--connect¶

Syntax: --connect URI

Connect to a non-default hypervisor. If this isn't specified, libvirt will try and choose the most suitable default.

Some valid options here are:

-n, --name¶

Syntax: -n, --name NAME

Name of the new guest virtual machine instance. This must be unique amongst all guests known to the hypervisor on the connection, including those not currently active. To re-define an existing guest, use the virsh(1) tool to shut it down ('virsh shutdown') & delete ('virsh undefine') it prior to running virt-install.

--memory¶

Syntax: --memory OPTIONS

Memory to allocate for the guest, in MiB. This deprecates the -r/--ram option. Sub options are available, like 'memory', 'currentMemory', 'maxMemory' and 'maxMemory.slots', which all map to the identically named XML values.

Back compat values 'memory' maps to the <currentMemory> element, and maxmemory maps to the <memory> element.

To configure memory modules which can be hotunplugged see --memdev description.

Use --memory=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsMemoryAllocation

--memorybacking¶

Syntax: --memorybacking OPTIONS

This option will influence how virtual memory pages are backed by host pages.

Use --memorybacking=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsMemoryBacking

--arch¶

Syntax: --arch ARCH

Request a non-native CPU architecture for the guest virtual machine. If omitted, the host CPU architecture will be used in the guest.

--machine¶

Syntax: --machine MACHINE

The machine type to emulate. This will typically not need to be specified for Xen or KVM, but is useful for choosing machine types of more exotic architectures.

--metadata¶

Syntax: --metadata OPT=VAL,[...]

Specify metadata values for the guest. Possible options include name, uuid, title, and description. This option deprecates -u/--uuid and --description.

Use --metadata=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsMetadata

--events¶

Syntax: --events OPT=VAL,[...]

Specify events values for the guest. Possible options include on_poweroff, on_reboot, and on_crash.

Use --events=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsEvents

--resource¶

Syntax: --resource OPT=VAL,[...]

Specify resource partitioning for the guest.

Use --resource=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#resPartition

--sysinfo¶

Syntax: --sysinfo OPT=VAL,[...]

Configure sysinfo/SMBIOS values exposed to the VM OS. Examples:

Use --sysinfo=? to see a list of all available sub options.

Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsSysinfo and https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsOSBIOS for smbios XML element.

--xml¶

Syntax: --xml ARGS

Make direct edits to the generated XML using XPath syntax. Take an example like

virt-install --xml ./@foo=bar --xml ./newelement/subelement=1

This will alter the generated XML to contain:

<domain foo='bar' ...>


  ...


  <newelement>


    <subelement>1</subelement>


  </newelement>
</domain>

The --xml option has 4 sub options:

xpath subarguments¶

Similar to the --xml option, most top level options have xpath.* suboptions. For example, --disk xpath1.set=./@foo=bar,xpath2.create=./newelement would generate XML alterations like

<disk foo="bar">


  <newelements/>
</disk>

This is useful for setting XML options per device, when virt-install does not support those options yet.

--qemu-commandline¶

Syntax: --qemu-commandline ARGS

Pass options directly to the qemu emulator. Only works for the libvirt qemu driver. The option can take a string of arguments, for example:

--qemu-commandline="-display gtk,gl=on"

Environment variables are specified with 'env', for example:

--qemu-commandline=env=DISPLAY=:0.1

Complete details about the libvirt feature: https://libvirt.org/drvqemu.html#qemucommand

--vcpus¶

Syntax: --vcpus OPTIONS

Number of virtual cpus to configure for the guest. If 'maxvcpus' is specified, the guest will be able to hotplug up to MAX vcpus while the guest is running, but will startup with VCPUS.

CPU topology can additionally be specified with sockets, dies, cores, and threads. If values are omitted, the rest will be autofilled preferring cores over sockets over threads. Cores are preferred because this matches the characteristics of modern real world silicon and thus a better fit for what guest OS will be expecting to deal with.

'cpuset' sets which physical cpus the guest can use. CPUSET is a comma separated list of numbers, which can also be specified in ranges or cpus to exclude. Example:

0,2,3,5     : Use processors 0,2,3 and 5
1-5,^3,8    : Use processors 1,2,4,5 and 8

If the value 'auto' is passed, virt-install attempts to automatically determine an optimal cpu pinning using NUMA data, if available.

