<term><option>-p</option></term>
<term><option>--property=</option></term>
- <listitem><para>When showing
- machine properties, limit the
- output to certain properties as
- specified by the argument. If not
- specified, all set properties are
- shown. The argument should be a
- property name, such as
- <literal>Name</literal>. If
- specified more than once, all
- properties with the specified names
- are shown.</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>When showing machine
+ or image properties, limit the output
+ to certain properties as specified by
+ the argument. If not specified, all
+ set properties are shown. The argument
+ should be a property name, such as
+ <literal>Name</literal>. If specified
+ more than once, all properties with
+ the specified names are
+ shown.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>-a</option></term>
<term><option>--all</option></term>
- <listitem><para>When showing
- machine properties, show all
- properties regardless of whether they are
- set or not.</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>When showing machine
+ or image properties, show all
+ properties regardless of whether they
+ are set or not.</para>
+
+ <para>When listing VM or container
+ images, do not suppress images
+ beginning in a dot character
+ (<literal>.</literal>).</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<constant>SIGTERM</constant>.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
- <varlistentry>
- <term><option>--no-legend</option></term>
-
- <listitem><para>Do not print the legend,
- i.e. the column headers and the
- footer.</para></listitem>
- </varlistentry>
-
<varlistentry>
<term><option>--mkdir</option></term>
<literal>short</literal>.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><option>--verify=</option></term>
+
+ <listitem><para>When downloading a
+ container or VM image, specify whether
+ the image shall be verified before it
+ is made available. Takes one of
+ <literal>no</literal>,
+ <literal>checksum</literal> and
+ <literal>signature</literal>. If
+ <literal>no</literal> no verification
+ is done. If
+ <literal>checksum</literal> is
+ specified the download is checked for
+ integrity after transfer is complete,
+ but no signatures are verified. If
+ <literal>signature</literal> is
+ specified, the checksum is verified
+ and the images's signature is checked
+ against a local keyring of trustable
+ vendors. It is strongly recommended to
+ set this option to
+ <literal>signature</literal> if the
+ server and protocol support this.
+ Defaults to
+ <literal>signature</literal>.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><option>--force</option></term>
+
+ <listitem><para>When downloading a
+ container or VM image, and a local
+ copy by the specified local machine
+ name already exists, delete it first
+ and replace it by the newly downloaded
+ image.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><option>--dkr-index-url</option></term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Specifies the index
+ server to use for downloading
+ <literal>dkr</literal> images with the
+ <command>pull-dkr</command>. Takes a
+ <literal>http://</literal>,
+ <literal>https://</literal> URL.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
<xi:include href="user-system-options.xml" xpointer="host" />
<xi:include href="user-system-options.xml" xpointer="machine" />
+ <xi:include href="standard-options.xml" xpointer="no-pager" />
+ <xi:include href="standard-options.xml" xpointer="no-legend" />
<xi:include href="standard-options.xml" xpointer="help" />
<xi:include href="standard-options.xml" xpointer="version" />
- <xi:include href="standard-options.xml" xpointer="no-pager" />
</variablelist>
+ </refsect1>
+
+ <refsect1>
+ <title>Commands</title>
<para>The following commands are understood:</para>
- <variablelist>
+ <refsect2><title>Machine Commands</title><variablelist>
+
<varlistentry>
<term><command>list</command></term>
<listitem><para>List currently running
- virtual machines and containers.
