QEMU - Revision history

NobbZ: /* Emulate different architecture */ Adjusted the build to not rely on reaily set up binfmt/remote builders anymore. Fixed some other problems I had during experiments. Still I was unable to actually see the started VM in virt-man or similar or connect to it, additional info needed!

2026-01-28T12:29:28Z

Emulate different architecture: Adjusted the build to not rely on reaily set up binfmt/remote builders anymore. Fixed some other problems I had during experiments. Still I was unable to actually see the started VM in virt-man or similar or connect to it, additional info needed!

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:29, 28 January 2026
Line 53:		Line 53:
	outputs = { self, nixpkgs }:		outputs = { self, nixpkgs }:
	let		let
	~~pkgs = import nixpkgs {~~ system = "~~x86_64-linux~~"~~; };~~		# Put your actual system of your machine here. In VM terms it is the "HOST"
	~~pkgsAarch64 = import nixpkgs { system~~ = "~~aarch64~~-linux"~~; }~~;		buildPlatform = "x86_64-linux";

	~~iso~~ = (~~pkgsAarch64~~.nixos {		# Put the system you want to emulate here. In VM terms it is the "GUEST"
			hostPlatform = "aarch64-linux";

			pkgs = import nixpkgs { system = buildPlatform; };

			vmConfig = (pkgs.nixos {
	imports = [ "${nixpkgs}/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/installation-cd-base.nix" ];		imports = [ "${nixpkgs}/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/installation-cd-base.nix" ];
	}).config.system.build.isoImage;		nixpkgs = { inherit buildPlatform hostPlatform; };
			});
			vmIso = vmConfig.config.system.build.isoImage;
			vmPkgs = vmConfig.pkgs;

	vmScript = pkgs.~~writeScriptBin~~ "run-nixos-vm" ''		vmScript = pkgs.writeShellScriptBin "run-nixos-vm" ''
	~~#!${pkgs.runtimeShell}~~
	${pkgs.qemu}/bin/qemu-system-aarch64 \		${pkgs.qemu}/bin/qemu-system-aarch64 \
	-machine virt,gic-version=max \		-machine virt,gic-version=max \
Line 67:		Line 74:
	-m 2G \		-m 2G \
	-smp 4 \		-smp 4 \
	-drive file=$(echo ${~~iso~~}/iso/*.iso),format=raw,readonly=on \		-drive file=$(echo ${vmIso}/iso/*.iso),format=raw,readonly=on \
	-nographic \		-nographic \
	-bios ${~~pkgsAarch64~~.OVMF.fd}/FV/~~QEMU_EFI~~.fd		-bios ${vmPkgs.OVMF.fd}/FV/OVMF.fd
	'';		'';

	in {		in {
	~~defaultPackage~~.x86_64-linux = vmScript;		packages.x86_64-linux.default = vmScript;
	};		};
	}		}

	</syntaxhighlight>Alternatively a different iso file can be specified in the drive-parameter, for example for Ubuntu Server ARM64.
			</syntaxhighlight>

			Alternatively a different iso file can be specified in the drive-parameter, for example for Ubuntu Server ARM64.

			Make sure to adjust the 2 toplevel variables to set up the cross compilation correctly. If your target is not AARCH64, you have to use the correct qemu binay in the start script.

	[[Category:Virtualization]]		[[Category:Virtualization]]

Zimward: Link to libvirt

2025-12-20T09:23:07Z

Link to libvirt

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:23, 20 December 2025
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	[https://www.qemu.org/ QEMU] is a generic and open source machine emulator and virtualizer.		[https://www.qemu.org/ QEMU] is a generic and open source machine emulator and virtualizer.

			For running virtual machines as a services see [[Libvirt]].

	== Setup ==		== Setup ==

Zimward: Undo revision 29153 by Zimward (talk)

2025-12-20T09:21:46Z

Undo revision 29153 by Zimward (talk)

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:21, 20 December 2025
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	== Configuration ==		== Configuration ==

			=== UEFI firmware support ===
			To enable UEFI firmware support in Virt-Manager, Libvirt, Gnome-Boxes etc. add following snippet to your system configuration and apply it<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">
			systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [ "L+ /var/lib/qemu/firmware - - - - ${pkgs.qemu}/share/qemu/firmware" ];
			</syntaxhighlight>

	=== Run binaries of different architecture ===		=== Run binaries of different architecture ===

Zimward: UEFI firmware is now supported by default

2025-12-20T09:16:53Z

UEFI firmware is now supported by default

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:16, 20 December 2025
Line 22:		Line 22:

	== Configuration ==		== Configuration ==

	~~=== UEFI firmware support ===~~
	~~To enable UEFI firmware support in Virt-Manager, Libvirt, Gnome-Boxes etc. add following snippet to your system configuration and apply it<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">~~
	~~systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [ "L+ /var/lib/qemu/firmware - - - - ${pkgs.qemu}/share/qemu/firmware" ];~~
	~~</syntaxhighlight>~~

	=== Run binaries of different architecture ===		=== Run binaries of different architecture ===

Onny: /* Booting UEFI */

2024-12-15T20:41:32Z

Booting UEFI

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:41, 15 December 2024
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	== Configuration ==		== Configuration ==

