Custom Linux kernel for the Mac Pro 6,1 (Late 2013). CachyOS-based with BORE scheduler, built-in drivers, embedded GPU firmware — boots to desktop with no initramfs required.
A kernel config and PKGBUILD for Linux 7.0 targeting Mac Pro 6,1 hardware. CachyOS 7.0 base with BORE scheduler and BBR3, Mac Pro drivers built-in, GPU firmware embedded in kernel.
- All GPU variants — D300 (Pitcairn), D500 (Tahiti), D700 (Tahiti XT), firmware baked in
- CachyOS performance — BORE scheduler, BBR3 congestion control,
-march=ivybridge -O3 - KVM built-in — run macOS Tahoe in QEMU
- NVMe + TRIM — aftermarket NVMe drives work out of the box
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| GPU (D300/D500/D700) | Working | amdgpu built-in, radeonsi/RADV via Mesa |
| Display (DP/HDMI) | Working | Via amdgpu + DC |
| Vulkan / OpenGL | Working | Mesa RADV / radeonsi |
| GPU Compute | Limited | OpenCL via rusticl only — no ROCm for Southern Islands |
| Ethernet | Working | Both ports via tg3 + Broadcom PHY |
| Wi-Fi | Proprietary | broadcom-wl-dkms (AUR) + headers package |
| Audio | Working | Intel HDA + Cirrus CS4206, HDMI/DP via amdgpu |
| USB 3.0 | Working | xHCI |
| Thunderbolt 2 | Partial | Works with log spam |
| NVMe + TRIM | Working | Built-in; enable fstrim.timer |
| Bluetooth | Working | Broadcom via btusb |
| KVM | Working | macOS Tahoe virtualization |
| Fans / Thermal | Working | applesmc + hwmon; install macfanctld (AUR) |
| Sleep/Wake | Disabled | Unreliable on this hardware |
git clone https://github.com/wolffcatskyy/linux-mac.git
cd linux-mac/packaging/arch
makepkg -s
sudo pacman -U linux-macpro61-*.pkg.tar.zst
sudo poweroff # Apple EFI needs cold boot — never reboot when switching kernelsAlways power off (not reboot) when switching kernels. Apple EFI needs a cold boot to reinitialize the GPU.
Built on the CachyOS 7.0 patch set:
- BORE — Burst-Oriented Response Enhancer scheduler
- BBR3 — Google TCP congestion control v3
- CachyOS tweaks — kernel optimizations
- HDMI improvements — display fixes
- GPU Acceleration Guide -- full stack explainer, what works, performance tuning, roadmap
- Mesa Setup -- driver config, environment variables, multi-GPU
- macOS Tahoe KVM -- run macOS in a VM on this kernel
- PVG Roadmap -- GPU acceleration for macOS VMs
- CachyOS ISO -- ready-to-build installer ISO
| Status | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Done | CachyOS 7.0 base with BORE, BBR3, built-in amdgpu |
| Done | All GPU variants, verified against lspci |
| Done | KVM + macOS Tahoe virtualization |
| Done | CachyOS-based Mac Pro ISO (KDE Plasma) — cachyos-macpro-iso |
| Done | Driver trimming — removed ~3000 unused config options for faster builds |
systemd-boot with ESP at `/boot/efi/` (FAT32).
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ESP vs /boot - pacman installs to `/boot/` (root partition) but systemd-boot reads from `/boot/efi/` (ESP). The package install hook syncs automatically.
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Cold boot only - Apple EFI needs full power cycle for GPU init. The package masks `reboot.target` and aliases `reboot` to `poweroff` automatically.
-
Boot entries - Default: `linux-macpro61.conf` (custom kernel), fallback: `arch-6.19.conf` (stock).
GPL-2.0 (same as the Linux kernel)