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< img src = ".github/logo.png" alt = "Quickemu" / >
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Quickemu
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< p align = "center" > < b > Simple shell script to "manage" Qemu virtual machines.< / b > < / p >
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< div align = "center" > < img src = ".github/screenshot.png" alt = "Quickemu Screenshot" / > < / div >
< p align = "center" > Made with 💝 for < img src = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anythingcodes/slack-emoji-for-techies/gh-pages/emoji/tux.png" align = "top" width = "24" / > < / p >
## Introduction
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Quickemu is a very simple script to "manage" Qemu virtual machines. Each
virtual machine configuration is broadly the same requiring minimal setup. The
main objective of the project is to enable quick testing of desktop Linux
distributions where the virtual machines can be stored anywhere, such as
external USB storage.
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Quickemu is opinionated and will attempt to *"do the right thing"* rather than
expose rich configuration options. See the video where I explain some of my
motivations for creating this script.
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[](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOTYWEgw0hI)
## Installation
### Ubuntu 19.10 or newer
Install qemu
```bash
sudo apt install qemu qemu-kvm libvirt-clients libvirt-daemon bridge-utils ovmf
sudo adduser ${SUDO_USER} kvm
```
Install `samba` *(optional)* if you want to share home directories with guest virtual machines
```bash
sudo apt install samba
```
Install the `qemu-virgil` snap *(optional)*
```bash
snap install qemu-virgil
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snap connect qemu-virgil:kvm
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snap connect qemu-virgil:removable-media
```
## Usage
* Download a .iso image of a Linux distribution
* Create a VM configuration file; for example `ubuntu.conf`
```
iso="/media/$USER/Quickemu/ubuntu/focal-desktop-amd64.iso"
disk_img="/media/$USER/Quickemu/ubuntu/focal-desktop-amd64.qcow2
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disk=128G
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```
* Use `quickemu.sh` to start the virtual machine:
```
./quickemu --vm ubuntu-focal-desktop.conf
```
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Which will output something like this:
```
Starting /media/martin/Quickemu/ubuntu-focal-desktop.conf
- BIOS: Legacy
- Disk: /media/martin/Quickemu/ubuntu/focal-desktop-amd64.qcow2
- Size: 64G
- ISO: /media/martin/Quickemu/ubuntu/focal-desktop-amd64.iso
- CPU: 4 Core(s)
- RAM: 4G
- UI: sdl
- GL: on
- VIRGL: on
- Monitor: 1664x936
- smbd: /home/martin will be exported to the guest via smb://10.0.2.4/qemu
- ssh: 22221/tcp is connected. Login via 'ssh user@localhost -p 22221'
```
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Here are the full usage instructions:
```
Usage
quickemu --vm ubuntu.conf
You can also pass optional parameters
--delete : Delete the disk image.
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--efi : Enable EFI BIOS (experimental).
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--restore : Restore the snapshot.
--snapshot : Create a disk snapshot.
--virgil : Use virgil, if available.
```
## TODO
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- [x] Make display configuration more robust
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- [x] Improve stdout presentation
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- [x] Make disk image optionally size configurable
- [ ] Improve snapshot management
