# Kcli Vm Operations > Guides VM lifecycle operations with kcli. Use when creating, managing, or troubleshooting virtual machines across providers. - Skill: `karmab/kcli-vm-operations` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add karmab/kcli-vm-operations` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/karmab/kcli-vm-operations/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: karmab (https://skillmd.com/u/karmab) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/karmab/kcli-vm-operations --- > **Important**: Before creating a VM, always run `kcli create vm -h` to check the latest available flags and examples. # kcli VM Operations ## VM Lifecycle Commands ### Create VM ```bash # From image kcli create vm -i fedora40 myvm # With parameters kcli create vm -i centos9stream -P memory=4096 -P numcpus=4 -P disks=[20,50] myvm # From profile kcli create vm -p myprofile myvm # Create multiple VMs at once with -c (count) kcli create vm -c 3 myvm # Create 3 VMs to emulate baremetal kcli create vm -P start=false -P memory=20480 -P numcpus=16 -P disks=[200] -P uefi=true -P nets=[default] -c 3 myvm # Create a VM with a static IP kcli create vm -i centos9stream -P nets=['{"name":"default","ip":"192.168.122.250","netmask":"24","gateway":"192.168.122.1"}'] myvm # Create a VM with a DNS reservation kcli create vm -i centos9stream -P nets=['{"name":"default","reservedns":"true"}'] myvm # Create a VM with a DHCP reservation kcli create vm -i centos9stream -P nets=['{"name":"default","ip":"192.168.122.250","reserveip":"true"}'] myvm ``` ### List VMs ```bash kcli list vm # All VMs kcli list vm -o yaml # YAML output kcli list vm -o json # JSON output ``` ### VM Info ```bash kcli info vm myvm # Full info kcli info vm myvm -f ip # Specific field kcli info vm myvm -o yaml # YAML format ``` ### Start/Stop/Restart ```bash kcli start vm myvm kcli stop vm myvm kcli restart vm myvm ``` ### Delete VM ```bash kcli delete vm myvm # With confirmation kcli delete vm myvm --yes # Skip confirmation kcli delete vm myvm --snapshots # Delete snapshots too ``` ## SSH Access ```bash kcli ssh myvm # SSH as default user kcli ssh -u root myvm # SSH as specific user kcli ssh -l myvm # List SSH command only ``` ## Console Access ```bash kcli console myvm # Graphical console (VNC/SPICE) kcli console myvm --serial # Serial console ``` ## Disk Operations ```bash # Add disk kcli create disk -s 20 -p default myvm # 20GB disk kcli create disk -s 50 --thin myvm # Thin provisioned # Delete disk kcli delete disk myvm-disk1 myvm # List disks kcli list disk ``` ## NIC Operations ```bash # Add NIC kcli create nic -n mynetwork myvm # Delete NIC kcli delete nic eth1 myvm # Update NIC kcli update nic -n newnetwork myvm --index 0 ``` ## Snapshots ```bash # Create snapshot kcli create snapshot myvm mysnapshot # List snapshots kcli list snapshot myvm # Revert to snapshot kcli revert snapshot myvm mysnapshot # Delete snapshot kcli delete snapshot myvm mysnapshot ``` ## VM Configuration ### Configuration Hierarchy Parameters are resolved in order (later overrides earlier): 1. `kvirt/defaults.py` - Built-in defaults 2. `~/.kcli/config.yml` default section 3. Provider-specific section in config.yml 4. Profile definition (`~/.kcli/profiles.yml`) 5. Plan file parameters 6. Command-line `-P` overrides ### Common Parameters ```yaml # Compute numcpus: 2 # CPU count memory: 512 # Memory in MB cpumodel: host-model # CPU model # Storage pool: default # Storage pool disks: # Disk configuration - size: 20 # Size in GB - size: 50 pool: otherpool thin: true # Network nets: # Network configuration - default # Simple: network name only - name: mynet # Advanced: with options ip: 192.168.1.10 netmask: 255.255.255.0 gateway: 192.168.1.1 mac: aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff # OS Customization image: fedora40 # Base image cloudinit: true # Enable cloud-init keys: # SSH public keys - ssh-rsa AAAA... user@host cmds: # Post-boot commands - dnf -y update - systemctl enable nginx files: # Files to inject - path: /etc/myconfig content: | key=value ``` ## Images ```bash # List available images kcli list image # Download image kcli download image fedora40 kcli download image centos9stream -p mypool # Delete image kcli delete image fedora40 # List all available images (from kcli catalog) kcli list available-images ``` ## Profiles Profiles in `~/.kcli/profiles.yml`: ```yaml small: numcpus: 1 memory: 1024 disks: - size: 10 medium: numcpus: 2 memory: 2048 disks: - size: 20 webserver: image: centos9stream numcpus: 2 memory: 4096 nets: - default cmds: - dnf -y install nginx - systemctl enable --now nginx ``` Usage: ```bash kcli create vm -p webserver myweb ``` ## Update Operations ```bash # Update memory kcli update vm myvm -P memory=8192 # Update CPUs kcli update vm myvm -P numcpus=4 # Update metadata kcli update vm myvm -P information="Production server" ``` ## Clone VM ```bash kcli clone vm myvm myclone kcli clone vm myvm myclone --full # Full clone (not linked) ``` ## Export VM ```bash kcli export vm myvm # Export to image kcli export vm myvm --image myimage # Custom image name ``` ## Troubleshooting ### VM Won't Start ```bash kcli -d start vm myvm # Debug output sudo virsh list --all # Check libvirt state sudo virsh start myvm # Try direct start ``` ### No IP Address ```bash # Check DHCP is enabled on network kcli info network default # Check cloud-init completed kcli ssh myvm cat /var/log/cloud-init.log ``` ### SSH Connection Issues ```bash # Get SSH command details kcli ssh -l myvm # Check VM has IP kcli info vm myvm -f ip # Try direct SSH ssh -i ~/.kcli/id_rsa user@ ```