Parallels Desktop Installation Guide

Requirements

License

Parallels Desktop requires a paid license. Plans include:

• Standard: For home and students
• Pro: For developers and power users
• Business: For teams

A free 14-day trial is available at https://www.parallels.com.

Step 1: Download Parallels Desktop

1. Go to: https://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/
2. Click Download Free Trial (or purchase)
3. Open the downloaded DMG file
4. Double-click Install Parallels Desktop
5. Follow the installation wizard
6. Sign in with your Parallels account or create one
7. Activate your license or start the free trial

Step 2: Download Ubuntu ISO

Parallels can download Ubuntu automatically during VM creation, but you can also provide your own ISO.

Automatic (Recommended)

Parallels offers a list of downloadable Linux distributions during VM creation. Select Ubuntu and it downloads automatically.

Manual Download

1. Apple Silicon Macs: Go to https://ubuntu.com/download/server/arm and download Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS for ARM
2. Intel Macs: Go to https://ubuntu.com/download/server and download Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS

Step 3: Create the Virtual Machine

1. Open Parallels Desktop
2. Click + (or File > New) to create a new VM
3. Select Install Windows or another OS from a DVD or image file
4. Click Continue
5. Choose one of:
   • Automatic: Select Ubuntu from the list of available downloads
   • Manual: Click "Choose Manually" and browse to the downloaded Ubuntu ISO
6. Parallels detects "Ubuntu Linux"
7. Configure the basics:
   • Name: codehero
   • Check Customize settings before installation
8. Click Create

Step 4: Configure the VM

The Configuration window opens automatically (because you checked "Customize settings before installation").

CPU & Memory

1. Go to Hardware > CPU & Memory
2. Set Processors: 2 (or more)
3. Set Memory: 4096 MB (or more)

Hard Disk

1. Go to Hardware > Hard Disk 1
2. Set size to 40 GB (if not already)

Network

1. Go to Hardware > Network
2. Source: Select Bridged Network > Default Adapter

Bridged networking gives the VM its own IP on your local network, making it easy to access the dashboard.

Close Configuration

1. Close the Configuration window
2. Click Continue to start the installation

Step 5: Install Ubuntu

The VM boots from the ISO automatically.

Ubuntu Installation Steps

1. Select Try or Install Ubuntu Server and press Enter
2. Language: Select your language
3. Keyboard: Select your keyboard layout
4. Type of Install: Ubuntu Server
5. Network: Ubuntu auto-detects the network. Note the IP if shown.
6. Proxy: Leave empty
7. Mirror: Leave default
8. Storage: Use an entire disk > select the virtual disk > Done > Done > Continue
9. Profile Setup:
   • Your name: Claude Admin
   • Server name: codehero-server
   • Username: claude
   • Password: Choose a password (remember it)
10. Ubuntu Pro: Skip for now
11. SSH: Check "Install OpenSSH server"
12. Featured Snaps: Skip
13. Wait for installation to finish (5-10 minutes)
14. Select Reboot Now

First Login

At the login prompt:

• Username: claude
• Password: the password you chose

Step 6: Install CodeHero

Run these commands inside the VM. First, copy the ZIP file provided with your CodeHero PRO license into the VM, then:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y unzip wget net-tools
sudo su
cd /root
unzip codehero-pro-release-4.6.3.zip
cd codehero
chmod +x setup.sh
./setup.sh

Wait 10-15 minutes for installation to complete.

Find Your VM IP Address

hostname -I

Write down the IP (e.g., 192.168.1.120).

Step 7: Access the Dashboard

On your Mac, open a browser and go to:

https://YOUR_VM_IP:9453

Default Login

• Username: admin
• Password: admin123

Change Default Passwords

Inside the VM:

sudo /opt/codehero/scripts/change-passwords.sh

Browser Security Warning

Daily Usage

GUI (Parallels Desktop)

Command Line (prlctl)

Parallels includes the prlctl command-line tool for managing VMs.

# List all VMs
prlctl list -a

# Start the VM
prlctl start "codehero"

# Graceful shutdown
prlctl stop "codehero"

# Force stop
prlctl stop "codehero" --kill

# Pause
prlctl pause "codehero"

# Resume
prlctl resume "codehero"

# Get VM info
prlctl list -i "codehero"

# Delete the VM
prlctl delete "codehero"

SSH into the VM

From your Mac terminal:

ssh claude@YOUR_VM_IP

Check Services

ssh claude@YOUR_VM_IP "sudo systemctl status codehero-web codehero-daemon"

Headless Mode

To run the VM without the Parallels window:

prlctl start "codehero" --headless

The VM runs in the background. Access it via SSH or the web dashboard.

Troubleshooting

Cannot Connect to Dashboard

1. Verify the VM IP: hostname -I inside the VM
2. Check network mode is set to Bridged
3. Check services:

   sudo systemctl status codehero-web codehero-daemon

4. Restart services if needed:

   sudo systemctl restart codehero-web codehero-daemon

No Network in the VM

1. Check Parallels network settings: Configuration > Hardware > Network
2. Try switching between Bridged and Shared Network
3. Inside the VM:

   sudo systemctl restart systemd-networkd
   ip addr show

VM Runs Slowly

1. Increase memory: Configuration > Hardware > CPU & Memory > 8192 MB
2. Increase CPUs: Configuration > Hardware > CPU & Memory > 4 processors
3. Ensure Parallels Tools are installed (usually prompted automatically)
4. Close resource-heavy applications on your Mac

Parallels Tools Not Installed

Parallels Tools improve VM performance and integration:

# Inside the VM
sudo apt install -y parallels-tools

Or from Parallels menu: Actions > Install Parallels Tools

ISO Won't Boot

1. Ensure you downloaded the correct ISO for your Mac:
   • Apple Silicon: ARM64 ISO
   • Intel: x86_64 ISO
2. Try re-downloading the ISO (may be corrupted)
3. Try creating the VM with Parallels' automatic download option

"Not Enough Disk Space"

1. Increase the virtual disk size in Configuration > Hardware > Hard Disk
2. Inside the VM, expand the filesystem:

   sudo growpart /dev/sda 2
   sudo resize2fs /dev/sda2

Parallels License Expired

The VM continues to exist but cannot be started without an active license. Either:

• Renew your Parallels license
• Export the VM disk and use it with UTM (free)