- </para></listitem>
+ (online) virtual machines and
+ containers. To enumerate container
+ images that can be started,
+ use <command>list-images</command>
+ (see below).</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
output.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><command>start</command> <replaceable>NAME</replaceable>...</term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Start a container as a
+ system service, using
+ <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-nspawn</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
+ This starts
+ <filename>systemd-nspawn@.service</filename>,
+ instantiated for the specified machine
+ name, similar to the effect of
+ <command>systemctl start</command> on
+ the service
+ name. <command>systemd-nspawn</command>
+ looks for a container image by the
+ specified name in
+ <filename>/var/lib/machines/</filename>
+ (and other search paths, see below) and runs
+ it. Use <command>list-images</command>
+ (see below), for listing available
+ container images to start.</para>
+
+ <para>Note that
+ <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-machined.service</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum></citerefentry>
+ also interfaces with a variety of
+ other container and VM managers,
+ <command>systemd-nspawn</command> is
+ just one implementation of it. Most of
+ the commands available in
+ <command>machinectl</command> may be
+ used on containers or VMs controlled
+ by other managers, not just
+ <command>systemd-nspawn</command>. Starting
+ VMs and container images on those
+ managers requires manager-specific
+ tools.</para>
+
+ <para>To interactively start a
+ container on the command line with
+ full access to the container's
+ console, please invoke
+ <command>systemd-nspawn</command>
+ directly. To stop a running container
+ use <command>machinectl
+ poweroff</command>, see
+ below.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
<varlistentry>
<term><command>login</command> <replaceable>NAME</replaceable></term>
- <listitem><para>Open a terminal login
+ <listitem><para>Open an interactive terminal login
session to a container. This will
create a TTY connection to a specific
container and asks for the execution of a
getty on it. Note that this is only
supported for containers running
<citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>
- as init system.</para></listitem>
+ as init system.</para>
+
+ <para>This command will open a full
+ login prompt on the container, which
+ then asks for username and
+ password. Use
+ <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-run</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>
+ with the <option>--machine=</option>
+ switch to invoke a single command,
+ either interactively or in the
+ background within a local
+ container.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
- <term><command>reboot</command> <replaceable>NAME</replaceable>...</term>
-
- <listitem><para>Reboot one or more
- containers. This will trigger a reboot
- by sending SIGINT to the container's
- init process, which is roughly
- equivalent to pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del on
- a non-containerized system, and is
- compatible with containers running any
- init system.</para></listitem>
+ <term><command>enable</command> <replaceable>NAME</replaceable>...</term>
+ <term><command>disable</command> <replaceable>NAME</replaceable>...</term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Enable or disable a
+ container as a system service to start
+ at system boot, using
+ <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-nspawn</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
+ This enables or disables
+ <filename>systemd-nspawn@.service</filename>,
+ instantiated for the specified machine
+ name, similar to the effect of
+ <command>systemctl enable</command> or
+ <command>systemctl disable</command>
+ on the service name.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
not work on containers that do not run
a
<citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>-compatible
- init system, such as
- sysvinit.</para></listitem>
+ init system, such as sysvinit. Use
+ <command>terminate</command> (see
+ below) to immediately terminate a
+ container or VM, without cleanly
+ shutting it down.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><command>reboot</command> <replaceable>NAME</replaceable>...</term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Reboot one or more
+ containers. This will trigger a reboot
+ by sending SIGINT to the container's
+ init process, which is roughly
+ equivalent to pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del on
+ a non-containerized system, and is
+ compatible with containers running any
+ system manager.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><command>terminate</command> <replaceable>NAME</replaceable>...</term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Immediately terminates
+ a virtual machine or container,
+ without cleanly shutting it down. This
+ kills all processes of the virtual
+ machine or container and deallocates
+ all resources attached to that
+ instance. Use
+ <command>poweroff</command> to issue a
+ clean shutdown request.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
the signal to send.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
- <varlistentry>
