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anyvm anyvm.org

ci dragonflybsd emulator freebsd haiku illumos netbsd openbsd qemu solaris virtual-machine vm
Use this command to install anyvm with WinGet:
winget install --id=anyvm-org.anyvm -e

anyvm boots a prebuilt BSD, Illumos, Linux, Hurd or Plan 9 guest under QEMU with one command. It downloads the image, configures firmware, ssh, folder sync and port forwarding for that guest on that architecture, then drops you into a shell or runs your command and exits. anyvm drives QEMU but does not bundle it, so QEMU is declared as a package dependency and winget installs it first. Pass --skip-dependencies to install anyvm on its own and supply QEMU yourself.

README

Run any VM anywhere

Test

Website: anyvm.org -- the guest/architecture matrix, per-guest notes, the full CLI reference and troubleshooting, in English and Chinese.

anyvm is a single-file tool for bootstrapping BSD, Illumos, Linux, Haiku, GNU Hurd, Plan 9, ReactOS, RISC OS and Redox OS guests with QEMU on Linux, macOS, and Windows. It downloads cloud images, sets up firmware, and starts the VM with sane defaults so you can focus on the guest.

1. Quick launch

  • Github CodeSpace:

    Open in GitHub Codespaces

    Enable KVM in Codespaces before running:

    sudo chmod o+rw /dev/kvm

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get --no-install-recommends -y install \
zstd ovmf xz-utils qemu-utils ca-certificates \
qemu-system-x86 qemu-system-arm qemu-efi-aarch64 \
qemu-efi-riscv64 qemu-system-riscv64 qemu-system-misc u-boot-qemu \
qemu-system-ppc qemu-system-s390x qemu-system-sparc \
openssh-client

  • Google Cloud Shell:

2. Quick start (local)

Install from PyPI (installs the anyvm.py and anyvm commands):

pip install anyvm.py

anyvm.py --os freebsd

On Debian/Ubuntu the system Python refuses pip install (PEP 668, "externally-managed-environment"). Install with pipx instead:

sudo apt-get install -y pipx
pipx install anyvm.py
pipx ensurepath   # first time only, then re-open the shell

anyvm.py --os freebsd

Or use a virtual environment: python3 -m venv ~/.venvs/anyvm && ~/.venvs/anyvm/bin/pip install anyvm.py.

On macOS, install with Homebrew instead (also pulls in qemu and zstd):

brew install anyvm-org/tap/anyvm

anyvm --os freebsd

On Windows, install with winget. This one is a self-contained build that does not need Python on the machine at all, and it pulls in qemu as a package dependency, so you can skip 6.3 entirely:

winget install anyvm-org.anyvm

anyvm --os freebsd

anyvm itself installs per-user without elevation, but the QEMU package is a machine-wide installer, so the command above prompts for UAC. For unattended or CI installs, skip the dependency and provide QEMU yourself:

winget install anyvm-org.anyvm --skip-dependencies

Or download the single file and run it directly:



#command line release
python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd
python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --release 15.1
python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --release 14.4
python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --release 14.4 --arch aarch64
python3 anyvm.py --os openbsd --release 7.5 --arch aarch64
python3 anyvm.py --os solaris
python3 anyvm.py --os tribblix
python3 anyvm.py --os ubuntu
python3 anyvm.py --os ubuntu --release 24.04
python3 anyvm.py --os openeuler
python3 anyvm.py --os openeuler --release 24.03-LTS-SP4
python3 anyvm.py --os alpine
python3 anyvm.py --os alpine --release 3.24
python3 anyvm.py --os alpine --release 3.24 --arch aarch64
python3 anyvm.py --os alpine --release 3.24 --arch riscv64
python3 anyvm.py --os almalinux
python3 anyvm.py --os almalinux --release 10 --arch ppc64le
python3 anyvm.py --os rocky
python3 anyvm.py --os rocky --release 9
python3 anyvm.py --os rocky --release 10 --arch aarch64
python3 anyvm.py --os rocky --release 10 --arch ppc64le
python3 anyvm.py --os rocky --release 10 --arch s390x
python3 anyvm.py --os debian
python3 anyvm.py --os debian --release 13
python3 anyvm.py --os debian --release 13 --arch aarch64
python3 anyvm.py --os debian --release 13 --arch riscv64
python3 anyvm.py --os debian --release 13 --arch ppc64le
python3 anyvm.py --os ghostbsd
python3 anyvm.py --os blissos
python3 anyvm.py --os hardenedbsd                    # HardenedBSD 15-STABLE (amd64)
python3 anyvm.py --os opnsense                       # OPNsense firewall appliance (amd64)

