QEMU ARM64

QEMU in a docker container for running ARM-based virtual machines, for devices like the Raspberry Pi 5 and many others.

It uses high-performance QEMU options (like KVM acceleration, kernel-mode networking, IO threading, etc.) to achieve near-native speed.

Note: for KVM acceleration you need a Linux-based operating system, as it's not available on MacOS unfortunately.

Features

• Multi-platform
• KVM acceleration
• Web-based viewer

Usage

Via Docker Compose:

version: "3"
services:
  qemu:
    container_name: qemu
    image: qemux/qemu-arm
    environment:
      BOOT: "https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.19/releases/aarch64/alpine-virt-3.19.1-aarch64.iso"
    devices:
      - /dev/kvm
    cap_add:
      - NET_ADMIN
    ports:
      - 8006:8006
    stop_grace_period: 2m
    restart: on-failure

Via Docker CLI:

docker run -it --rm --name qemu -e "BOOT=http://example.com/image.iso" -p 8006:8006 --device=/dev/kvm --cap-add NET_ADMIN qemux/qemu-arm

FAQ

• How do I use it?

  Very simple! These are the steps:

  • Set the BOOT environment variable to the URL of an ISO image you want to install.

  • Start the container and connect to port 8006 using your web browser.

  • You will see the screen and can now install the OS of your choice using your keyboard and mouse.

  Enjoy your brand new machine, and don't forget to star this repo!

• How do I change the storage location?

  To change the storage location, include the following bind mount in your compose file:

  volumes:
    - /var/qemu:/storage

  Replace the example path /var/qemu with the desired storage folder.

• How do I change the size of the disk?

  To expand the default size of 16 GB, add the DISK_SIZE setting to your compose file and set it to your preferred capacity:

  environment:
    DISK_SIZE: "128G"

  This can also be used to resize the existing disk to a larger capacity without any data loss.

• How do I boot a local image?

  You can use a local file directly, and skip the download altogether, by binding it in your compose file in this way:

  volumes:
    - /home/user/example.iso:/storage/boot.iso

  Replace the example path /home/user/example.iso with the filename of the desired ISO file.

• How do I boot a x86 image?

  You can use qemu-docker to run x86 and x64 images on ARM.

• How do I verify if my system supports KVM?

  To verify if your system supports KVM, run the following commands:

  sudo apt install cpu-checker
  sudo kvm-ok

  If you receive an error from kvm-ok indicating that KVM acceleration can't be used, check the virtualization settings in the BIOS.

• How do I increase the amount of CPU or RAM?

  By default, a single CPU core and 1 GB of RAM are allocated to the container.

  If there arises a need to increase this, add the following environment variables:

  environment:
    RAM_SIZE: "4G"
    CPU_CORES: "4"

• How do I assign an individual IP address to the container?

  By default, the container uses bridge networking, which shares the IP address with the host.

  If you want to assign an individual IP address to the container, you can create a macvlan network as follows:

  docker network create -d macvlan \
      --subnet=192.168.0.0/24 \
      --gateway=192.168.0.1 \
      --ip-range=192.168.0.100/28 \
      -o parent=eth0 vlan

  Be sure to modify these values to match your local subnet.

  Once you have created the network, change your compose file to look as follows:

  services:
    qemu:
      container_name: qemu
      ..<snip>..
      networks:
        vlan:
          ipv4_address: 192.168.0.100
  
  networks:
    vlan:
      external: true

  An added benefit of this approach is that you won't have to perform any port mapping anymore, since all ports will be exposed by default.

  Please note that this IP address won't be accessible from the Docker host due to the design of macvlan, which doesn't permit communication between the two. If this is a concern, you need to create a second macvlan as a workaround.

• How can the VM acquire an IP address from my router?

  After configuring the container for macvlan (see above), it is possible for the VM to become part of your home network by requesting an IP from your router, just like a real PC.

  To enable this mode, add the following lines to your compose file:

  environment:
    DHCP: "Y"
  devices:
    - /dev/vhost-net
  device_cgroup_rules:
    - 'c *:* rwm'

  Please note that in this mode, the container and the VM will each have their own separate IPs. The container will keep the macvlan IP, and the VM will use the DHCP IP.

• How do I pass-through a disk?

  It is possible to pass-through disk devices directly by adding them to your compose file in this way:

  devices:
    - /dev/sdb:/dev/disk1
    - /dev/sdc:/dev/disk2

  Use /dev/disk1 if you want it to become your main drive, and use /dev/disk2 and higher to add them as secondary drives.

• How do I pass-through a USB device?

  To pass-through a USB device, first lookup its vendor and product id via the lsusb command, then add them to your compose file like this:

  environment:
    ARGUMENTS: "-device usb-host,vendorid=0x1234,productid=0x1234"
  devices:
    - /dev/bus/usb

• How can I provide custom arguments to QEMU?

  You can create the ARGUMENTS environment variable to provide additional arguments to QEMU at runtime:

  environment:
    ARGUMENTS: "-device usb-tablet"

Stars