Multipass 1.17 adds Debian support, non-Ubuntu Linux distro support
Canonical's Multipass 1.17 expands beyond Ubuntu to directly support Debian and other Linux distributions, while adding availability zones, new virtualization backends for Windows and macOS, and POWER/s390x architecture support.
Summary
Canonical released Multipass 1.17, expanding its VM orchestration tool beyond Ubuntu to support Debian and potentially other Linux distributions. The release adds availability zones for local cloud simulation, replaces Hyper-V integration with a new HCS driver on Windows, adds Apple Virtualization Framework support for macOS 26, and introduces POWER PPC64EL and IBM s390x architecture support. The GUI now defaults to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS.
What's new in Multipass 1.17
- Non-Ubuntu Linux support: Direct support for Debian added, with framework open for additional distributions based on user feedback
- Availability zones: VMs can be organized into pre-defined zones with isolated subnets for local cloud environment simulation
- Windows HCS driver: New Host Compute System driver replaces prior Hyper-V integration path
- macOS backend: Apple Virtualization Framework added, providing faster startup and native ASIF disk image support on macOS 26
- Architecture expansion: POWER PPC64EL and IBM s390x / IBM Z support added
- GUI update: Image catalog redesigned, default image now Ubuntu 26.04 LTS
Why it matters
The expansion beyond Ubuntu makes Multipass more viable as a cross-distro development and testing tool, potentially competing with tools like Vagrant or Distrobox for developers who need quick VM provisioning across multiple Linux distributions.
Original reference: www.phoronix.com →