Kyvos

Kyvos 2.0.0 is a practical update. The main goal this time was to make common tasks easier and remove some of the friction that had built up around setup, testing, and general VM management. The biggest change is a new automatic installation flow for AmigaOS 4 on emulated AmigaOne XE and Pegasos 2 systems, but a lot of the value in this release also comes from the smaller improvements around networking, snapshots, and everyday usability.

The new AmigaOS 4 automatic installation is the clearest example of that. Until now, getting one of these systems up and running meant working through a long sequence of manual steps. In 2.0.0, Kyvos can now handle that process for you when you enable the automatic installation option during VM creation. On the first boot, it installs AmigaOS 4, applies the three system updates, and then reboots into the hard disk image.

You still need the right install ISO, the three update archives, and mkisofs available on the host. But once those are in place, the experience is much simpler. A progress window shows the steps as they run, so it is easy to see where the process is and what Kyvos is doing. When it finishes, the system is ready to boot with network and sound already configured. That cuts out a lot of repetitive work and makes the first run much less of a hurdle.

Another major addition is snapshots. Kyvos can now save restore points for a VM by copying the files inside that VM's folder into a snapshots directory. You can come back to one later if something goes wrong, or remove older ones when you no longer need them. This is especially useful before trying a new driver, changing the VM setup, or updating the guest system.

There is one limit worth keeping in mind: snapshots only include files that are inside the VM folder itself. If a hard disk image or ISO is stored somewhere else, it stays outside the snapshot. Even so, this is still a solid safety net, and it should make experimenting a lot less stressful.

One more important change in this release is support for macOS on Apple Silicon systems. This was something many users had been asking for, and it is now included in the 2.0.0 release. That means Kyvos is no longer limited to Intel-based Macs, which should make it easier for more macOS users to run the app on current hardware.

Networking is also clearer now. The old Network tab has been renamed to Port forwarding, which better reflects what it was already doing. A new Network tab has been added for the VM hostname, so that setting now has its own place. It is a small structural change, but it makes the interface easier to understand, especially if you manage several systems and want each one to have a clear network name.

Several changes in 2.0.0 are there to avoid the sort of small problems that waste time. Kyvos now checks whether a VM is already running before trying to start it again. It also checks that the selected QEMU executable really exists before launch. There is now a stop button in the toolbar as well as a stop option in the VM context menu, which makes controlling a running machine more direct.

The serial output window also got some useful cleanup. There is now a clear button, which helps when you want to focus only on fresh output while debugging. A buffer was also added so that fast incoming text does not scramble the view when a lot of messages arrive at once. If you rely on serial output while watching an AmigaOS 4 guest boot or tracking down a problem, this should make that window much easier to read.

Some of the remaining changes are smaller, but still worth mentioning. MorphOS systems can now use an emulated SM502 graphics card. The About entries were moved under the Help menu, the first menu is now called Project, and Windows users should see fewer extra console windows appear during VM creation. There was also a lot of internal refactoring in this release, which should help keep the codebase manageable as Kyvos grows.

The manual was also updated for this release. It now covers all of the new features and changes, includes refreshed screenshots, and has grown into a 122-page guide. It explains how Kyvos can be used day to day, but it also includes important information for setting up and emulating AmigaOS 4.1 FE, MorphOS, and AROS with QEMU.

Kyvos 2.0.0 is not about adding complexity. It is about smoothing out the work people already do in the app. The automatic AmigaOS 4 install will probably be the first thing most users notice, but the release is really held together by the smaller improvements around safety, clarity, and control. Put together, they make Kyvos feel steadier in regular use.

I hope you like this updated version, that I spend many days and nights working on. It can be purchased and downloaded from my shop at https://ko-fi.com/s/5ce4b719ed . My monthly supporters will automatically get a price reduction when try to purchase Kyvos v2, as a thank you for their constant support.