- <term><command>terminate</command> <replaceable>NAME</replaceable>...</term>
-
- <listitem><para>Terminates a virtual
- machine or container. This kills all
- processes of the virtual machine or
- container and deallocates all
- resources attached to that
- instance.</para></listitem>
- </varlistentry>
-
<varlistentry>
<term><command>bind</command> <replaceable>NAME</replaceable> <replaceable>PATH</replaceable> [<replaceable>PATH</replaceable>]</term>
omitted the same as the source path is
used.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
+ </variablelist></refsect2>
- </variablelist>
+ <refsect2><title>Image Commands</title><variablelist>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><command>list-images</command></term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Show a list of locally
+ installed container and VM
+ images. This enumerates all raw disk
+ images and container directories and
+ subvolumes in
+ <filename>/var/lib/machines/</filename> (and other search paths, see below). Use
+ <command>start</command> (see above)
+ to run a container off one of the
+ listed images. Note that by default
+ containers whose name begins with a
+ dot (<literal>.</literal>) are not
+ shown. To show these too, specify
+ <option>--all</option>. Note that a
+ special image <literal>.host</literal>
+ always implicitly exists and refers to
+ the image the host itself is booted
+ from.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><command>image-status</command> <replaceable>NAME</replaceable>...</term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Show terse status
+ information about one or more
+ container or VM images. This function
+ is intended to generate human-readable
+ output. Use
+ <command>show-image</command> (see
+ below) to generate computer-parsable
+ output instead.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><command>show-image</command> <replaceable>NAME</replaceable>...</term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Show properties of one
+ or more registered virtual machine or
+ container images, or the manager
+ itself. If no argument is specified,
+ properties of the manager will be
+ shown. If an NAME is specified,
+ properties of this virtual machine or
+ container image are shown. By default,
+ empty properties are suppressed. Use
+ <option>--all</option> to show those
+ too. To select specific properties to
+ show, use
+ <option>--property=</option>. This
+ command is intended to be used
+ whenever computer-parsable output is
+ required. Use
+ <command>image-status</command> if you
+ are looking for formatted
+ human-readable
+ output.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><command>clone</command> <replaceable>NAME</replaceable> <replaceable>NAME</replaceable></term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Clones a container or
+ disk image. The arguments specify the
+ name of the image to clone and the
+ name of the newly cloned image. Note
+ that plain directory container images
+ are cloned into subvolume images with
+ this command. Note that cloning a
+ container or VM image is optimized for
+ btrfs file systems, and might not be
+ efficient on others, due to file
+ system limitations.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><command>rename</command> <replaceable>NAME</replaceable> <replaceable>NAME</replaceable></term>
+ <listitem><para>Renames a container or
+ disk image. The arguments specify the
+ name of the image to rename and the
+ new name of the
+ image.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><command>read-only</command> <replaceable>NAME</replaceable> [<replaceable>BOOL</replaceable>]</term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Marks or (unmarks) a
+ container or disk image
+ read-only. Takes a VM or container
+ image name, followed by a boolean as
+ arguments. If the boolean is omitted,
+ positive is implied, i.e. the image is
+ marked read-only.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><command>remove</command> <replaceable>NAME</replaceable>...</term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Removes one or more
+ container or disk images. The special
+ image <literal>.host</literal>, which
+ refers to the host's own directory
+ tree may not be
+ removed.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ </variablelist></refsect2>
+
+ <refsect2><title>Image Transfer Commands</title><variablelist>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><command>pull-tar</command> <replaceable>URL</replaceable> [<replaceable>NAME</replaceable>]</term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Downloads a
+ <filename>.tar</filename> container
+ image from the specified URL, and
+ makes it available under the specified
+ local machine name. The URL must be of
+ type <literal>http://</literal> or
+ <literal>https://</literal>, and must
+ refer to a <filename>.tar</filename>,
+ <filename>.tar.gz</filename>,
+ <filename>.tar.xz</filename> or
+ <filename>.tar.bz2</filename> archive
+ file. If the local machine name is
+ omitted the name it is automatically
+ derived from the last component of the
+ URL, with its suffix removed.</para>
+
+ <para>The image is verified before it
+ is made available, unless
+ <option>--verify=no</option> is
+ specified. Verification is done via
+ SHA256SUMS and SHA256SUMS.gpg files,
+ that need to be made available on the
+ same web server, under the same URL as
+ the <filename>.tar</filename> file,