Use --vcpus=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsCPUAllocation

--numatune¶

Syntax: --numatune OPTIONS

Tune NUMA policy for the domain process. Example invocations

--numatune 1,2,3,4-7
--numatune 1-3,5,memory.mode=preferred

Specifies the numa nodes to allocate memory from. This has the same syntax as --vcpus cpuset= option. mode can be one of 'interleave', 'preferred', or 'strict' (the default). See 'man 8 numactl' for information about each mode.

Use --numatune=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsNUMATuning

--memtune¶

Syntax: --memtune OPTIONS

Tune memory policy for the domain process. Example invocations

--memtune 1000
--memtune hard_limit=100,soft_limit=60,swap_hard_limit=150,min_guarantee=80

Use --memtune=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsMemoryTuning

--blkiotune¶

Syntax: --blkiotune OPTIONS

Tune blkio policy for the domain process. Example invocations

--blkiotune 100
--blkiotune weight=100,device.path=/dev/sdc,device.weight=200

Use --blkiotune=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsBlockTuning

--cpu¶

Syntax: --cpu MODEL[,+feature][,-feature][,match=MATCH][,vendor=VENDOR],...

Configure the CPU model and CPU features exposed to the guest. The only required value is MODEL, which is a valid CPU model as known to libvirt.

Libvirt's feature policy values force, require, optional, disable, or forbid, or with the shorthand '+feature' and '-feature', which equal 'force=feature' and 'disable=feature' respectively.

If exact CPU model is specified virt-install will automatically copy CPU features available on the host to mitigate recent CPU speculative execution side channel and Microarchitectural Store Buffer Data security vulnerabilities. This however will have some impact on performance and will break migration to hosts without security patches. In order to control this behavior there is a secure parameter. Possible values are on and off, with on as the default. It is highly recommended to leave this enabled and ensure all virtualization hosts have fully up to date microcode, kernel & virtualization software installed.

Some examples:

<cpu>


  <numa>


    <cell cpus="0-3" memory="1234"/>


    <cell cpus="4-7" memory="5678"/>


  </numa>
</cpu>

Use --cpu=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsCPU

--cputune¶

Syntax: --cputune OPTIONS

Tune CPU parameters for the guest.

Configure which of the host's physical CPUs the domain VCPU will be pinned to. Example invocation

--cputune vcpupin0.vcpu=0,vcpupin0.cpuset=0-3,vcpupin1.vcpu=1,vcpupin1.cpuset=4-7

Use --cputune=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsCPUTuning

--security, --seclabel¶

Syntax: --security, --seclabel type=TYPE[,label=LABEL][,relabel=yes|no],...

Configure domain seclabel domain settings. Type can be either 'static' or 'dynamic'. 'static' configuration requires a security LABEL. Specifying LABEL without TYPE implies static configuration.

Use --security=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#seclabel

--keywrap¶

Syntax: --keywrap OPTIONS

Specify domain <keywrap> XML, used for S390 cryptographic key management operations.

Use --keywrap=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#keywrap

--iothreads¶

Syntax: --iothreads OPTIONS

Specify domain <iothreads> and/or <iothreadids> XML. For example, to configure <iothreads>4</iothreads>, use --iothreads 4

Use --iothreads=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsIOThreadsAllocation

--features¶

Syntax: --features FEAT=on|off,...

Set elements in the guests <features> XML on or off. Examples include acpi, apic, eoi, privnet, and hyperv features. Some examples:

Use --features=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsFeatures

--clock¶

Syntax: --clock offset=OFFSET,TIMER_OPT=VAL,...

