requires .NET MAUI for the frontend, but my Early 2015 Intel MacBook Pro running macOS 12 isn't able to run or debug MAUI projects directly. I'm thinking about setting up a virtual machine to run Windows and install Visual Studio 2022, which supports .NET MAUI. I have a few questions: Is it feasible to use a VM with my setup in terms of performance and compatibility? Has anyone successfully done MAUI development in a similar VM environment on macOS? What VM software would you recommend? Also, are there any potential issues I need to watch out for, like emulation problems or performance bottlenecks? I'm on a tight schedule, so I'm looking for the fastest and most stable setup to test and debug my MAUI app. Any alternative suggestions instead of using a VM would also be appreciated! Thanks a bunch!
4 Answers
If you want a more supported way to run Windows on your Intel Mac, Boot Camp Assistant is the way to go. Here’s a quick rundown of what you need:
- An Intel Mac
- At least 64GB of free space (128GB is better)
- A Windows 10 ISO from Microsoft
- (Optional) A USB drive for older Macs
Then just follow the steps in Boot Camp to set it up. It’ll give you a proper native Windows experience which is great for development!
For your VM needs, you can go with Parallels, VMWare, or VirtualBox. Of those, I would recommend VMWare since I find it more stable. That said, dual booting with Boot Camp might be a better bet for performance if you're up for it.
You definitely can run a VM for that! I usually use Parallels, but VirtualBox is good too and it's free! Plus, it takes up less disk space compared to dual booting.
It's strange that your Mac can't natively debug a .NET MAUI app. Have you tried using Rider? It works fine for MAUI development on Mac.
Let’s avoid copy-pasting replies from AI, okay? People would prefer genuine advice!