+ but with the last component (the
+ filename) of the URL replaced. With
+ <option>--verify=checksum</option>
+ only the SHA256 checksum for the file
+ is verified, based on the
+ <filename>SHA256SUMS</filename>
+ file. With
+ <option>--verify=signature</option>
+ the SHA256SUMS file is first verified
+ with detached GPG signature file
+ <filename>SHA256SUMS.gpg</filename>. The
+ public key for this verification step
+ needs to be available in
+ <filename>/usr/lib/systemd/import-pubring.gpg</filename>
+ or
+ <filename>/etc/systemd/import-pubring.gpg</filename>.</para>
+
+ <para>The container image will be
+ downloaded and stored in a read-only
+ subvolume in
+ <filename>/var/lib/machines/</filename>,
+ that is named after the specified URL
+ and its HTTP etag. A writable snapshot
+ is then taken from this subvolume, and
+ named after the specified local
+ name. This behaviour ensures that
+ creating multiple container instances
+ of the same URL is efficient, as
+ multiple downloads are not
+ necessary. In order to create only the
+ read-only image, and avoid creating
+ its writable snapshot, specify
+ <literal>-</literal> as local machine
+ name.</para>
+
+ <para>Note that the read-only
+ subvolume is prefixed with
+ <filename>.tar-</filename>, and
+ is thus now shown by
+ <command>list-images</command>, unless
+ <option>--all</option> is passed.</para>
+
+ <para>Note that pressing C-c during
+ execution of this command will not
+ abort the download. Use
+ <command>cancel-transfer</command>,
+ described below.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><command>pull-raw</command> <replaceable>URL</replaceable> [<replaceable>NAME</replaceable>]</term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Downloads a
+ <filename>.raw</filename> container or
+ VM disk image from the specified URL,
+ and makes it available under the
+ specified local machine name. The URL
+ must be of type
+ <literal>http://</literal> or
+ <literal>https://</literal>. The
+ container image must either be a
+ <filename>.qcow2</filename> or raw
+ disk image, optionally compressed as
+ <filename>.gz</filename>,
+ <filename>.xz</filename>, or
+ <filename>.bz2</filename>. If the
+ local machine name is omitted the name
+ it is automatically derived from the
+ last component of the URL, with its
+ suffix removed.</para>
+
+ <para>Image verification is identical
+ for raw and tar images (see above).</para>
+
+ <para>If the the downloaded image is
+ in <filename>.qcow2</filename> format
+ it es converted into a raw image file
+ before it is made available.</para>
+
+ <para>Downloaded images of this type
+ will be placed as read-only
+ <filename>.raw</filename> file in
+ <filename>/var/lib/machines/</filename>. A
+ local, writable (reflinked) copy is
+ then made under the specified local
+ machine name. To omit creation of the
+ local, writable copy pass
+ <literal>-</literal> as local machine
+ name.</para>
+
+ <para>Similar to the behaviour of
+ <command>pull-tar</command>, the
+ read-only image is prefixed with
+ <filename>.raw-</filename>, and thus
+ now shown by
+ <command>list-images</command>, unless
+ <option>--all</option> is
+ passed.</para>
+
+ <para>Note that pressing C-c during
+ execution of this command will not
+ abort the download. Use
+ <command>cancel-transfer</command>,
+ described below.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><command>pull-dkr</command> <replaceable>REMOTE</replaceable> [<replaceable>NAME</replaceable>]</term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Downloads a
+ <literal>dkr</literal> container image
+ and makes it available locally. The
+ remote name refers to a
+ <literal>dkr</literal> container
+ name. If omitted, the local machine
+ name is derived from the
+ <literal>dkr</literal> container
+ name.</para>
+
+ <para>Image verification is not
+ available for <literal>dkr</literal>
+ containers, and thus
+ <option>--verify=no</option> must
+ always be specified with this
+ command.</para>
+
+ <para>This command downloads all
+ (missing) layers for the specified
+ container and places them in read-only
+ subvolumes in
+ <filename>/var/lib/machines/</filename>. A
+ writable snapshot of the newest layer
+ is then created under the specified
+ local machine name. To omit creation
+ of this writable snapshot, pass
+ <literal>-</literal> as local machine
+ name.</para>
+
+ <para>The read-only layer subvolumes
+ are prefixed with
+ <filename>.dkr-</filename>, and thus
+ now shown by
+ <command>list-images</command>, unless
+ <option>--all</option> is
+ passed.</para>
+
+ <para>To specify the
+ <literal>dkr</literal> index server to
+ use for looking up the specified
+ container, use
+ <option>--dkr-index-url=</option>.</para>
+
+ <para>Note that pressing C-c during
+ execution of this command will not
+ abort the download. Use
+ <command>cancel-transfer</command>,
+ described below.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><command>list-transfers</command></term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Shows a list of
+ container or VM image downloads that
+ are currently in
+ progress.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><command>cancel-transfers</command> <replaceable>ID</replaceable>...</term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Aborts download of the
+ container or VM image with the
+ specified ID. To list ongoing
+ transfers and their IDs, use
+ <command>list-transfers</command>.