Configure the guest's <clock> XML. Some supported options:

Use --clock=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsTime

--pm¶

Syntax: --pm OPTIONS

Configure guest power management features. Example:

--pm suspend_to_memi.enabled=on,suspend_to_disk.enabled=off

Use --pm=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsPowerManagement

--launchSecurity¶

Syntax: --launchSecurity TYPE[,OPTS]

Enable launch security for the guest, e.g. AMD SEV. Example invocations:

# This will use a default policy 0x03
# No dhCert provided, so no data can be exchanged with the SEV firmware
--launchSecurity sev
# Explicit policy 0x01 - disables debugging, allows guest key sharing
--launchSecurity sev,policy=0x01
# Provide the session blob obtained from the SEV firmware
# Provide dhCert to open a secure communication channel with SEV firmware
--launchSecurity sev,session=BASE64SESSIONSTRING,dhCert=BASE64DHCERTSTRING

SEV has further implications on usage of virtio devices, so refer to EXAMPLES section to see a full invocation of virt-install with --launchSecurity.

Use --launchSecurity=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#launchSecurity

-c, --cdrom¶

Syntax: --cdrom PATH

ISO file or CDROM device to use for VM install media. After install, the virtual CDROM device will remain attached to the VM, but with the ISO or host path media ejected.

-l, --location¶

Syntax: -l, --location OPTIONS

Distribution tree installation source. virt-install can recognize certain distribution trees and fetches a bootable kernel/initrd pair to launch the install.

--location allows things like --extra-args for kernel arguments, and using --initrd-inject. If you want to use those options with CDROM media, you can pass the ISO to --location as well which works for some, but not all, CDROM media.

The LOCATION can take one of the following forms:

Some distro specific url samples:

Additionally, --location can take 'kernel' and 'initrd' sub options. These paths relative to the specified location URL/ISO that allow selecting specific files for kernel/initrd within the install tree. This can be useful if virt-install/ libosinfo doesn't know where to find the kernel in the specified --location.

For example, if you have an ISO that libosinfo doesn't know about called my-unknown.iso, with a kernel at 'kernel/fookernel' and initrd at 'kernel/fooinitrd', you can make this work with:

--location my-unknown.iso,kernel=kernel/fookernel,initrd=kernel/fooinitrd

--pxe¶

Install from PXE. This just tells the VM to boot off the network for the first boot.

--import¶

Skip the OS installation process, and build a guest around an existing disk image. The device used for booting is the first device specified via --disk or --filesystem.

-x, --extra-args¶

Syntax: -x, --extra-args KERNELARGS

Additional kernel command line arguments to pass to the installer when performing a guest install from --location. One common usage is specifying an anaconda kickstart file for automated installs, such as --extra-args "ks=https://myserver/my.ks"

--initrd-inject¶

Syntax: --initrd-inject PATH

Add PATH to the root of the initrd fetched with --location. This can be used to run an automated install without requiring a network hosted kickstart file: --initrd-inject=/path/to/my.ks --extra-args "ks=file:/my.ks"

--install¶

This is a larger entry point for various types of install operations. The command has multiple subarguments, similar to --disk and friends. This option is strictly for VM install operations, essentially configuring the first boot.

The simplest usage to ex: install fedora29 is:

--install fedora29

And virt-install will fetch a --location URL from libosinfo, and populate defaults from there.

Available suboptions:

--reinstall DOMAIN¶

Reinstall an existing VM. DOMAIN can be a VM name, UUID, or ID number. virt-install will fetch the domain XML from libvirt, apply the specified install config changes, boot the VM for the install process, and then revert to roughly the same starting XML.

Only install related options are processed, all other VM configuration options like --name, --disk, etc. are completely ignored.

If --reinstall is used with --cdrom, an existing CDROM attached to the VM will be used if one is available, otherwise a permanent CDROM device will be added.

--unattended¶

Syntax: --unattended [OPTIONS]

Perform an unattended install using libosinfo's install script support. This is essentially a database of auto install scripts for various distros: Red Hat kickstarts, Debian installer scripting, Windows unattended installs, and potentially others. The simplest invocation is to combine it with --install like:

--install fedora29 --unattended

A Windows install will look like

--cdrom /path/to/my/windows.iso --unattended

Sub options are:

--cloud-init¶

Pass cloud-init metadata to the VM. A cloud-init NoCloud ISO file is generated, and attached to the VM as a CDROM device. The device is only attached for the first boot. This option is particularly useful for distro cloud images, which have locked login accounts by default; --cloud-init provides the means to initialize those login accounts, like setting a root password.

The simplest invocation is just plain --cloud-init with no suboptions; this maps to --cloud-init root-password-generate=on,disable=on. See those suboptions for explanation of how they work.