	=== ~~Booting~~ UEFI ===		=== UEFI firmware support ===
	To ~~boot~~ UEFI ~~systems using QEMU~~, ~~the UEFI firmware replacing the BIOS implementation needs to be provided while starting QEMU~~.		To enable UEFI firmware support in Virt-Manager, Libvirt, Gnome-Boxes etc. add following snippet to your system configuration and apply it<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">
			systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [ "L+ /var/lib/qemu/firmware - - - - ${pkgs.qemu}/share/qemu/firmware" ];
	~~The~~ following ~~installs a script, that always starts QEMU with OVMF firmware implementing UEFI support.~~

	<syntaxhighlight lang=nix>
	~~environment = {~~
	~~systemPackages~~ = [
	~~(pkgs.writeShellScriptBin~~ "qemu-~~system-x86_64~~-~~uefi" ''~~
	~~qemu-system~~-~~x86_64 \~~
	-~~bios~~ ${pkgs.~~OVMF.fd~~}/FV/~~OVMF.fd \~~
	~~"$@~~"
	~~'')~~
	];
	};
	</syntaxhighlight>		</syntaxhighlight>

	qcow-efi images generated from [https://github.com/nix-community/nixos-generators nixos-generators] require more RAM than the default 128MB. Failing to provide enough RAM results in grub reporting "error: start_image() returned 0x800000000000009." or systemd-boot reporting "Failed to execute NixOS: Out of resources".

	=== Run binaries of different architecture ===		=== Run binaries of different architecture ===

SigmaSquadron: /* Setup */: Cleanup odd wording and add the Evaluate template.

2024-10-27T19:59:39Z

Setup: : Cleanup odd wording and add the Evaluate template.

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:59, 27 October 2024
Line 2:		Line 2:

	== Setup ==		== Setup ==
	~~Install~~ the QEMU program system wide<syntaxhighlight lang=nix>		To install the main QEMU program system-wide, add the following to your <code>configuration.nix</code>:<syntaxhighlight lang=nix>
	environment = {		environment = {
	systemPackages = [ pkgs.qemu ];		systemPackages = [ pkgs.qemu ];
	};		};
	</syntaxhighlight>		</syntaxhighlight>

			{{Evaluate}}

	=== Quick EMU ===		=== Quick EMU ===

Onny: Register binfmt emulate different architectures

2024-08-13T10:32:12Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:32, 13 August 2024
Line 2:		Line 2:

	== Setup ==		== Setup ==
			Install the QEMU program system wide<syntaxhighlight lang=nix>
	<syntaxhighlight lang=nix>
	environment = {		environment = {
	systemPackages = [ pkgs.qemu ];		systemPackages = [ pkgs.qemu ];
Line 40:		Line 39:

	qcow-efi images generated from [https://github.com/nix-community/nixos-generators nixos-generators] require more RAM than the default 128MB. Failing to provide enough RAM results in grub reporting "error: start_image() returned 0x800000000000009." or systemd-boot reporting "Failed to execute NixOS: Out of resources".		qcow-efi images generated from [https://github.com/nix-community/nixos-generators nixos-generators] require more RAM than the default 128MB. Failing to provide enough RAM results in grub reporting "error: start_image() returned 0x800000000000009." or systemd-boot reporting "Failed to execute NixOS: Out of resources".

			=== Run binaries of different architecture ===
			Following configuration will enable the emulation of different architectures. For example to run aarch64 and riscv64 binaries on an native x86_64 host, add following part to your system configuration, apply it and reboot your system.<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">
			boot.binfmt.emulatedSystems = [
			"aarch64-linux"
			"riscv64-linux"
			];
			</syntaxhighlight>

	== Tips and tricks ==		== Tips and tricks ==

Onny: /* Emulate different architecture */

2024-08-09T18:45:01Z

Emulate different architecture

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:45, 9 August 2024
Line 80:		Line 80:
	}		}

	</syntaxhighlight>		</syntaxhighlight>Alternatively a different iso file can be specified in the drive-parameter, for example for Ubuntu Server ARM64.
	[[Category:Virtualization]]		[[Category:Virtualization]]

Onny: Emulate different architectures

2024-08-07T06:46:34Z

Emulate different architectures

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [https://www.qemu.org/ QEMU] is a generic and open source machine emulator and virtualizer.
-== Install ==
+== Setup ==
 <syntaxhighlight lang=nix>
@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 </syntaxhighlight>
-== Booting UEFI ==
+== Configuration ==
 To boot UEFI systems using QEMU, the UEFI firmware replacing the BIOS implementation needs to be provided while starting QEMU.
@@ Line 39: / Line 41: @@
 qcow-efi images generated from [https://github.com/nix-community/nixos-generators nixos-generators] require more RAM than the default 128MB.  Failing to provide enough RAM results in grub reporting "error: start_image() returned 0x800000000000009." or systemd-boot reporting "Failed to execute NixOS: Out of resources".
 [[Category:Virtualization]]

Klinger: link to qemu added

2024-06-18T18:11:25Z

link to qemu added

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:11, 18 June 2024
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	A generic and open source machine emulator and virtualizer		[https://www.qemu.org/ QEMU] is a generic and open source machine emulator and virtualizer.

	== Install ==		== Install ==