virsh — Virtualization Shell for Managing VMs

virsh is a command-line interface for managing virtual machines via libvirt, typically used with KVM, QEMU, and other virtualization technologies. It supports operations like VM lifecycle management, storage, network, snapshots, and resource monitoring.

Key Features

  • Lifecycle Management: Start, stop, suspend, and destroy VMs.

  • Persistent and Transient VMs: Manage both runtime and saved configurations.

  • Storage and Networking: Control virtual disks, volumes, and virtual networks.

  • Snapshots: Create and revert to VM snapshots.

  • Remote Management: Manage VMs on remote hosts over SSH or TLS.

  • Interactive and Non-interactive Use: Run commands or enter an interactive shell.

Basic Syntax

virsh [options] <command> [args]

Example:

virsh start vm-name

Common and Essential Subcommands

1. VM Lifecycle Management

  • List VMs (running or all)

    virsh list          # Only running
virsh list --all    # All domains (running + shut off)

  • Start / Shutdown / Destroy / Reboot

    virsh start vm-name
virsh shutdown vm-name
virsh destroy vm-name        # Force off (like pulling power plug)
virsh reboot vm-name

  • Suspend / Resume

    virsh suspend vm-name
virsh resume vm-name

  • Autostart on Boot

    virsh autostart vm-name
virsh autostart --disable vm-name

2. Domain and Resource Info

  • Get VM Information

    virsh dominfo vm-name
virsh domuuid vm-name
virsh domstate vm-name

  • CPU and Memory Statistics

    virsh dommemstat vm-name
virsh domstats vm-name

3. VM Configuration and XML

  • Dump or Edit XML Configuration

    virsh dumpxml vm-name         # Show XML
virsh edit vm-name            # Edit XML with $EDITOR

  • Define or Undefine Domains

    virsh define vm.xml           # Create from XML
virsh undefine vm-name        # Remove config only

4. Snapshot Management

  • Create and Manage Snapshots

    virsh snapshot-create-as vm-name snap1 "Snapshot description"
virsh snapshot-list vm-name
virsh snapshot-revert vm-name --snapshotname snap1
virsh snapshot-delete vm-name --snapshotname snap1

5. Console and Access

  • Connect to Serial Console

    virsh console vm-name

    To exit: Ctrl+]

6. Storage Management

  • List, Create, and Delete Volumes

    virsh vol-list default
virsh vol-create-as default vol1.img 10G
virsh vol-delete vol1.img --pool default

  • Pool Management

    virsh pool-list
virsh pool-start default
virsh pool-refresh default

7. Network Management

  • List, Start, and Define Networks

    virsh net-list --all
virsh net-start default
virsh net-destroy default
virsh net-define net.xml
virsh net-autostart default

8. Remote and Interactive Mode

  • Connect to Remote Host

    virsh -c qemu+ssh://user@remote/system

  • Enter Interactive Shell

    virsh

Example Use Cases

Start a Virtual Machine

virsh start ubuntu-vm

Check Running VMs

virsh list

Create a Snapshot Before Upgrade

virsh snapshot-create-as ubuntu-vm pre-upgrade "Before system upgrade"

Attach a CD-ROM ISO Image

virsh attach-disk ubuntu-vm /isos/ubuntu.iso hdc --type cdrom --mode readonly

Conclusion

virsh is an indispensable tool for Linux-based virtualization environments using libvirt. It provides complete lifecycle control, resource introspection, and management capabilities for virtual machines, networks, and storage — both locally and remotely. It’s highly scriptable and favored for automation and infrastructure orchestration workflows.

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