+ </para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ </variablelist></refsect2>
+
+ </refsect1>
+
+ <refsect1>
+ <title>Files and Directories</title>
+
+ <para>Machine images are preferably stored in
+ <filename>/var/lib/machines/</filename>, but are also
+ searched for in
+ <filename>/usr/local/lib/machines/</filename> and
+ <filename>/usr/lib/machines/</filename>. For
+ compatibility reasons the directory
+ <filename>/var/lib/container/</filename> is searched,
+ too. Note that images stored below
+ <filename>/usr</filename> are always considered
+ read-only. It is possible to symlink machines images
+ from other directories into
+ <filename>/var/lib/machines/</filename> to make them
+ available for control with
+ <command>machinectl</command>.</para>
+
+ <para>Disk images are understood by
+ <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-nspawn</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>
+ and <command>machinectl</command> in three
+ formats:</para>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem><para>A simple directory tree,
+ containing the files and directories of the
+ container to boot.</para></listitem>
+
+ <listitem><para>A subvolume (on btrfs file
+ systems), which are similar to the simple
+ directories, described above. However, they
+ have additional benefits, such as efficient
+ cloning and quota reporting.</para></listitem>
+
+ <listitem><para>"Raw" disk images, i.e. binary
+ images of disks with a GPT or MBR partition
+ table. Images of this type are regular
+ files with the suffix
+ <literal>.raw</literal>.</para></listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+
+ <para>See
+ <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-nspawn</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>
+ for more information on image formats, in particular
+ it's <option>--directory=</option> and
+ <option>--image=</option> options.</para>
+ </refsect1>
+
+ <refsect1>
+ <title>Examples</title>
+ <example>
+ <title>Download an Ubuntu image and open a shell in it</title>
+
+ <programlisting># machinectl pull-tar https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/trusty/current/trusty-server-cloudimg-amd64-root.tar.gz
+# systemd-nspawn -M trusty-server-cloudimg-amd64-root</programlisting>
+
+ <para>This downloads and verifies the
+ specified <filename>.tar</filename> image, and
+ then uses
+ <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-nspawn</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>
+ to open a shell in it.</para>
+ </example>
+
+ <example>
+ <title>Download a Fedora image, set a root password in it, start it as service</title>
+
+ <programlisting># machinectl pull-raw --verify=no http://ftp.halifax.rwth-aachen.de/fedora/linux/releases/21/Cloud/Images/x86_64/Fedora-Cloud-Base-20141203-21.x86_64.raw.xz
+# systemd-nspawn -M Fedora-Cloud-Base-20141203-21
+# passwd
+# exit
+# machinectl start Fedora-Cloud-Base-20141203-21
+# machinectl login Fedora-Cloud-Base-20141203-21</programlisting>
+
+ <para>This downloads the specified
+ <filename>.raw</filename> image with
+ verification disabled. Then a shell is opened
+ in it and a root password is set. Afterwards
+ the shell is left, and the machine started as
+ system service. With the last command a login
+ prompt into the container is requested.</para>
+ </example>
+
+ <example>
+ <title>Download a Fedora <literal>dkr</literal> image</title>
+
+ <programlisting># machinectl pull-dkr --verify=no mattdm/fedora
+# systemd-nspawn -M fedora</programlisting>
+
+ <para>Downloads a <literal>dkr</literal> image
+ and opens a shell in it. Note that the
+ specified download command might require an
+ index server to be specified with the
+ <literal>--dkr-index-url=</literal>.</para>
+ </example>
</refsect1>
<refsect1>