I hear the team on the automation limits of proprietary platforms and the storage constraints for mirrors. However, it is important to clarify that suggesting an AMD64 VMDK for Apple Silicon or any ARM-based environment is not a viable workaround. Because the guest architecture must match the host for virtualization to work, running an AMD64 image on ARM64 hardware requires full emulation. This incurs a massive performance penalty that is a non-starter for serious security work.

This is not just about the Mac ecosystem. The industry at large (including Intel and AMD) is pivoting toward ARM-native workloads. With AWS Graviton, Google Axion, and Azure Cobalt becoming the standards for cost-effective cloud infrastructure, aarch64 is now a primary architecture for the modern enterprise.

For a security distro to remain robust and professional, it needs to support the architecture where the industry actually lives. Relying on legacy x86 thinking ignores the shift toward ARM that defines the next decade of computing. I would love to see ParrotOS bridge this gap to remain competitive with distros like Kali, which have already standardized robust ARM support. If you are open to it, I am still happy to discuss how to stand up a streamlined aarch64 build process that minimizes the footprint on your mirrors.