virsh

Libvirt virtualization management CLI

TLDR

List running VMs

$ virsh list

List all VMs

$ virsh list --all

Start VM

$ virsh start [vm-name]

Shutdown VM

$ virsh shutdown [vm-name]

Force stop VM

$ virsh destroy [vm-name]

Connect to console

$ virsh console [vm-name]

Show VM info

$ virsh dominfo [vm-name]

Define VM from XML

$ virsh define [vm.xml]

virsh is the command-line interface for managing virtual machines through the libvirt virtualization API. It provides unified control over KVM, QEMU, Xen, and other hypervisors, handling domain lifecycle operations, storage pools, virtual networks, and snapshots.Domains (VMs) can be started, stopped, paused, and migrated. The console command provides serial access to running VMs (exit with Ctrl+]). Domain configurations are defined in XML and can be created, modified, and exported. The tool also manages storage pools, volumes, and virtual networks for complete virtualization infrastructure control.

PARAMETERS

list

List domains.

start NAME

Start domain.

shutdown NAME

Graceful shutdown.

destroy NAME

Force stop.

console NAME

Serial console.

dominfo NAME

Domain info.

define XML

Define domain.

undefine NAME

Remove domain.

-c URI

Connection URI.

INSTALL

sudo apt install libvirt-clients

sudo dnf install libvirt-client

sudo apk add libvirt-client

sudo zypper install libvirt-client

CAVEATS

Requires libvirt daemon. Root for system VMs. XML syntax complex.

HISTORY

virsh is the command-line interface for libvirt, the virtualization API. It provides unified management for multiple hypervisors.