python3 anyvm.py --os hurd                           # Debian GNU/Hurd (amd64)
python3 anyvm.py --os hurd --release 2025 --arch i386

python3 anyvm.py --os plan9                           # Plan 9 (9front, amd64)

python3 anyvm.py --os reactos                         # ReactOS (i386 only, tech preview)

python3 anyvm.py --os riscos                          # RISC OS (32-bit armv7 only)

python3 anyvm.py --os redox                           # Redox OS (Rust microkernel, x86_64)

python3 anyvm.py --os nextbsd                         # NextBSD (launchd/Mach, amd64)
python3 anyvm.py --os nextbsd --arch aarch64          # NextBSD (launchd/Mach, arm64)

python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --release 14.4 --arch riscv64
python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --release 15.1 --arch riscv64
python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --release 15.1 --arch powerpc64

python3 anyvm.py --os netbsd --release 11.0 --arch sparc64
python3 anyvm.py --os netbsd --release 11.0 --arch riscv64
python3 anyvm.py --os openbsd --release 7.9 --arch sparc64

python3 anyvm.py --os ubuntu --release 24.04 --arch aarch64
python3 anyvm.py --os ubuntu --release 24.04 --arch riscv64
python3 anyvm.py --os ubuntu --release 24.04 --arch s390x
python3 anyvm.py --os ubuntu --release 24.04 --arch ppc64le

python3 anyvm.py --os openeuler --release 24.03-LTS-SP4 --arch aarch64
python3 anyvm.py --os openeuler --release 25.09 --arch riscv64
python3 anyvm.py --os openeuler --release 24.03-LTS-SP4 --arch loongarch64



#desktop release

python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd  --release 15.1-xfce
python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd  --release 15.1-gnome
python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd  --release 15.1-kde6

python3 anyvm.py --os openbsd  --release 7.9-xfce
python3 anyvm.py --os openbsd  --release 7.9-gnome
python3 anyvm.py --os openbsd  --release 7.9-kde6
python3 anyvm.py --os openbsd  --release 7.9-mate
python3 anyvm.py --os openbsd  --release 7.9-lxqt
python3 anyvm.py --os openbsd  --release 7.9-lumina
python3 anyvm.py --os openbsd  --release 7.9-enlightenment

python3 anyvm.py --os ghostbsd                       # MATE (default)
python3 anyvm.py --os ghostbsd --release 26.1-xfce
python3 anyvm.py --os ghostbsd --release 26.1-gershwin

# BlissOS (Android-x86): root ssh + the Android desktop on the VNC console
# -v folder sync uses scp (the only backend the Android guest supports).
python3 anyvm.py --os blissos                        # latest (16, Android 13)
python3 anyvm.py --os blissos --release 15           # Android 12L
python3 anyvm.py --os blissos --release 14           # Android 11



# Run a command inside the VM (everything after `--` is sent to the VM via ssh):
python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd -- uname -a

3. Run in a Docker container

Prefer containers? Use the Dockerized wrapper.

