Failed creating Parallels driver: Parallels Virtualization SDK is not installed

I have previously used this M1 system with Version 17.1.1 to build Ubuntu 20.04 images from the bento template https://github.com/chef/bento/blob/main/packer_templates/ubuntu/ubuntu-20.04-arm64.json

system: 1st gen M1 Mac Mini 16GB
macOS: Monterey 12.3 (21E230)
Parallels: Version 17.1.2 (51548)
Packer Version: 1.8.0


Command output:

```
packer build --only=parallels-iso ubuntu-20.04-arm64.json
parallels-iso: output will be in this color.

Build 'parallels-iso' errored after 1 millisecond 431 microseconds: Failed creating Parallels driver: Parallels Virtualization SDK is not installed

==> Wait completed after 1 millisecond 476 microseconds

==> Some builds didn't complete successfully and had errors:
--> parallels-iso: Failed creating Parallels driver: Parallels Virtualization SDK is not installed

==> Builds finished but no artifacts were created.
```

I have uninstalled and reinstalled Parallels, rebooting in between. I've also tried installing the Parallels SDK from the DMG download and via brew, here's an example:

```
└── brew reinstall --cask parallels-virtualization-sdk

==> Downloading https://download.parallels.com/desk...rallelsVirtualizationSDK-17.1.1-51537-mac.dmg
Already downloaded: /Users/halo/Library/Caches/Homebrew/downloads/58beb8960bce34dcbc9e08392905cddf263e0fdb20d344cfcffd28f74ef9df5c--ParallelsVirtualizationSDK-17.1.1-51537-mac.dmg
==> Uninstalling Cask parallels-virtualization-sdk
==> Uninstalling packages; your password may be necessary:
com.parallels.pkg.sdk
==> Purging files for version 17.1.1-51537 of Cask parallels-virtualization-sdk
==> Installing Cask parallels-virtualization-sdk
==> Running installer for parallels-virtualization-sdk; your password may be necessary.
Package installers may write to any location; options such as `--appdir` are ignored.
installer: Package name is
installer: Installing at base path /
installer: The install was successful.
parallels-virtualization-sdk was successfully installed!
```

This comment seems to think it's Python related https://github.com/chef/bento/pull/1374#issuecomment-1079791274

I tried a few things to poke at the Python version but I couldn't get `prlsdkapi` installed into Python 3.8. I tried a few different python versions with no luck. Suggestions?

 

I'm having the same issue with the SDK. It looks like it supports Big Sur but not Monterey. Unfortunately, I've upgraded my Mac to a newer model that can't run Big Sur.

 

I am having the same issues with the SDK. I did install the Visualisation SDK but Packer says no...

Code:

parallels-iso: output will be in this color.

Build 'parallels-iso' errored after 1 millisecond 911 microseconds: Failed creating Parallels driver: Parallels Virtualization SDK is not installed

==> Wait completed after 1 millisecond 951 microseconds

==> Some builds didn't complete successfully and had errors:
--> parallels-iso: Failed creating Parallels driver: Parallels Virtualization SDK is not installed

==> Builds finished but no artifacts were created.

I have not found a solution yet.

 

I opened a support ticket and it's been escalated to the development team.

Hi Joe,

Just a quick update: we haven't found any quick solutions so far, therefore the case has been escalated to the Development Team.

Once they respond, the ticket will automatically reopen, and we'll get back to you with the update.

In the meantime, until there is any new information, we're temporarily closing the ticket (you may get an automatic survey, please disregard it, as the actual case is "In Engineering").

However, you can at any moment respond to this e-mail (request an update on the status of the issue, ask an additional question etc), and the ticket will also automatically re-open.

Thank you!​

 

Same problem here. Just trying to get more knowlegable about vagrant, ran into this within the first 30 minutes.

 

I am also experiencing this problem and it is blocking my workflow. I have updated to the latest version of everything (MacOS 12.3, Packer 1.8.0, Parallels 17.1.2) and they appear to be incompatible. All Packer commands fail with the error "Failed creating Parallels driver: Parallels Virtualization SDK is not installed". The SDK is definitely installed. I tried removing and reinstalling both Parallels and the SDK and it made no difference.

 

Code:

git clone https://github.com/hashicorp/packer-plugin-parallels

cd packer-plugin-parallels
go build
mkdir $HOME/.packer/plugins
mv packer-plugin-parallels $HOME/.packer/plugins

The Problem is that the Packer Plugin, which is currently released is still using Python 2.7. There is an already merged pull request, which fixes this bug. But since there is no release jet, you will have to build the plug-in yourself. This is the pull request which fixes the issue:
https://github.com/hashicorp/packer-plugin-parallels/pull/35

how to build the plug-in and use it:

 

Thanks Nikolai!

I've tried these changes in a local project and I'm still running into failures using Packer 1.8.0 and the updated Parallels plugin. I'm curious if there is a way to check which path the plugin is attempting to use to find the prlsdkapi.pth file. Do you have any hints for how we can find this path?

Cheers,
Steve

 

Initially the workaround did not help me. Trying to `packer init` with the 1.0.1 plugin would hang forever on "waiting for plugins to complete" or something along those lines. This persisted across many reboots and all of my attempts to fix it.

However, I don't have anything of value on this laptop so I factory reset MacOS and reinstalled everything from scratch. After doing so the workaround did unblock me. Thank you.

 

I'm happy to be able to confirm: using Parallels Desktop 17.1.3 along with yesterday's packer v1.8.1-dev nightly build, I'm able to once again build packer templates, both JSON and HCL formats, on MacOS Monterey 12.4. Working on both Intel and Apple Silicon platforms Thanks to all for helping to troubleshoot and resolve!

 

I am still getting this error with:

- Parallels 17.1.4-51567
- parallels-virtualization-sdk: 17.1.4-51567
- Packer v1.8.2

 

Forgot to mention on apple x86 - not apple silicon

 

What worked for me is.
brew update packer
==> Upgrading packer
1.7.8 -> 1.8.3

Post this, even with json format for the template, it just went fine without issues. Would recommend using brew to install the parallels virtualization sdk
brew install parallels-virtualization-sdk --cask

 

The problem recurring after upgrade to:
intel x86
python3.9 (apple)
packer: 1.8.3
parallels-desktop: 18.0.2
packer-plugin-parallels: 1.0.3

I solved issue with creating symlink for:
sudo ln -s /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.7/lib/python3.7/site-packages/prlsdkapi.pth /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/Library/Frameworks/Python3.framework/Versions/3.9/lib/python3.9/site-packages/prlsdkapi.pth

Any updates to resolve this issue in future release?

I post link to github to let packer plugin users noticed about this issue:
https://github.com/hashicorp/packer-plugin-parallels/issues/36#issuecomment-1246209535

 

Hey this isn't fixed for me:

==> parallels: 18.0.2-53077 (auto_updates)
==> parallels-virtualization-sdk: 18.0.2-53077
==> packer: stable 1.8.3 (bottled), HEAD

Reinstalling hasn't worked either. Anyone have a solution?

 

hitting the same wall, with the same versions as @james25 notes in his post. trying to run packer with the -debug flag yields no additional information about where packer(?) is looking for the SDK. It will only say that it can't find it. Have tried installing the SDK from Homebrew and from the parallels website (ParallelsVirtualizationSDK-18.0.2-53077-mac.dmg) with no luck either way.