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Skunkworks in a VirtualBox balenaOS virtual machine

This document will guide you through the process of virtualizing a balena device. This provides an effective method for rapid iteration and local development.

This guide was adapted from an existing article on balena's website. It assumes that you already have a balena account.

Quick start

  1. Create a x86_64 fleet
  2. Add a device and download balenaOS
  3. Convert the image to a VDI
  4. Add it to a virtual machine
  5. Start it!

On balenaCloud

Creating a fleet

Head to the balena dashboard and sign in if you haven't already. First, click on the Create fleet button and in the subsequent window, enter a name for the fleet and choose "Generic x86_64" as the device type.

Adding a device

Next, we must add a device. This can be done by clicking Add device on the page of the fleet you just created. The options for the image are fairly situational, but you should select the development edition.

Beside the Flash button there is a downward arrow. Click this and select Download balenaOS. This image can be used for all future devices, so you shouldn't need to re-download it.

On the host machine

Converting the image to a VirtualBox disk

On the command line, run this command. In Windows the VBoxManage executable can be found in the VirtualBox installation directory, so prefix that path to the command first (it's usually "C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox").

VBoxManage convertfromraw <balena-cloud-app>.img <balena-cloud-app>.vdi

Creating the virtual machine

In VirtualBox create a VM like normal with type "Other Linux (64-bit)". There are some configurations that must be applied before starting the VM. Open the settings for the VM and:

  • Under the System submenu, enable EFI.
  • Under Storage,
    • Remove the disk from the IDE controller. (Select the device and click the rightmost icon on the bottom.)
    • Add a SATA controller. (Click the leftmost icon)
    • Attach the disk removed earlier, this time to the SATA controller. (Click the hard drive icon next to "Controller: ACHI".)
    • Attach the balenaOS image created earlier to the same interface.
  • Under Network, change the network adapter from NAT to Bridged Adapter and select the proper network card.

Provisioning the VM

You may now start the VM and it will begin provisioning. This can take some time but the VM will shutdown once it's finished. Being shown a login screen is normal.

Finallizing

With any luck you should now have a virtual balenaOS device and it should appear on the balenaCloud dashboard. Before starting, you must remove the balenaOS image otherwise it will begin provisioning again.

Tip: When starting the VM select Headless Start from the dropdown.

Installing skunkworks

Head to the Getting started (Docker) section of the README to start the containers and connect with wireguard.