> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.macstadium.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Orka VM Tools for guest services on ARM VMs

> Orka VM Tools are pre-installed guest services required for disk resize, VM metadata, and shared storage on macOS 12 or later Apple silicon virtual machines.

Orka VM Tools is a collection of services that make it possible for Orka to manage more effectively the guests operating systems. Orka VM Tools start when the guest operating system starts and allows the communication between the underlying VM process on the host and the guest operating system.

Orka VM Tools are only compatible with ARM-based guest operating systems with macOS 12 or later versions.

Orka VM Tools are pre-installed on each ARM-based base image that Orka provides.

The following Orka features require Orka VM Tools in order for them to work as expected:

* [Shared attached disk](/orka/orka-resources/shared-vm-storage)

<Note>
  Make sure to pull the latest ARM base image from the remote before using Orka VM Tools on your virtual machines. Standalone installation of Orka VM Tools (outside of a base image) requires Orka 2.2.0 or later.
</Note>

[Learn more about pulling an image](/orka/orka3-cli-reference/image-management)

<Warning>Always run the Orka VM Tools version that matches your cluster and other Orka tools and integrations. A version mismatch can cause disk resizing and shared storage failures. For example, if your cluster runs 3.x, your Orka VM Tools should also run 3.x.</Warning>

Orka VM Tools run in the background. They are started automatically as a daemon when the operating system starts. You can control Orka VM Tools process using the following commands:

To check if Orka VM Tools are running in your VM:

```bash theme={null}
sudo launchctl list com.orka.vm.tools
```

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/macstadiuminc/9E4UGn8KwDOik0d3/images/attachments/28340435776027.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=9E4UGn8KwDOik0d3&q=85&s=edaa7ad83e9f8b5ae2d74b8055ae64fa" alt="Terminal output of launchctl list showing Orka VM Tools running" width="1422" height="458" data-path="images/attachments/28340435776027.png" />
