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Hardware Requirements
Choose the setup that fits your needs — from dedicated mini to virtual machine.
Three Ways to Run KatClaw
🖥️ Dedicated Mac Mini
Recommended
A dedicated Apple Silicon Mac Mini running your AI agent 24/7. Set it and forget it.
Chip
Apple M4 (or M1/M2/M3)
RAM
8GB minimum
Storage
256GB SSD
Price
From US$599
✓ Pros
- Always on, always ready
- No resource sharing
- Headless operation
- Best price/performance
✗ Cons
- Dedicated hardware cost
- Another device to manage
🖼️ Virtual Machine (Parallels / UTM)
Run KatClaw in a macOS VM on your existing Mac. Great for testing or if you already have a powerful machine.
Host Mac
Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4)
Host RAM
16GB+ (to allocate 8GB to VM)
Host Storage
512GB+ SSD
VM Software
Parallels Desktop or UTM (free)
✓ Pros
- Use existing hardware
- Easy snapshots/backups
- Isolated environment
- UTM is free
✗ Cons
- Shares host resources
- Must keep host running
- Clipboard sharing setup needed
VM Specs: Allocate at least 8GB RAM and 100GB disk to your VM.
For Local LLM support, allocate 16GB RAM.
💻 MacBook Air / MacBook Pro
Run KatClaw directly on your laptop. Best for hands-on users who want easy access to configuration and logs.
Chip
Apple M1 or later
RAM
8GB minimum (16GB for Local LLM)
Storage
256GB SSD
✓ Pros
- Direct access to config
- Easy debugging
- No network setup needed
- Portable
✗ Cons
- Folder permission popups
- Agent stops when laptop sleeps
- Shares your daily driver
Heads up: macOS will show permission popups when the agent accesses
folders like Documents or Desktop for the first time. This is normal — just approve them once.
Which Should You Choose?
Go with Mac Mini if: You want a "set and forget" agent running 24/7, or you're serious about AI automation.
Go with VM if: You already have a powerful Mac and want to experiment without dedicated hardware.
Go with MacBook if: You want easy access to tweak settings, check logs, and understand how your agent works.