Not on a Mac. Project NOMAD's own docs say macOS is not supported, and its install guide gives the reason as no GPU passthrough for Docker. Windows 11 works through WSL2, which the project calls community-supported. A Raspberry Pi is not officially supported either, though people have published their own versions.
The sections below quote each doc and name the closest thing that does run on each system. We read them on 28 October 2026.
The short answer
No. Project NOMAD's docs list macOS as not supported, with no GPU passthrough for Docker as the reason. Windows 11 runs it through WSL2, which the project calls community-supported, and the Raspberry Pi 5 is not officially supported either. On a Mac, the closest options are Kiwix for the library and Ollama for a local AI chat.
The table
| System | What NOMAD's docs say | Closest option that works |
|---|---|---|
| Linux PC (Ubuntu, Debian) | Supported | NOMAD itself |
| Mac, Mac mini, MacBook | Not supported | Kiwix Reader, or Kiwix plus Ollama |
| Windows 11 | Community-supported through WSL2 | NOMAD in WSL2, or Kiwix Reader |
| Raspberry Pi 5 | Not officially supported | Kiwix on the Pi, or Internet-in-a-Box |
| Virtual machine | Not officially supported | A real PC, or WSL2 |
| Other Linux distributions | Not officially supported | An Ubuntu or Debian install |
Mac, Mac mini and macOS
The FAQ says macOS and other non-Debian Linux distros are not officially supported. The install guide lists macOS under "What Won't Work", with the reason "no GPU passthrough for Docker". The docs add that people have gotten NOMAD working on some of these platforms, but you are on your own working it out.
The FAQ also points to guides that community members posted on Discord and in GitHub Discussions, and warns that you may meet problems the team cannot support.
We did not read those community guides or test them, so we can't say how well they work.
The docs we read never name a Mac mini, a MacBook or Apple silicon. They say "macOS" and stop. So the docs don't say whether an M-series Mac fares better than an Intel one.
The closest options that do run on a Mac are the ones NOMAD is made of. Kiwix, which supplies NOMAD's offline Wikipedia, is available for macOS, and Ollama, which runs the AI model, has a macOS download. Together they give you a library and a local chat without the terminal install. For the AI half, our own test found that a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or newer) and 16 GB memory works, while on 8 GB the 3B model worked only with few other apps open. Our guide to running AI offline on a Mac has the setup.
Windows 11
The FAQ calls WSL2 on Windows community-supported. The project's WSL2 guide says it is for a Windows 10 (build 19041 or later) or Windows 11 PC, and wants at least 16 GB of RAM, 32 GB or more if you want the AI Assistant, with roughly 100 GB of free disk. It also reports that AI inference runs about 18% faster on bare-metal Ubuntu than under WSL2 with the same NVIDIA card, so the AI works but loses speed.
The same guide has a table of which graphics cards work under WSL2. NVIDIA cards do; the guide says AMD Radeon, Intel Arc and AMD integrated graphics run on the CPU only. If your Windows machine has one of those, the AI will be slow.
Want only a library, without WSL2? Kiwix is available for Windows and installs like a normal app.
Raspberry Pi 5 and other ARM boards
The FAQ says NOMAD is designed for x86-64, has not been tested or optimized for ARM devices like the Raspberry Pi, and has no official ARM images. ARM support is on the roadmap. The FAQ also says community members have forked NOMAD and published ARM-compatible images and guides for the Pi. They are not official, and we did not test them. The project's hardware page says NOMAD is designed for more capable hardware to support local AI, and sends Pi users to Internet-in-a-Box.
On a Pi 5 the closest options are Kiwix, which its FAQ says runs on a Raspberry Pi, and Internet-in-a-Box, which runs on a $35 Pi and is the most popular way to use it. Kiwix also sells a finished Hotspot built on a Raspberry Pi 5 with 4GB RAM for CHF 260. None of these has an AI chat. If you need the AI on a small board, the docs offer no tested route.
Virtual machines and other systems
Virtual machines (Proxmox, Hyper-V and VMware) are listed as not officially supported, with the same note that people have made them work. The readme names Ubuntu 26.04 LTS as the recommended system, with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and Debian 12 also supported. The hardware page says NOMAD runs on almost any x86 Linux machine. The readme's minimum is modest, 4GB of memory without the AI, and its optimal spec for the AI is 32 GB.
Phones and tablets are not computers you install it on. Once a supported computer is running NOMAD, other devices reach it through a browser.
What the docs do not say
They don't say whether any Mac, old or new, can run NOMAD in Docker with acceptable speed. They don't give a tested Raspberry Pi 5 setup. They don't say when macOS or ARM support will arrive, only that ARM is on the roadmap. We are building Waystone, a laptop program that is still in development and not on sale, so we'd like these answers too. For a longer list of other options, see Project NOMAD alternatives, and for a table comparing it with Kiwix and PrepperDisk, see Project NOMAD vs Kiwix vs PrepperDisk.
Common questions
Can you run Project NOMAD on a Mac mini?
The docs we read never name the Mac mini, they only say macOS is not supported. Community members have posted Mac guides on Discord and in GitHub Discussions, but we did not read or test them. For a Mac mini the practical route is Kiwix plus Ollama.
Does Project NOMAD work on Windows 11?
Yes, through WSL2, which is community-supported. The guide wants at least 16 GB of RAM, and 32 GB or more if you want the AI Assistant. An NVIDIA card gets GPU acceleration, while AMD Radeon, Intel Arc and AMD integrated graphics run on the CPU only.
Is there an official Raspberry Pi version of Project NOMAD?
No. The FAQ says it has not been tested or optimized for ARM devices like the Raspberry Pi, and that community members have published their own ARM images. Kiwix and Internet-in-a-Box are the closest options on a Pi, and neither has an AI chat.
What can I use instead of Project NOMAD on a Mac?
Kiwix Reader gives you the offline library, and Ollama runs a local AI model on macOS. Our test found that a Mac with Apple silicon and 16 GB of memory works, so start there. Our guide to running AI offline on a Mac has the setup.
Does Project NOMAD run in Proxmox or another virtual machine?
Not officially. The install guide lists virtual machines (Proxmox, Hyper-V and VMware) as not supported, and adds that people have made them work but you are on your own.