https://github.com/ergolyam/libvirt-alpine
Dockerfile and guide for running libvirt in an Alpine container
https://github.com/ergolyam/libvirt-alpine
Last synced: 2 months ago
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Dockerfile and guide for running libvirt in an Alpine container
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/ergolyam/libvirt-alpine
- Owner: ergolyam
- Created: 2025-07-06T13:27:16.000Z (3 months ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-07-08T02:18:18.000Z (3 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-08-02T20:00:35.816Z (2 months ago)
- Size: 3.91 KB
- Stars: 0
- Watchers: 0
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: readme.md
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README
# libvirt-alpine
A minimal Alpine Linux container running `libvirtd`, `virtlogd`, and `virtlockd`, suitable for managing virtual machines with `virsh` over TCP.
## Requirements
- `podman` or `docker`
- `/dev/kvm` and `/dev/net/tun` available on the host
- Host must support nested virtualization (if running in a VM)
## Usage
- Build the Image:
```bash
sudo podman build -t libvirt:latest -f dockerfile .
```
- Run the rootful Container:
```bash
sudo podman run --privileged -d \
--name libvirt \
--restart=always \
--network host \
-v libvirt-run:/var/run/libvirt \
-v libvirt-lib:/var/lib/libvirt \
-v libvirt-qemu:/etc/libvirt/qemu \
-v libvirt-network:/etc/libvirt/network \
-v libvirt-storage:/etc/libvirt/storage \
-v /path/to/host-dir-images:/data/images \
--device /dev/kvm \
--device /dev/net/tun \
localhost/libvirt:latest
```
- Run the rootless Container:
```bash
podman run -d \
--name libvirt \
--restart=always \
-v $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/libvirt:/var/run/libvirt:z \
-v libvirt-lib:/var/lib/libvirt \
-v libvirt-qemu:/etc/libvirt/qemu \
-v libvirt-network:/etc/libvirt/network \
-v libvirt-storage:/etc/libvirt/storage \
-v $PWD/images:/data/images:z \
--device /dev/kvm \
localhost/libvirt:latest
```
### Connect with virsh
- From a remote or tcp rootful machine:
```bash
virsh -c 'qemu+tcp:///system' list --all
```
- Replace `` with the actual IP address of the host running the container.
- From a remote or socket rootless machine:
```bash
virsh -c 'qemu+unix:///session?socket=$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/libvirt/libvirt-sock' list --all
```
## Notes
- Authentication is **disabled** in this configuration (for simplicity). Do **not** expose this to the public internet without proper firewalling or VPN.
- VM images should be stored in `/data/images` inside the container (mapped from host).
- You can modify the `libvirtd.conf`, `qemu.conf`, or `supervisord.conf` files before building to suit your setup.
- [virt-manager](https://flathub.org/apps/org.virt_manager.virt-manager) does not support environment variables, so instead of `$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR`, you must use the full path to the socket.