anyvm.py 0.5.1

Run any VM anywhere: bootstrap BSD, Illumos, and Linux guests with QEMU on Linux, macOS, and Windows

Run any VM anywhere

anyvm is a single-file tool for bootstrapping BSD, Illumos, and Linux 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:

  

  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.

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 ghostbsd
python3 anyvm.py --os blissos

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



#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)

Guest	x86_64	aarch64 (arm64)	riscv64	powerpc64	sparc64	s390x	Builder
Ubuntu	✅	✅	✅	✅	—	✅
FreeBSD	✅	✅	✅	✅	—	—
OpenBSD	✅	✅	✅	—	✅	—
NetBSD	✅	✅	✅	—	✅	—
DragonFlyBSD	✅	—	—	—	—	—
MidnightBSD	✅	—	—	—	—	—
GhostBSD	✅	—	—	—	—	—
Solaris	✅	—	—	—	—	—
OmniOS	✅	—	—	—	—	—
OpenIndiana	✅	—	—	—	—	—
Tribblix	✅	—	—	—	—	—
Haiku	✅	—	—	—	—	—
BlissOS (Android)	✅	—	—	—	—	—

5. Host support

Host	x86_64 guests	aarch64 guests	riscv64 guests	s390x guests	powerpc64 guests	sparc64 guests
Linux x86_64	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Linux aarch64 (arm64)	—	✅	—	—	—	—
Linux s390x (IBM Z)	—	—	—	✅ (KVM)	—	—
MacOS Apple silicon	✅	✅	—	—	—	—
Windows x86_64 Native	✅	—	—	—	—	—
Windows x86_64 WSL	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅

6. Install dependencies

6.1 Linux (apt-based)

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

brew install qemu

6.3 Windows

• Download QEMU for Windows: https://www.qemu.org/download/#windows or https://qemu.weilnetz.de/w64/
• 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.
• 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 <pwd>. 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 <name>: Target guest OS (required).
  • Supported: freebsd / ghostbsd / openbsd / netbsd / dragonflybsd / midnightbsd / solaris / omnios / openindiana / tribblix / haiku / ubuntu / blissos
  • Example:
    • python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd

Release / arch / resources

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

  • Example: python3 anyvm.py --os freebsd --release 14.4

• --arch <arch>: Guest architecture.

  • Common values: x86_64 / aarch64 / riscv64 / s390x / powerpc64 / ppc64le / sparc64
  • 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.
  • 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 <MB>: 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 <num>: 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 <type>: QEMU CPU model (e.g. host, cortex-a72).

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

Images / builders

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

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

• --qcow2 <path>: 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 <port> / --sshport <port>: 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 <name>: Add an extra SSH alias name for convenience (so you can ssh <name>).

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

• --host-ssh-port <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 <mapping>: 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 <host:guest>: 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 <mode>: Sync mechanism used for -v. Strictly validated.

  • Supported: rsync (default), sshfs, nfs, sys-nfs, scp. Empty string also defaults to rsync. Any other value will cause an error.
  • 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

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 <port>: 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 <display>: 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 <pwd>: 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 <port>: 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 <type>: Disk interface type (e.g. virtio, ide).

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

• --boot-timeout-sec <n>: 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 <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

• -- <cmd...>: 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"