https://github.com/birkneralex/virt-manager-macos
Running virt-manager on macOS with Docker
https://github.com/birkneralex/virt-manager-macos
Last synced: 2 months ago
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Running virt-manager on macOS with Docker
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/birkneralex/virt-manager-macos
- Owner: BirknerAlex
- Created: 2023-11-14T21:16:43.000Z (over 2 years ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2024-12-18T22:18:21.000Z (over 1 year ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-03-24T08:19:08.876Z (about 1 year ago)
- Language: Dockerfile
- Homepage: https://virt-manager.org/
- Size: 1010 KB
- Stars: 2
- Watchers: 1
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Funding: .github/FUNDING.yml
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
virt-manager on macOS
=====================
This is a Docker container for running virt-manager on macOS with the help of Docker and Xquartz.
It uses X11 forwarding to display the GUI on the host. Running virt-manager on macOS is not officially supported by the virt-manager project.
This is a workaround to get it running on macOS.
It also supports SSH connections to remote hosts via GPG agent forwarding, e.g. using a Yubikey.
There were some packages on homebrew, but they are outdated and not working anymore. This
is why I created this Docker container which is based on the latest virt-manager version available on Fedora.
The pre-build container is available on Docker Hub: https://hub.docker.com/r/tyrola/virt-manager
It is available for x86_64 and arm64 (Apple Silicon) architectures.
### Requirements
- Docker Desktop for Mac
- XQuartz
### Installation
1. Install XQuartz via Homebrew or download from https://www.xquartz.org/
```bash
brew install --cask xquartz
```
2. Install Docker Desktop for Mac via Homebrew or download from https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop
```bash
brew install --cask docker
```
### Preparation
1. Open XQuartz
- Open settings
- Chose Security tab
- Enable "Allow connections from network clients"
2. Allow localhost connection to X11
```bash
xhost +localhost
```
### Running
Start the container with following commands:
```bash
# Create Docker volume for storing virt-manager config
docker volume create virt-manager-config
# Run container
docker run -t -i --rm \
-v virt-manager-cfg:/home/default/.config/:rw \
--mount type=bind,src=/run/host-services/ssh-auth.sock,target=/run/host-services/ssh-auth.sock \
--name virt-manager \
tyrola/virt-manager:latest
```
### SSH Tunneling
If the remote host is using a local connection for QEMU, use an SSH tunnel to access the remote host.
Run this SSH tunnel outside of the docker container, on your local machine:
```bash
ssh -L 0.0.0.0:16509:127.0.0.1:16509 user@remotehost
```
This opens up a SSH tunnel from your local machine to the remote host. The remote libvirt
socket is running on `127.0.0.1:16509` in this example. Change ports if necessary.
Once the SSH socket is established, you can connect to the remote host from within the virt-manager container.
Use the following URI to connect to the remote host:
```bash
qemu+tcp://host.docker.internal:16509/system
```
The host.docker.internal address is a special DNS name that resolves to the internal
IP address of your workstation.