Use --cloud-init=? to see a list of all available sub options.

Sub options are:

--boot¶

Syntax: --boot BOOTOPTS

Optionally specify the post-install VM boot configuration. This option allows specifying a boot device order, permanently booting off kernel/initrd with option kernel arguments, and enabling a BIOS boot menu (requires libvirt 0.8.3 or later)

--boot can be specified in addition to other install options (such as --location, --cdrom, etc.) or can be specified on its own. In the latter case, behavior is similar to the --import install option: there is no 'install' phase, the guest is just created and launched as specified.

Some examples:

Use --boot=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsOS

--idmap¶

Syntax: --idmap OPTIONS

If the guest configuration declares a UID or GID mapping, the 'user' namespace will be enabled to apply these. A suitably configured UID/GID mapping is a pre-requisite to make containers secure, in the absence of sVirt confinement.

--idmap can be specified to enable user namespace for LXC containers. Example:

--idmap uid.start=0,uid.target=1000,uid.count=10,gid.start=0,gid.target=1000,gid.count=10

Use --idmap=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsOSContainer

--os-variant, --osinfo¶

Syntax: --osinfo [OSNAME|OPT1=VAL1,...]

Optimize the guest configuration for a specific operating system. For most cases, an OS must be specified or detected from the install media so performance critical features like virtio can be enabled.

The simplest usage is --os-variant OSNAME or --osinfo OSNAME, for example --osinfo fedora32. The supported suboptions are:

Some interesting examples:

If any manual --osinfo value is specified, the default is all other settings off or unset.

By default, virt-install will always attempt --osinfo detect=on for appropriate install media. If no OS is detected, we will fail in certain common cases (x86 KVM for example). This fatal error was added in 2022. You can work around this by using the fallback example above, or disabling the require option. If you just need to get back to the old non-fatal behavior ASAP, set the environment variable VIRTINSTALL_OSINFO_DISABLE_REQUIRE=1.

Use the command virt-install --osinfo list to get the list of the accepted OS variants. See osinfo-query os for even more output.

Note: --os-variant and --osinfo are aliases for one another. --osinfo is the preferred new style naming.

--disk¶

Syntax: --disk OPTIONS

Specifies media to use as storage for the guest, with various options. The general format of a disk string is

--disk opt1=val1,opt2=val2,...

The simplest invocation to create a new 10G disk image and associated disk device:

--disk size=10

virt-install will generate a path name, and place it in the default image location for the hypervisor. To specify media, the command can either be:

--disk /some/storage/path[,opt1=val1]...

or explicitly specify one of the following arguments:

Options that apply to storage creation:

Some example device configuration suboptions:

See the examples section for some uses. This option deprecates -f/--file, -s/--file-size, --nonsparse, and --nodisks.

Use --disk=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsDisks

--filesystem¶

Specifies a directory on the host to export to the guest. The most simple invocation is:

--filesystem /source/on/host,/target/point/in/guest

Which will work for recent QEMU and linux guest OS or LXC containers. For QEMU, the target point is just a mounting hint in sysfs, so will not be automatically mounted.

Some example suboptions:

Use --filesystem=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsFilesystems

-w, --network¶

Syntax: -w, --network OPTIONS

Connect the guest to the host network. Examples for specifying the network type:

If --network is omitted a single NIC will be created in the guest. If there is a bridge device in the host with a physical interface attached, that will be used for connectivity. Failing that, the virtual network called default will be used. This option can be specified multiple times to setup more than one NIC.

Some example suboptions:

--graphics¶

Syntax: --graphics TYPE,opt1=arg1,opt2=arg2,...

Specifies the graphical display configuration. This does not configure any virtual hardware, just how the guest's graphical display can be accessed. Typically the user does not need to specify this option, virt-install will try and choose a useful default, and launch a suitable connection.

General format of a graphical string is

--graphics TYPE,opt1=arg1,opt2=arg2,...

For example:

--graphics vnc,password=foobar

Some supported TYPE values:

--video qxl --channel spicevmc

Some supported suboptions:

Use --graphics=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsGraphics

This deprecates the following options: --vnc, --vncport, --vnclisten, -k/--keymap, --sdl, --nographics

--autoconsole¶

Syntax: --autoconsole OPTIONS

Configure what interactive console virt-install will launch for the VM. This option is not required; the default behavior is adaptive and dependent on how the VM is configured. But you can use this option to override the default choice.

