Quickemu
Quickemu

Simple shell script to "manage" Qemu virtual machines.

Quickemu Screenshot

Made with 💝 for

## Introduction 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. Quickemu is opinionated and will attempt to *"do the right thing"* rather than expose rich configuration options. Quickemu is a frontend to [QEMU](https://www.qemu.org/). See the video where I explain some of my motivations for creating this script. We have a Discord for this project: [![Discord](https://img.shields.io/discord/712850672223125565?color=0C306A&label=WimpysWorld%20Discord&logo=Discord&logoColor=ffffff&style=flat-square)](https://discord.gg/sNmz3uw) [![Replace VirtualBox with Bash & QEMU](https://img.youtube.com/vi/AOTYWEgw0hI/0.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOTYWEgw0hI) ## Installation ### Install Quickemu Clone this repository: ``` git clone https://github.com/wimpysworld/quickemu.git ``` ### Install QEMU #### Ubuntu ```bash sudo apt-add-repository ppa:flexiondotorg/quickemu sudo apt install qemu-system ``` ## Usage ### Linux * Download a .iso image of a Linux distribution * Create a VM configuration file; for example `ubuntu.conf` * The **default** `guest_os` is `linux`, so this is optional for Linux VM configs. * The `boot` option enables Legacy BIOS (`legacy`) or EFI (`efi`) booting. `legacy` is the default. ``` boot="legacy" guest_os="linux" iso="/media/$USER/Quickemu/ubuntu/focal-desktop-amd64.iso" disk_img="/media/$USER/Quickemu/ubuntu/focal-desktop-amd64.qcow2" disk=128G port_forwards=("8123:8123" "8888:80") usb_devices=("046d:082d" "046d:085e") ``` * Use `quickemu` to start the virtual machine: ``` ./quickemu --vm ubuntu-focal-desktop.conf ``` Which will output something like this: ``` Starting /media/martin/Quickemu/ubuntu-focal-desktop.conf - QEMU: /usr/bin/qemu-system-x86_64 v6.0.0 - Guest: Linux optimised - BIOS: Legacy BIOS - Disk: /media/martin/Quickemu/ubuntu/focal-desktop-amd64.qcow2 (64G) - ISO: /media/martin/Quickemu/ubuntu/focal-desktop-amd64.iso - CPU: 4 Core(s) - RAM: 4G - Screen: 1664x936 - Video: virtio-vga - GL: ON - Virgil3D: ON - Display: SDL - 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' - PORTS: Port forwards requested: - 8123 => 8123 - 8888 => 80 - USB: Device pass-through requested: - Logitech, Inc. HD Pro Webcam C920 - Logitech, Inc. Logitech BRIO Requested USB device(s) are accessible. ``` * Complete the installation as normal. * A Desktop shortcut can be created (in ~/.local/share/applications): ``` ./quickemu --shortcut --vm ubuntu-focal-desktop.conf ``` ### Windows 10 You can use `quickemu` to run a Windows 10 virtual machine. * [Download Windows 10](https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10ISO) * [Download VirtIO drivers for Windows](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/quick-docs/creating-windows-virtual-machines-using-virtio-drivers/index.html#virtio-win-direct-downloads) * Create a VM configuration file; for example `windows10.conf` * The `boot` option enables Legacy BIOS (`legacy`) or EFI (`efi`) booting. `legacy` is the default. * The `guest_os="windows"` line instructs `quickemu` to use optimise for Windows. ``` boot="legacy" guest_os="windows" iso="/media/$USER/Quickemu/windows10/Win10_1909_English_x64.iso" driver_iso="/media/$USER/Quickemu/windows10/virtio-win-0.1.173.iso" disk_img="/media/$USER/Quickemu/windows10/windows10.qcow2" disk=128G port_forwards=("8123:8123" "8888:80") usb_devices=("046d:082d" "046d:085e") ``` * Use `quickemu` to start the virtual machine: ``` ./quickemu --vm windows10.conf ``` Which will output something like this: ``` Starting /media/martin/Quickemu/windows10.conf - QEMU: /usr/bin/qemu-system-x86_64 v6.0.0 - Guest: Windows optimised - BIOS: Legacy BIOS - Disk: /media/martin/Quickemu/windows10/windows10.qcow2 (64G) Just created, booting from /media/martin/Quickemu/windows10/Win10_1909_English_x64.iso - Boot: /media/martin/Quickemu/windows10/Win10_1909_English_x64.iso - Drivers: /media/martin/Quickemu/windows10/virtio-win-0.1.173.iso - CPU: 4 Core(s) - RAM: 4G - Screen: 1664x936 - Video: qxl-vga - GL: ON - Virgil3D: OFF - Display: SDL - 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' - PORTS: Port forwards requested: - 8123 => 8123 - 8888 => 80 - USB: Device pass-through requested: - Logitech, Inc. HD Pro Webcam C920 - Logitech, Inc. Logitech BRIO Requested USB device(s) are accessible. ``` * During the Windows 10 install you will be asked *"Where do you want to install Windows?"