docker run --rm -it ghcr.io/anyvm-org/anyvm:latest --os freebsd

More examples and tags: https://github.com/anyvm-org/docker

4. Guest build matrix (CI)

Guestx86_64aarch64 (arm64)riscv64powerpc64sparc64s390xloongarch64Builder
UbuntuTest Ubuntu✅✅✅✅—✅—Build Ubuntu
OpenEulerTest openEuler✅✅✅———✅Build openEuler
DebianTest Debian✅✅✅ (13 only)✅ (ppc64le)———Build Debian
Rocky LinuxTest Rocky✅✅—✅ (ppc64le, 10 only)—✅—Build Rocky
AlmaLinuxTest AlmaLinux✅✅—✅ (ppc64le, 10 only)—✅—Build AlmaLinux
AlpineTest Alpine✅✅✅ (3.24 only)————Build Alpine
FreeBSDTest FreeBSD✅✅✅✅———Build FreeBSD
HardenedBSDTest HardenedBSD✅——————Build HardenedBSD
OPNsenseTest OPNsense✅——————Build OPNsense
OpenBSDTest OpenBSD✅✅✅—✅——Build OpenBSD
NetBSDTest NetBSD✅✅✅—✅——Build NetBSD
DragonFlyBSDTest DragonflyBSD✅——————Build DragonflyBSD
MidnightBSDTest MidnightBSD✅——————Build MidnightBSD
GhostBSDTest GhostBSD✅——————Build GhostBSD
NextBSDTest NextBSD✅✅—————Build NextBSD
SolarisTest Solaris✅——————Build Solaris
OmniOSTest OmniOS✅——————Build OmniOS
OpenIndianaTest OpenIndiana✅——————Build OpenIndiana
TribblixTest Tribblix✅——————Build Tribblix
HaikuTest Haiku✅——————Build Haiku
BlissOS (Android)Test BlissOS✅——————Build BlissOS
GNU Hurd (Debian)Test Hurd✅ (+i386)——————Build Hurd
Plan 9 (9front)Test Plan 9✅——————Build Plan 9
ReactOSTest ReactOS✅ (i386 only)——————Build ReactOS
RISC OSTest RISC OS—✅ (armv7 only)—————Build RISC OS
Redox OSTest Redox✅——————Build Redox

Each column also covers the 32-bit member of its own family, marked in the cell where one exists, rather than earning the table an extra axis. The x86_64 column covers i386: those images run qemu-system-i386, which ships in the same QEMU package as the x86_64 emulator, so any host that runs x86_64 guests runs them too. ReactOS is published for i386 only (--os reactos resolves to it on its own); Hurd ships both, and its 32-bit image needs --arch i386 spelled out. The aarch64 column likewise covers 32-bit armv7, which today means RISC OS and only RISC OS: it is a Raspberry Pi 2 guest running on qemu-system-arm -M raspi2b, so unlike the i386 case it is a different QEMU binary and a fixed board rather than a configurable machine. --os riscos resolves to armv7 by itself.

5. Host support

Hostx86_64 guestsaarch64 guestsriscv64 guestss390x guestspowerpc64 guestssparc64 guestsloongarch64 guests
Linux x86_64✅✅✅✅✅✅✅
Linux aarch64 (arm64)—✅—————
Linux s390x (IBM Z)———✅ (KVM)———
MacOS Apple silicon✅✅—————
Windows x86_64 Native✅——————
Windows x86_64 WSL✅✅✅✅✅✅✅

i386 guests (ReactOS, and Hurd's i386 image) follow the x86_64 guests column: they run qemu-system-i386, which ships in the same QEMU package as the x86_64 emulator, so any host that runs x86_64 guests runs i386 guests too. On a Windows host anyvm launches them on qemu-system-x86_64.exe instead and says so, because Windows QEMU builds WHPX into that binary only.

6. Install dependencies

6.1 Linux (apt-based) Test

sudo apt-get --no-install-recommends -y install \
  zstd ovmf xz-utils qemu-utils ca-certificates \
  qemu-system-x86 qemu-system-arm qemu-efi-aarch64 \
  qemu-efi-riscv64 qemu-system-riscv64 qemu-system-misc u-boot-qemu \
  qemu-system-ppc qemu-system-s390x qemu-system-sparc \
  ssh-client

6.2 macOS MacOS

brew install qemu

Not needed when anyvm was installed from the Homebrew tap (brew install anyvm-org/tap/anyvm) -- that already installs qemu and zstd as dependencies.

6.3 Windows Windows

  • Download QEMU for Windows: https://www.qemu.org/download/#windows or https://qemu.weilnetz.de/w64/
  • Or install with winget:
winget install SoftwareFreedomConservancy.QEMU
  • Or install with MSYS2 pacman:
pacman.exe -S --noconfirm mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-qemu
  • Or install with Chocolatey:
choco install qemu

7. Notes

  • Hardware virtualization (KVM, HVF, or Hyper-V) is applied automatically when available for best performance.
  • On a nested AMD KVM host (e.g. KVM inside WSL2 / Hyper-V), AVX512 is dropped from -cpu host automatically: nested AMD-V corrupts the guest's AVX512 state, which makes modern guests (Ubuntu 26.04+) randomly segfault. Bare-metal hosts keep full AVX512; override with --cpu-type.
  • Proxy support: if http_proxy / https_proxy / all_proxy (or their uppercase forms) are set in the environment, AnyVM automatically detects them and downloads images and tools through the proxy. Both HTTP proxies (http://host:port) and SOCKS5 proxies (socks5:// local DNS, socks5h:// proxy-side DNS, with optional user:pass@) are supported natively; no_proxy is honored. SOCKS4 is not supported.
  • Click the quick launch buttons above to start in a ready-to-use cloud environment.