Note, virt-install exits quickly when this option is specified. If your command requested a multistep install, like --cdrom or --location, after the install phase is complete the VM will be shutoff, regardless of whether a reboot was requested in the VM. If you want the VM to be rebooted, virt-install must remain running. You can use '--wait' to keep virt-install alive even if --noautoconsole is specified.

-v, --hvm¶

Request the use of full virtualization, if both para & full virtualization are available on the host. This parameter may not be available if connecting to a Xen hypervisor on a machine without hardware virtualization support. This parameter is implied if connecting to a QEMU based hypervisor.

-p, --paravirt¶

This guest should be a paravirtualized guest. If the host supports both para & full virtualization, and neither this parameter nor the --hvm are specified, this will be assumed.

--container¶

This guest should be a container type guest. This option is only required if the hypervisor supports other guest types as well (so for example this option is the default behavior for LXC and OpenVZ, but is provided for completeness).

--virt-type¶

The hypervisor to install on. Example choices are kvm, qemu, or xen. Available options are listed via 'virsh capabilities' in the <domain> tags.

This deprecates the --accelerate option, which is now the default behavior. To install a plain QEMU guest, use '--virt-type qemu'

--controller¶

Syntax: --controller OPTIONS

Attach a controller device to the guest.

Some example invocations:

Use --controller=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsControllers

--input¶

Syntax: --input OPTIONS

Attach an input device to the guest. Example input device types are mouse, tablet, or keyboard.

Use --input=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsInput

--hostdev, --host-device¶

Syntax: --hostdev, --host-device OPTIONS

Attach a physical host device to the guest. Some example values for HOSTDEV:

Use --hostdev=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsHostDev

--sound¶

Syntax: --sound MODEL

Attach a virtual audio device to the guest. MODEL specifies the emulated sound card model. Possible values are ich6, ich9, ac97, es1370, sb16, pcspk, or default. 'default' will try to pick the best model that the specified OS supports.

This deprecates the old --soundhw option. Use --sound=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsSound

--audio¶

Configure host audio output for the guest's --sound hardware.

Use --audio=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#audio-backends

--watchdog¶

Syntax: --watchdog MODEL[,action=ACTION]

Attach a virtual hardware watchdog device to the guest. This requires a daemon and device driver in the guest. The watchdog fires a signal when the virtual machine appears to hung. ACTION specifies what libvirt will do when the watchdog fires. Values are

MODEL is the emulated device model: either i6300esb (the default) or ib700. Some examples:

Use --watchdog=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsWatchdog

--serial¶

Syntax: --serial OPTIONS

Specifies a serial device to attach to the guest, with various options. The general format of a serial string is

--serial type,opt1=val1,opt2=val2,...

--serial and --parallel devices share all the same options, unless otherwise noted. Some of the types of character device redirection are:

Use --serial=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsCharSerial

--parallel¶

Syntax: --parallel OPTIONS

Specify a parallel device. The format and options are largely identical to serial

Use --parallel=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsCharParallel

--channel¶

Specifies a communication channel device to connect the guest and host machine. This option uses the same options as --serial and --parallel for specifying the host/source end of the channel. Extra 'target' options are used to specify how the guest machine sees the channel.

Some of the types of character device redirection are:

Use --channel=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsCharChannel

--console¶

Connect a text console between the guest and host. Certain guest and hypervisor combinations can automatically set up a getty in the guest, so an out of the box text login can be provided (target_type=xen for xen paravirt guests, and possibly target_type=virtio in the future).

Example:

Use --console=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsCharConsole

--video¶

Syntax: --video OPTIONS

Specify what video device model will be attached to the guest. Valid values for VIDEO are hypervisor specific, but some options for recent kvm are cirrus, vga, qxl, virtio, or vmvga (vmware). Use --video=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsVideo

--smartcard¶

Syntax: --smartcard MODE[,OPTIONS]

Configure a virtual smartcard device.

