https://github.com/mbrav/virt-cloud-init
Script for preparing cloud init images for virt-manager
https://github.com/mbrav/virt-cloud-init
cloud cloud-init script terminal virt-manager virtual-machine
Last synced: about 2 months ago
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Script for preparing cloud init images for virt-manager
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/mbrav/virt-cloud-init
- Owner: mbrav
- License: gpl-3.0
- Created: 2023-02-09T10:05:19.000Z (about 3 years ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-10-20T19:14:56.000Z (6 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-10-20T21:06:21.817Z (6 months ago)
- Topics: cloud, cloud-init, script, terminal, virt-manager, virtual-machine
- Language: Shell
- Homepage:
- Size: 61.5 KB
- Stars: 8
- Watchers: 2
- Forks: 3
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
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README
# virt-cloud-init
Script for preparing [cloud](https://github.com/canonical/cloud-init) init images for [virt-manager](https://virt-manager.org/)
## Description
This is a bash script that downloads a cloud init Debian image, resizes it, generates an iso image based on *cloud-init.yml* config, then runs it using virt-manager. Once created, the VM will also be available in your [Virtual Machine Manager](https://virt-manager.org/) GUI.
The script itself is designed to work in the directory where you plan to store iso and images for your VMs. It will create the following directories when all procedures are run:
```text
cloud/
disk/
downloads/
virt-cloud-init.sh
cloud-init.yml
```
- The *cloud/* folder will store all the *.iso* file that were generated based on the *cloud-init.yml* file.
- The *disk/* folder will store disk images of your VMs.
- The *downloads/* folder will store all the downloaded *.qcow2* images.
Currently, the script can be customized using argument flags. Other customization will be added in the future.
Before a run, edit the *cloud-init.yml* file according to your needs. Examples can be found at [cloud inits GitHub repo](https://github.com/canonical/cloud-init/tree/main/doc/examples).
## Script arguments
To view script's instructions, run:
```bash
./virt-cloud-init.sh --help
```
You will get the following text
```text
virt-cloud-init script v0.5.0
ABOUT
Cloud init image preparation tool for virt and virt-manager
SYNTAX
./virt-cloud-init.sh [download|prepare|create|regenerate-cloud-init|all] [-h] [-n|o|m|s|c|net|img|u|i|b] [ARG]
COMMANDS
download Download iso
prepare Prepare image and cloud-init iso
create Create VM with cloud-init iso (optionally can run)
regenerate-cloud-init Cleans VM disk off cloud-init, regenerates the iso
all Run All commands above consecutively
OPTIONS
-h --help Print this Help.
-n --name Specify VM and image name prefix. Default: default-vm
-o --os Specify OS variant. Default: debian12
-m --memory Specify VM memory (in MiB). Default: 2048
-s --storage Specify VM images size (in K|M|G). Default: 16G
-c --cpus Specify CPU numbers. Default: 2
-net --network Specify Network name for VM. Default: default
-img --image-index Specify a known config listed in images.ini. By default asks dynamically.
-u --url Specify custom url to an .qcow2 image. Default: https://cloud.debian.org/images/cloud/bookworm/daily/latest/debian-12-genericcloud-amd64-daily.qcow2
-i --interactive Flag to attaching console upon VM start (also boots the VM).
-b --boot Flag for booting VM after creation.
```
Upon every run, you get the following interactive prompt:
```text
0) debian13 debian-13-generic-arm64.qcow2
1) debian12 debian-12-genericcloud-amd64-daily.qcow2
2) debian11 debian-11-generic-amd64.qcow2
3) debian10 debian-10-generic-amd64.qcow2
4) ubuntu23.04 lunar-server-cloudimg-amd64.img
5) ubuntu22.04 jammy-server-cloudimg-amd64.img
6) ubuntu20.04 focal-server-cloudimg-amd64.img
7) ubuntu18.04 bionic-server-cloudimg-amd64.img
8) fedora37 Fedora-Cloud-Base-37-1.7.x86_64.qcow2
9) fedora36 Fedora-Cloud-Base-36-1.5.x86_64.qcow2
[✓] fedora37 Fedora-Cloud-Base-37-1.7.x86_64.qcow2 selected
```
**Note:** Ubuntu support is WIP
## Examples
Download default Debian 11 image:
```bash
./virt-cloud-init.sh download
```
Change VM image name to "my-vm", resize it to 32GB and generate a cloud image iso with config based on `cloud-init.yml`:
```bash
./virt-cloud-init.sh prepare -n my-vm -m 4096 -s 32
```
Start VM with name "my-vm" and give 4096MB of memory
ℹ Note about Virtual Machine Manager URI
By default, libvert uses `qemu:///session` URI, hence, VMs created with `virt-install` will not appear in your Virtual Machine Manager GUI. To fix this issue, export the following variable:
```bash
export LIBVIRT_DEFAULT_URI="qemu:///system"
```
More info on this issue on [StackOverflow](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/35683443/why-are-my-vms-visible-to-either-virsh-virt-manager-but-not-both)
```bash
./virt-cloud-init.sh run -n my-vm -m 4096
```
Once you run initialize you vm in the output console, press `ctrl + ]` to exit tty.
cd /run/media/mbrav/hd1/iso && ./virt-cloud-init.sh all -m 4096 -c 2 -s 12 -n node1