The standard QEMU VNC console in UTM does not support clipboard sharing.
Instead of VNC, UTM uses the SPICE protocol for clipboard sharing, which is the recommended method for both QEMU and Apple virtualization backends.
How to Enable Clipboard Sharing To use copy/paste functionality within a UTM virtual machine, you must use the built-in "Clipboard Sharing" feature and install the appropriate guest tools:
Enable the Feature in UTM Settings:
In the virtual machine's configuration, navigate to the Sharing section.
Ensure that the "Clipboard sharing" option is enabled.
Install Guest Tools: The guest operating system requires specific tools (agents) to communicate with the host's clipboard.
Linux Guests: You typically need to install spice-vdagent (e.g., sudo apt install spice-vdagent on Debian/Ubuntu-based systems).
Windows Guests: Run the SPICE guest tools installer within the Windows VM.
macOS Guests: For guests and hosts both running recent macOS versions (e.g., macOS 15 or higher), you can install the macOS guest tools via the "Install Guest Tools" option in the UTM toolbar.
Permissions and Restart:
After installation, you may need to grant accessibility/clipboard permissions in the guest OS settings.
Reboot the virtual machine for the changes to take effect.
Alternative for macOS Guests
If you are running a macOS guest, you can also enable the built-in "Screen Sharing" feature within the guest OS's System Settings and then connect to the VM's displayed VNC address from your host Mac's Finder or Spotlight search. This method uses Apple's native VNC client, which supports clipboard sharing between two Macs.