* * Click **Load driver** and **OK** the the dialogue box that pops up. * Select `VirtIO SCSI controller (E:\amd64\w10\viostor.inf)` from the list and click **Next**. * The disk will now be available for partitioning and formatting. * Complete the installation as you normally would. * Post-install you should run the VirtIO installer from the CD-ROM: drive. ### macOS #### Optional extras for macOS If you want to run macOS then `quickemu` requires some additional utilities. `rot13` from `bsdgames` is used to *"decrypt"* the OSK key. ``` sudo apt install bsdgames wget ``` There are some considerations when running macOS via Quickemu. * `quickemu` will automatically download the required [Clover EFI bootloader](https://sourceforge.net/projects/cloverefiboot/) and OVMF firmware from [the macOS-Simple-KVM project](https://github.com/foxlet/macOS-Simple-KVM). * **macOS 10.14.3 or newer is supported**: * [VirtIO block devices QEMU standard VGA are supported](https://www.kraxel.org/blog/2019/06/macos-qemu-guest/) since macOS 10.14.3 (Mohave). * [VirtIO `usb-tablet` devices are supported](http://philjordan.eu/osx-virt/) since macOS 10.11 (El Capitan). * [vmxnet3 network devices are supported](https://github.com/foxlet/macOS-Simple-KVM/blob/master/docs/guide-networking.md) since macOS 10.11 (El Capitan). * Running macOS on QEMU required the guest CPU is set to `Penryn`. * This is a very old architecture, [so to unlock higher CPU performance; AVX, AES-NI, SSE et al are enabled](https://www.nicksherlock.com/2017/10/passthrough-of-advanced-cpu-features-for-macos-high-sierra-guests/). * UHCI USB (USB 2.0) is the fastest supported. * USB pass-through has not been tested. You can use `quickemu` to run a macOS virtual machine. * Download macOS using `fetch-macos.py` ``` wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/foxlet/macOS-Simple-KVM/master/tools/FetchMacOS/fetch-macos.py -O fetch-macos.py chmod +x fetch-macos.py ./fetch-macos.py qemu-virgil.qemu-img convert BaseSystem/BaseSystem.dmg -O raw BaseSystem.img ``` * Create a VM configuration file; for example `macos.conf` * The `guest_os="macos"` line instructs `quickemu` to use optimise for macOS. * The `img=` sets the boot disk that you downloaded with `fetch-macos.py` ``` guest_os="macos" img="/media/$USER/Quickemu/macos/BaseSystem.img" disk_img="/media/$USER/Quickemu/macos/macos.qcow2" disk=128G port_forwards=("8123:8123" "8888:80") usb_devices=("046d:082d" "046d:085e") ``` * Use `quickemu` to start the virtual machine: ``` ./quickemu --vm macos.conf ``` Which will output something like this: ``` Starting macos.conf - QEMU: /usr/bin/qemu-system-x86_64 v6.0.0 - BOOT: EFI - Guest: Macos optimised - Disk: /media/martin/Quickemu/macos/macos.qcow2 (64G) Just created, booting from /media/martin/Quickemu/macos/BaseSystem.img - CPU: 4 Core(s) - RAM: 4G - Screen: 1664x936 - Video: VGA - GL: ON - Virgil3D: OFF - Display: SDL - smbd: /home/martin will be exported to the guest via smb://10.0.2.4/qemu - ssh: 22223/tcp is connected. Login via 'ssh user@localhost -p 22223' - PORTS: Port forwards requested: - 8123 => 8123 - 8888 => 80 ``` * Boot from the BaseSystem * Click **Disk Utility** and **Continue** * Select `Apple Inc. VirtIO Block Media` that is ~68GB from the list and click **Erase**. * Enter a `Name:` for the disk and click **Erase**. * Click **Done**. * Close Disk Utility * Click **Reinstall macOS** and **Continue** * Complete the installation as you normally would. ### All the options Here are the full usage instructions: ``` Usage quickemu --vm ubuntu.conf You can also pass optional parameters --delete : Delete the disk image. --shortcut : Create a desktop shortcut --snapshot apply : Apply/restore a snapshot. --snapshot create : Create a snapshot. --snapshot delete : Delete a snapshot. --snapshot info : Show disk/snapshot info. --status-quo : Do not commit any changes to disk/snapshot. --fullscreen : Starts VM in full screen mode (Ctl+Alt+f to exit)" --no-smb : Do not expose the home directory via SMB. ``` ## TODO - [x] Create desktop launcher for a VM - [ ] Improve disk management - [x] Add USB pass-through support - [x] Fix Virgil 3D on EFI boot - [x] Add Windows support - [x] Get QEMU `-audiodev` working for audio input - [x] Make display configuration more robust - [x] Improve snapshot management - [x] Improve stdout presentation - [x] Make disk image size configurable - [ ] [Add Faux OEM](https://code.launchpad.net/~ubuntu-installer/ubiquity/+git/ubiquity/+merge/379899) - [x] Improve SMB Management