8. VNC Web UI (Display)

AnyVM includes a built-in, premium VNC Web UI that allows you to access the VM's graphical console directly from your browser.

  • Automatic Launch: Enabled by default (unless --vnc off is specified). AnyVM automatically starts a VNC-to-Web proxy.
  • Modern Interface: Features a sleek dark mode, glassmorphism aesthetics, and smooth animations.
    • Clipboard Support: Use the "Paste Text" button or Ctrl+V to send your local clipboard to the VM.
    • Special Keys: Dedicated "Ctrl+Alt+Del" button.
    • Fullscreen: Toggle fullscreen mode for an immersive experience.
    • Stats: Real-time FPS and latency monitoring.
  • Accessibility: Available at http://localhost:6080 by default. If the port is occupied, AnyVM will automatically try the next available port (e.g., 6081, 6082).
  • Security: Protect your VNC session with --vnc-password . When set, the browser will prompt for credentials when accessing the Web UI. (Note: The username can be anything, but the password must be correct).
  • Remote Access: Use --remote-vnc to automatically create a public, secure tunnel (via Cloudflare, Localhost.run, Pinggy, or Serveo) to access your VM's display from anywhere in the world. (In Google Cloud Shell, this is enabled by default; use --remote-vnc no to disable).

9. CLI options (with examples)

All examples below use python3 anyvm.py .... You can also run python3 anyvm.py --help to see the built-in help.

Required

  • --os : Target guest OS (required).
    • Supported: freebsd / hardenedbsd / opnsense / ghostbsd / openbsd / netbsd / dragonflybsd / midnightbsd / nextbsd / solaris / omnios / openindiana / tribblix / haiku / ubuntu / debian / rocky / almalinux / openeuler / alpine / blissos / hurd / plan9 / reactos / riscos / redox
    • Example:
      • python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd

Release / arch / resources

  • --release : Guest release version. If omitted, anyvm auto-selects an available release.

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --release 14.4
    • Matched case-insensitively, so --release 24.03-lts-sp4 also finds openEuler's 24.03-LTS-SP4; the published spelling is used from then on.

  • --arch : Guest architecture.