Example MODE values are host, host-certificates, or passthrough. Example suboptions include:

An example invocation:

Use --smartcard=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsSmartcard

--redirdev¶

Syntax: --redirdev BUS[,OPTIONS]

Add a redirected device. Example suboptions:

Examples invocations:

Use --redirdev=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsRedir

--memballoon¶

Syntax: --memballoon MODEL[,OPTIONS]

Attach a virtual memory balloon device to the guest. If the memballoon device needs to be explicitly disabled, MODEL='none' is used.

MODEL is the type of memballoon device provided. The value can be 'virtio', 'xen' or 'none'. Some examples:

Use --memballoon=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsMemBalloon

--tpm¶

Syntax: --tpm TYPE[,OPTIONS]

Configure a virtual TPM device. Examples:

Use --tpm=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsTpm

--rng¶

Syntax: --rng TYPE[,OPTIONS]

Configure a virtual RNG device.

Example TYPE values include random, egd or builtin.

Example invocations:

Use --rng=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsRng

--panic¶

Syntax: --panic MODEL[,OPTS]

Attach a panic notifier device to the guest. For the recommended settings, use: --panic default

Use --panic=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsPanic

--shmem¶

Syntax: --shmem NAME[,OPTS]

Attach a shared memory device to the guest. The name must not contain / and must not be directory-specific to . or ..

Use --shmem=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#shared-memory-device

--memdev¶

Syntax: --memdev OPTS

Add a memory module to a guest which can be hotunplugged. To add a memdev you need to configure hotplugmemory and NUMA for a guest.

Use --memdev=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsMemory.

--vsock¶

Syntax: --vsock OPTS

Configure a vsock host/guest interface. A typical configuration would be

--vsock cid.auto=yes

Use --vsock=? to see a list of all available sub options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#vsock.

--iommu¶

Syntax: --iommu MODEL[,OPTS]

Add an IOMMU device to the guest.

Use --iommu=? to see a list of all available options. Complete details at https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#elementsIommu.

-h, --help¶

Show the help message and exit

--version¶

Show program's version number and exit

--autostart¶

Set the autostart flag for a domain. This causes the domain to be started on host boot up.

--transient¶

Use --import or --boot and --transient if you want a transient libvirt VM. These VMs exist only until the domain is shut down or the host server is restarted. Libvirt forgets the XML configuration of the VM after either of these events. Note that the VM's disks will not be deleted. See: https://wiki.libvirt.org/page/VM_lifecycle#Transient_guest_domains_vs_Persistent_guest_domains

--destroy-on-exit¶

When the VM console window is exited, destroy (force poweroff) the VM. If you combine this with --transient, this makes the virt-install command work similar to qemu, where the VM is shutdown when the console window is closed by the user.

--print-xml¶

Syntax: --print-xml [STEP]

Print the generated XML of the guest, instead of defining it. By default this WILL do storage creation (can be disabled with --dry-run). This option implies --quiet.

If the VM install has multiple phases, by default this will print all generated XML. If you want to print a particular step, use --print-xml 2 (for the second phase XML).

--noreboot¶

Prevent the domain from automatically rebooting after the install has completed.

--wait¶

Syntax: --wait WAIT

Configure how virt-install will wait for the install to complete. Without this option, virt-install will wait for the console to close (not necessarily indicating the guest has shutdown), or in the case of --noautoconsole, simply kick off the install and exit.

Bare '--wait' or any negative value will make virt-install wait indefinitely. Any positive number is the number of minutes virt-install will wait. If the time limit is exceeded, virt-install simply exits, leaving the virtual machine in its current state.

--dry-run¶

Proceed through the guest creation process, but do NOT create storage devices, change host device configuration, or actually teach libvirt about the guest. virt-install may still fetch install media, since this is required to properly detect the OS to install.

--check¶

Enable or disable some validation checks. Some examples are warning about using a disk that's already assigned to another VM (--check path_in_use=on|off), or warning about potentially running out of space during disk allocation (--check disk_size=on|off). Most checks are performed by default.

-q, --quiet¶

Only print fatal error messages.

-d, --debug¶

Print debugging information to the terminal when running the install process. The debugging information is also stored in ~/.cache/virt-manager/virt-install.log even if this parameter is omitted.