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virsh — Manage `virsh` guest domains. Note: Some of the commands below may require specifying `virsh --conne

Submitted by: @import:tldr-pages·Mar 2, 2026·

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commandnoteclimanagevirshdomainsguest

Problem

How to use the virsh command: Manage virsh guest domains. Note: Some of the commands below may require specifying virsh --connect URI explicitly. Some subcommands such as list have their own usage documentation. More information: <https://libvirt.org/manpages/virsh.html>.

Solution

virsh — Manage virsh guest domains. Note: Some of the commands below may require specifying virsh --connect URI explicitly. Some subcommands such as list have their own usage documentation. More information: <https://libvirt.org/manpages/virsh.html>.

Connect to a hypervisor session interactively:

virsh {{[-c|--connect]}} {{qemu:///system|qemu:///session|xen:///system|lxc:///system|...}}

List all domains:

virsh {{[-c|--connect]}} {{URI}} list --all

Activate a network named default:

virsh net-start {{default}}

Create a domain from a configuration file:

virsh create {{path/to/config_file.xml}}

Edit a domain's configuration file (editor can be changed with $EDITOR or $VISUAL):

virsh edit {{domain}}

Start/reboot/reset/shutdown/destroy/suspend/resume a domain:

virsh {{start|reboot|reset|shutdown|destroy|suspend|resume}} {{domain}}

Save the current running state of a domain (RAM, but not disk state) to a state file (domain will be powered off):

virsh save {{domain}} {{path/to/state_file}}

Remove storage and snapshots of a stopped domain:

virsh undefine {{domain}} --remove-all-storage --snapshots-metadata

Code Snippets

Connect to a hypervisor session interactively

virsh {{[-c|--connect]}} {{qemu:///system|qemu:///session|xen:///system|lxc:///system|...}}

List all domains

virsh {{[-c|--connect]}} {{URI}} list --all

Activate a network named `default`

virsh net-start {{default}}

Create a domain from a configuration file

virsh create {{path/to/config_file.xml}}

Edit a domain's configuration file (editor can be changed with `$EDITOR` or `$VISUAL`)

virsh edit {{domain}}

Context

tldr-pages: common/virsh

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