    • Common values: x86_64 / i386 / aarch64 / armv7 / riscv64 / s390x / powerpc64 / ppc64le / sparc64 / loongarch64
    • i386 is the 32-bit x86 target (qemu-system-i386): ReactOS ships only this arch, and Hurd offers it alongside amd64. A reactos guest defaults to i386 because that is all it has; every other guest defaults to the host architecture, so Hurd's 32-bit image needs --arch i386 spelled out.
    • armv7 is the 32-bit ARM target (qemu-system-arm) and today only RISC OS uses it. --os riscos resolves to it on its own, so the flag is never needed. Note the spelling: arm is an alias that rewrites to aarch64, which is a different guest entirely, so --arch armv7 is the only form that reaches a RISC OS image.
    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os openbsd --release 7.5 --arch aarch64
    • Notes for ubuntu guests on emulated arches (always TCG, slow):
      • aarch64 defaults to -cpu cortex-a72 (distro QEMU 8.2 aborts with a regime_is_user assertion when the 26.04 kernel uses VHE under -cpu max).
      • riscv64 26.04 requires QEMU >= 9.1 (-cpu rva23s64 is selected automatically; the RVA23 userspace baseline and the 7.0 kernel do not run on QEMU 8.2). 22.04 / 24.04 work on stock QEMU.
      • s390x works best with QEMU >= 10; the distro 8.2 intermittently freezes guest systemd at startup (a TCG-only bug). On a real IBM Z host with /dev/kvm, KVM is used automatically (-cpu host) and stock QEMU is fine.
      • ppc64le 22.04 requires QEMU >= 10; under the distro 8.2 pseries TCG the jammy python3.10 segfaults (every cloud-init / apt run crashes). 24.04 / 26.04 work on stock QEMU.
      • For the riscv64 26.04, s390x and ppc64le 22.04 cases, on Linux x86_64 hosts anyvm.py automatically downloads and uses pinned QEMU 10.2.3 whenever the system QEMU is too old -- no manual setup needed. ubuntu-builder compiles these from source in its release-files job (they are no longer committed to git) and publishes them as release assets; see its files/README.md.
    • openeuler --arch loongarch64 (always TCG, slow): needs the EDK2 LoongArch firmware (edk2-loongarch64-code.fd), which QEMU only bundles since 9.2. On Linux x86_64 hosts anyvm.py automatically downloads and uses a pinned QEMU 10.2.3 whenever the system QEMU is too old -- no manual setup needed. openeuler-builder compiles it from source in its release-files job and publishes it as a release asset; see its files/README.md.
    • openbsd --arch sparc64: anyvm.py automatically downloads the patched OpenBIOS firmware the image needs (QEMU's bundled OpenBIOS crashes every OpenBSD >= 7.3 sparc64 kernel on cold boot) and passes it via -bios. openbsd-builder rebuilds it from source in its release-files job and publishes it as a release asset; see its bios/README.md.
    • netbsd --arch sparc64: host-dir sync (-v) defaults to scp (override with --sync). The QEMU sun4u machine boots only off the CMD646 PCI IDE, whose TCG emulation loses interrupts under sustained concurrent net+disk DMA -- a live sshfs/nfs mount drives exactly that and wedges the guest, and the 11.0 base image ships no rsync. A one-shot scp avoids both. (sparc64 is headless / console-only on either OS.)

  • --mem : Memory size in MB (default: 4096 when the host has more than 4 GB of RAM, else 2048).

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --mem 4096

  • --cpu : vCPU count (default: host core count, capped at 8 when hardware acceleration is available and at 2 under TCG; pass --cpu explicitly for more).

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --cpu 4

  • --cpu-type : QEMU CPU model (e.g. host, cortex-a72).

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os openbsd --arch aarch64 --cpu-type cortex-a72

Images / builders

  • --builder : Pin a specific builder version (used to download matching cloud images).

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os netbsd --builder 2.0.1

  • --qcow2 : Use a local qcow2 image (skip downloading).

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --qcow2 .\\output\\freebsd\\freebsd-14.4.qcow2

  • --snapshot: Enable QEMU snapshot mode. Changes made to the disk are not saved.

    • Works with --cache-dir to run directly from the cache without copying to the data directory.
    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --snapshot

Networking (user-mode networking / slirp)

  • --ssh-port / --sshport : Host port forwarded to guest SSH (:22). If omitted, anyvm auto-picks a free port.

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --ssh-port 10022

  • --ssh-name : Add an extra SSH alias name for convenience (so you can ssh ).

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --ssh-name myvm

  • --host-ssh-port : The host SSH port as reachable from the guest (default: 22). Used for generating a Host host entry inside the guest.

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --host-ssh-port 2222

  • -p : Additional port forwards (repeatable).

    • Form 1: host:guest (TCP by default)
      • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd -p 8080:80
    • Form 2: tcp:host:guest
      • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd -p tcp:8443:443
    • Form 3: udp:host:guest
      • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd -p udp:5353:5353

  • --public: Listen on 0.0.0.0 for forwarded ports instead of 127.0.0.1.

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --public -p 8080:80

  • --enable-ipv6: Enable IPv6 in QEMU user networking (slirp).

    • Default: IPv6 is disabled (anyvm adds ipv6=off to -netdev user,...).
    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --enable-ipv6

Shared folders (-v) and sync mode (--sync)

  • -v : Add a shared/synced folder mapping (repeatable).

    • Linux/macOS example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd -v $(pwd):/data
    • Windows example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd -v D:\\data:/data

  • --sync : Sync mechanism used for -v. Strictly validated.

