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virt-viewer
is a graphical console viewer for virtual machines managed by libvirt.
The program connects to an existing virtual machine and displays its graphical console (SPICE, VNC, etc.).
Contents
Overview
Installation
2.1
USE flags
2.2
Emerge
2.3
Additional software
Configuration
3.1
Environment variables
3.2
Files
3.3
User permissions
3.3.1
System user/group
Usage
4.1
Invocation
4.2
Default connection
4.3
System start
4.4
Session start
4.5
Full screen
4.6
Reconnect automatically
4.7
Waiting for VM to start
Removal
See also
External resources
Overview
virt-viewer
is a protocol-deciphering front-end and a wrapper to the
remote-viewer
that actually displays the VM's desktop/console.
Installation
USE flags
USE flags for
app-emulation/virt-viewer
Graphical console client for connecting to virtual machines
+libvirt
Support connecting to virtual machines managed by libvirt.
+spice
Support connecting to SPICE-enabled virtual machines.
+vnc
Support connecting to VNC-enabled virtual machines.
sasl
Add support for the Simple Authentication and Security Layer
vte
Enable terminal support (x11-libs/vte) in the GTK+ interface
Data provided by the
Gentoo Package Database
Last update: 2025-05-05 08:13
More information about USE flags
Note
If
virt-viewer
is going to be used, be sure to enable the
usbredir
and
spice
USE flags on the qemu package for correct operation.
Emerge
root
emerge --ask app-emulation/virt-viewer
Note
If full graphical console support is desired, add the
usbredir
and
spice
USE flags for the
app-emulation/qemu
package.
Additional software
The
virt-viewer
requires the
app-emulation/libvirt
package. See
Libvirt
— a virtualization management toolkit for installation.
Configuration
Environment variables
A list of optional environment variables that are read and checked by the
virt-viewer
command:
Environment variable name
Description
Type
VIRT_VIEWER_KEEP_FILE
controls whether the temporary connection file (.vv) for VNC/SPICE descriptors gets deleted after use.
integer
DISPLAY
the display X server and screen to which graphical applications should be sent. Needed for GTK/SPICE windows or graphical virt-manager sessions.
X11 address string
WAYLAND_DISPLAY
Wayland display socket; used when running under Wayland instead of X11.
String
GSETTINGS_BACKEND
which backend is used for the GSettings system, which is part of the GNOME configuration system. Valid values are
dconf
and
memory
Enum
GSETTINGS_SCHEMA_DIR
the directory where GSettings schemas are located.
Filepath
XDG_DATA_HOME
Custom user data path (e.g., app files, preferences). Overridden by libvirt for isolation. Default is
~/.local/share
Filepath
XDG_CACHE_HOME
Custom user cache directory containing session-local runtime data for user. Default is
~/.cache
Filepath
XDG_CONFIG_HOME
Directory for user configuration files, commonly UI themes or custom keymaps. Default is
~/.config
Filepath
XDG_RUNTIME_DIR
runtime directory for user session
Filepath
Files
Files accessed by
virt-viewer
/usr/bin/virt-viewer
/usr/bin/remote-viewer
/usr/share/virt-viewer/
/usr/share/glib-2.0/schemas/
/usr/share/icons/
/run/user/
— session sockets
/var/run/libvirt/
— system sockets
User permissions
User must have permission to access libvirt sockets:
/var/run/libvirt/libvirt-sock
(system connection)
/run/user/
(session connection)
See
libvirt configuration
System user/group
For non-root usage, user must be a member of
libvirt
group:
root
gpasswd -a
Usage
Invocation
user
virt-viewer --help
$ virt-viewer --help
Usage: virt-viewer [OPTIONS] DOMAIN-NAME|ID|UUID
Connect to a virtual machine console.
Options:
-h, --help Show help options
-V, --version Show version
-c, --connect URI Connect to hypervisor with libvirt URI
-w, --wait Wait for domain to start
-r, --reconnect Reconnect on disconnect
-z, --zoom Set initial zoom level
-f, --full-screen Start in full screen mode
--display DISPLAY Specify display backend
--attach Attach to running domain
--direct Do not use libvirt, connect directly
--spice-debug Enable SPICE debug output
--hotkeys HOTKEYS Override default hotkeys
Default connection
Compiled default for Libvirt connection is
qemu:///system
Default connection can be confirmed by executing:
host$
virsh uri
qemu:///system
root#
virsh uri
qemu:///system
System start
Connect to a VM using system connection:
user
virt-viewer -c qemu:///system win10
Session start
Connect to a VM using session connection:
user
virt-viewer -c qemu:///session win10
Full screen
Open console in full screen:
user
virt-viewer --full-screen win10
Reconnect automatically
Reconnect automatically:
user
virt-viewer --reconnect win10
Waiting for VM to start
Wait for VM to start:
user
virt-viewer --wait win10
Removal
root
emerge --ask --depclean --verbose app-emulation/virt-viewer
See also
QEMU
— a generic, open-source hardware emulator and virtualization suite.
Libvirt
— a virtualization management toolkit
Virt-manager
— lightweight GUI application designed for managing virtual machines and containers via the
libvirt
API.
Virt-install
— a CLI-based
virtualization
machine creator utility.
External resources
virt-viewer project homepage
Retrieved from "
Categories
QEMU
Libvirt
GUI software
Virtualization