Getting Started
Requirements
Minimum and recommended Mac requirements for MoltenVR: which Apple Silicon chip, memory, macOS version and VR headset you need to play PC VR games on a Mac.MoltenVR needs an Apple Silicon Mac and a supported standalone headset. Everything else, including Wine, the graphics engines and the headset app, is downloaded and set up by MoltenVR itself.
Minimum & Recommended Specs
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M1 | Apple M3, or any Pro / Max / Ultra chip |
| Unified memory | 8 GB | 16 GB on M3 · 24 GB on M2 |
| macOS | macOS 14 Sonoma | Latest macOS release |
| Headset connection | 5 GHz Wi-Fi | USB-C cable, or Wi-Fi with the Mac on Ethernet |
Lighter games run on the minimum spec. Demanding games such as Half-Life: Alyx want the recommended tier, and a Pro, Max or Ultra chip for the best results. Find best settings in MoltenVR tests your Mac and connection and picks resolution, refresh rate and codec to match.
Any M-series Mac running macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Intel Macs are not supported.
VR HeadsetMeta Quest 2, Quest 3, Quest 3S or Quest Pro, or PICO 4 / PICO 4 Ultra on PICO OS 5.9 or newer (experimental), running the MoltenVR headset app. Apple Vision Pro works over Wi-Fi with ALVR's visionOS app, through ALVR mode (MoltenVR Pro).
A USB-C cable or Wi-FiA USB-C data cable gives the steadiest stream. For Wi-Fi, use a 5 GHz or 6 GHz network.
Steam for Mac (for Steam games)Steam games, Half-Life: Alyx included, need Steam for Mac running while you play.
Permissions
MoltenVR's core features run without Screen Recording or Accessibility permission on macOS 14.4 and later. It only asks for those when you use the Mac desktop view in VR. macOS asks once to allow system audio recording, which is how game audio reaches the headset.