    • Supported: rsync (default), sshfs, nfs, sys-nfs, scp, tar, 9p. Empty string also defaults to rsync. Any other value will cause an error.
    • 9p is the Plan 9 (9front) folder-sync backend and its default: the host mounts the guest's exportfs 9P share over the Linux kernel v9fs client (mount -t 9p, needs root/sudo), so it works on a Linux host only. On Windows/macOS hosts a plan9 guest still boots and runs commands, but -v folder sync is skipped.
    • tar streams each -v tree as a ustar archive over the guest's own remote-exec channel (ssh where there is an sshd, otherwise the guest's telnetd): host -> guest at boot, then guest -> host once the passthrough command finishes. It is a one-shot copy in each direction, not a live mount, so it needs no mount privileges and no host kernel support and works from a Linux, macOS or Windows host. The pull-back is skipped in --detach mode (the VM stays up for later commands) and when no guest command ran. It is the default, and the only backend, for the three guests with no sshd at all: ReactOS ships no sshd, no 9P client and no working NFS client; RISC OS ships no remote-access server of any kind (its whole networking stack is clients plus SMB and Acorn Access); and Redox OS ships none either. So rsync / sshfs / scp / nfs are unavailable on all three. On RISC OS and Redox the far side of the telnet channel is not a stock telnetd but the builder's own agent, which parses the tar command itself rather than handing it to a shell. Guest paths follow the guest: RISC OS paths on RISC OS ($.work, not /work), ordinary Unix paths on Redox (/work).
    • nfs runs the bundled user-space NFS server (anyvm-org/nfsd, a single pure-Python file downloaded on demand, serving NFSv3/v4 plus a portmapper): no kernel nfsd, no root needed, works on Linux/macOS/Windows hosts (mynfs is an accepted alias). Most guests mount it with their NFSv4 client (FreeBSD family, illumos family, Linux). OpenBSD/NetBSD/DragonFlyBSD guests are NFSv3-only and mount it through its portmapper on port 111 -- free and unprivileged on Windows/macOS hosts, but usually owned by the system rpcbind (or root-only) on Linux hosts: use sys-nfs for these three guests on a Linux host. There is no automatic fallback between the two backends.
    • sys-nfs forces the host kernel NFS server for every guest. Needs a Linux host with root/sudo and the kernel NFS server installed; not available on macOS/Windows hosts.
    • Examples:
      • python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --sync rsync -v $(pwd):/data
      • python3 anyvm.py --os solaris --sync scp -v D:\\data:/data
      • python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --sync nfs -v D:\\data:/data
      • python3 anyvm.py --os plan9 --sync 9p -v $(pwd):/usr/glenda/work (Linux host)
      • python3 anyvm.py --os reactos --sync tar -v $(pwd):C:\work (the ReactOS default; the guest side is a Windows-style path)
      • python3 anyvm.py --os redox --sync tar -v $(pwd):/work (the Redox default; ordinary Unix paths)

Console / display / debugging

  • --console / -c: Run in the foreground (console mode).

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --console

  • --detach / -d: Run in the background (do not auto-enter SSH).

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --detach

  • --serial : Expose the guest serial console via a host TCP port (if omitted, auto-select starting at 7000).

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --serial 7000

  • --vnc : Enable VNC (e.g. 0 means :0 / port 5900).

    • VNC Web UI: Enabled by default starting at port 6080 (auto-increments if busy). Use --vnc off to disable.
    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --vnc 0

  • --vnc-password : Set a password for the VNC Web UI. Empty or omitted means no password. (Note: On the login page, the username can be anything, but the password must be correct).

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --vnc-password mysecret

  • --remote-vnc: Create a public tunnel for the VNC Web UI using Cloudflare, Localhost.run, Pinggy, or Serveo.

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --remote-vnc
    • Advanced: Use cf, lhr, pinggy, or serveo to specify a service: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --remote-vnc cf
    • Disable: Use no to disable (e.g., in Google Cloud Shell where it's default): python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --remote-vnc no

  • --mon : Expose the QEMU monitor via telnet on localhost.

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --mon 4444

  • --debug: Enable verbose debug logging.

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --debug

Boot / platform

  • --uefi: Enable UEFI boot (FreeBSD enables this implicitly).

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --uefi

  • --disktype : Disk interface type (e.g. virtio, ide).

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os dragonflybsd --disktype ide

  • --boot-timeout-sec : Boot timeout in seconds before QEMU is killed and retried once. Default: 600 (10 minutes).

