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Asahi Linux adds official support for Apple M3 Macs

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The Asahi Linux project has merged support for Apple's M3 series into its installer, officially extending its reverse-engineered Linux port from M1 and M2 Macs to M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max machines. The project says almost everything that works on M1 and M2 hardware now also works on M3: the webcam, internal microphones, USB (up to the USB 3 hardware limit of 10 Gb/s), hardware accelerated video decoding including AV1, WiFi and Bluetooth. The two major exceptions are full display-controller (DCP) support and the GPU; the project says it will have more news on both in the coming months and warns users not to expect performant or power-efficient 3D acceleration for now. Because the work is still fresh, M3 support ships gated behind the installer's Expert mode: users can try it by running curl -L https://alx.sh/ | EXPERT=1 sh in a macOS terminal and following the prompts, then running a system upgrade (dnf upgrade --refresh) once installation finishes. The project is aiming to drop the Expert-mode requirement in time for the Fedora Linux 45 beta release, due in a couple of weeks, barring major regressions. Known limitations remain: sleep does not currently work, because of limitations in the firmware-provided framebuffer, and will be fixed once full DCP support lands for M3; the HDMI port on equipped MacBooks is disabled for the same DCP-related reason; and while M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max MacBooks and iMacs are supported, the M3 Ultra Mac Studio is not yet. The project credits the milestone to years of work by multiple contributors, several of whom it says only had access to M3 hardware because of community support through OpenCollective and GitHub Sponsors.

Key facts

  • M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max support has been merged into the Asahi Linux installer; the M3 Ultra Mac Studio is not yet supported.
  • Working features include webcam, internal mic, USB up to the USB 3 hardware limit of 10 Gb/s, hardware AV1 video decode, WiFi and Bluetooth.
  • GPU acceleration and full display-controller (DCP) support are still missing; 3D acceleration is not performant or power-efficient yet.
  • Sleep does not work yet, and HDMI is disabled on equipped MacBooks, both tied to incomplete DCP support.
  • Support currently requires the installer's Expert mode; the project aims to drop that requirement around the Fedora Linux 45 beta, due in a couple of weeks.

Why it matters

Asahi Linux is the main effort to run Linux natively on Apple Silicon Macs, built entirely through reverse engineering with no help from Apple. M3 support closes a real gap: M3 Macs have been on the market since late 2023, and until now buyers of that generation had no path to a working Asahi install. Merging it into the installer moves M3 from experimental patches to an officially supported target.

Who it affects

Owners of M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max MacBooks and iMacs who want to run Linux instead of, or alongside, macOS. Mac Studio (M3 Ultra) owners are not covered yet. It also matters to the Fedora Asahi Remix project, since Asahi's installer targets Fedora and the team is timing the removal of the Expert-mode gate to the Fedora Linux 45 beta.

How to use it

Support is opt-in for now: run curl -L https://alx.sh/ | EXPERT=1 sh in macOS Terminal and follow the installer prompts, then run dnf upgrade --refresh after installation completes. The Expert-mode flag exists specifically because the M3 support is fresh; the project plans to make it the default path once M3 support has had more testing, targeted around the Fedora Linux 45 beta in a couple of weeks.

How solid is it

The post is a first-party announcement from the Asahi Linux project itself, describing what has already been merged into its own installer, so the claims are direct and specific rather than secondhand. It is explicit about what is not yet finished, listing GPU acceleration, full DCP support, sleep and HDMI as known gaps rather than glossing over them.

Risks and caveats

This is early-stage support, not a finished port: no GPU acceleration, no working sleep, and no HDMI output on MacBooks that have the port, all stemming from incomplete display-controller support. The project gives no specific date for finishing GPU or DCP work beyond 'the coming months,' and running M3 support at all currently requires enabling Expert mode, a signal that regressions are still possible.

“Do not expect performant or power-efficient 3D acceleration right now.”

— Asahi Linux project