    • Exception: OpenBSD on aarch64 defaults to 1200 (20 minutes) because it boots much slower under emulation.
    • Exception: when running under TCG (no hardware acceleration -- e.g. Windows runners with chocolatey QEMU, or any host without /dev/kvm / HVF / WHPX), the default is bumped to 1800 (30 minutes). TCG is 10-50x slower than KVM, and heavy guests like Solaris or DragonFlyBSD often need more time to boot.
    • Both exceptions only apply when --boot-timeout-sec is not explicitly passed; an explicit value always wins.
    • Useful for slow hosts (emulated arches, low-resource CI runners) or for failing fast in tests.
    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os openbsd --boot-timeout-sec 1200

  • --enable-pmu: Expose the host PMU (performance monitoring unit / hardware performance counters) to the guest.

    • Disabled by default. Exposing the host PMU via -cpu host can trigger intermittent #GP-in-wrmsr crashes during early guest boot when the host CPU generation exposes PMU MSRs that KVM refuses writes to. DragonFlyBSD is the most affected guest; this manifested as random boot failures across CI runners with different Intel CPU generations.
    • Only applies to x86_64 with hardware acceleration (kvm / whpx / hvf). TCG and non-x86 arches are unaffected.
    • Pass --enable-pmu if you need perf / pmcstat / VTune or similar profilers to work inside the guest.
    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os ubuntu --enable-pmu -- perf stat ls

  • --tcg: Force pure software emulation (no KVM / HVF / WHPX). Slow; useful when hardware acceleration is unavailable or misbehaving. Generic -- works for any guest.

    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os tribblix --tcg
    • Note (Windows): WHPX acceleration is enabled automatically when the Windows Hypervisor Platform is running (checked at startup via WHvGetCapability), so --whpx is no longer needed; pass --tcg to opt out. Under WHPX anyvm also picks a vendor-matched named CPU model (newest EPYC / Xeon model your QEMU ships) instead of -cpu host, because QEMU's WHPX -cpu host / -cpu max path can hang on recent host CPUs. The guest still sees the real host CPU features -- under WHPX the guest CPUID comes from Hyper-V, not from the model -- so nothing is lost. Override with --cpu-type. Safety nets: if QEMU aborts mid-boot under auto-enabled WHPX (some guests hit instructions the WHPX emulator cannot decode), anyvm automatically relaunches the VM under TCG; GhostBSD is known to hit this and skips WHPX entirely (its boot aborts with "failed to decode instruction f 10"). An explicit --whpx disables both fallbacks.
    • Historical note: older tribblix releases froze a CPU-vendor-specific libc_hwcap variant into /lib/libc.so.1 at build time, which crash-looped (init killed by SIGKILL) when run under KVM on the other vendor's CPU; anyvm used to auto-fall-back to TCG on Intel hosts to dodge it. Since v2.0.3 (tribblix-builder's finalizeImage hook) the release ships the generic, capability-neutral libc that boots under KVM on both Intel and AMD and re-optimizes per-CPU at first boot, so no fallback is needed. Use --tcg only if you must run a pre-v2.0.3 image on a mismatched CPU.

Data directory

  • --data-dir : Directory used to store images and caches (default: ./output).
    • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --data-dir output

Run a command inside the VM

  • -- : Everything after -- is passed through to the final ssh invocation and executed inside the VM.
    • Examples:
      • python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd -- uname -a
      • python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd -- sh -lc "id; uname -a"
    • anyvm exits with the guest command's status, so it fails a shell script or a CI step exactly the way running the command locally would. Every other path exits 0: --detach, --console, and an interactive session with no -- command are not command failures.
    • Quoting is the guest shell's, not anyvm's. As with plain ssh, the arguments are joined with spaces and re-parsed on the far side, so -- sh -c 'exit 42' arrives as sh -c exit 42 and exits 0. Wrap the whole snippet in one argument -- -- "sh -c 'exit 42'" -- or use sh -lc "..." as in the examples above.
    • The four guests reached over telnet rather than ssh (Plan 9, ReactOS, RISC OS, Redox) have no exit-status channel in that protocol, so they report 0 for a command that ran and 255 only if the session itself failed -- never the command's own status.
Versions
0.5.7
Website
github.com
License
Last updated
9/19/2026
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