Quickstart

A VM runs on one Device in your Home. See the glossary for these terms.

Start here after installing BarkVisor and completing first-run setup. Linux and Windows packages have their own Linux and Windows install guides.

1. Choose what to run

Open Workloads → Create VM, or click Create VM on the Dashboard.

The wizard has three steps: Gallery → Configure → Disk. In Gallery, choose:

• A catalog template, such as Ubuntu or Debian, for a preconfigured VM.
• Windows for a Windows installer ISO.
• A custom image for your own ISO or cloud image.

If the gallery is empty, open Settings → Repositories, sync the image and template catalogs, then reopen Create VM.

2. Configure the VM

Enter a name, choose a Device, and pick a size preset. The Device is the computer that will run the VM and store its disk. You can choose a reachable paired Device even if the sidebar is showing a different one.

Fill in any fields the template requires. If it asks for an SSH key, select a saved public key or add one in the form. BarkVisor uses that key to give you access to the guest.

For Windows or a custom image, upload a file or provide its download URL. Use an image that matches the selected Device’s architecture: arm64 or x86_64. Wait for the image to finish preparing before continuing.

Under Advanced, you can change CPU, memory, network, UEFI, and TPM settings. Shared (NAT) is the simplest network for a first VM. Bridged networking needs bridge setup on the Device first.

Click Next.

3. Choose a disk and create

Choose New disk and set its size, or select an unused Existing disk on the Device. New qcow2 disks grow as the guest writes data, up to the size you choose.

Linux Devices can also offer Raw host device, which gives the guest access to a physical disk. Use a new virtual disk for this walkthrough.

Click Create. The Workloads list shows download and provisioning progress. A template can download its image during this step. You do not need to submit the same VM again while it prepares.

4. Open the VM

Open the VM from Workloads. If it is stopped, click Start.

• VNC shows the guest’s graphical display. Use it to complete an ISO installation.
• Console opens the serial terminal, useful for Linux server images configured for serial access.
• Overview shows hardware, disks, network details, and guest information when available.
• Logs shows events for this VM. Metrics appears while it is running.

A cloud image boots an already-installed OS. An ISO starts an installer, so you still need to install the OS onto the VM disk.

5. Connect over the network

With NAT, publish a guest port from the VM’s network settings. For example, forward host TCP port 2222 to guest port 22 for SSH, then connect to the Device running the VM:

ssh -p 2222 <guest-user>@<device-address>

Replace the placeholders with the guest account and Device address. Use localhost only when your terminal is on that Device. Restart a running VM after changing port forwards.

For bridged networking, use the guest’s LAN address instead. Installing qemu-guest-agent inside the guest lets BarkVisor report its IP addresses and other guest details.

Stop and manage the VM

Stop asks the guest to shut down cleanly. The dropdown also offers ACPI Shutdown and Force Stop. Force Stop immediately ends the VM process and can lose unsaved work. Restart reboots it.

Turn on Start when this Device boots if you want automatic startup. Stopping or restarting BarkVisor itself leaves running VMs alive.

For extra disks, shared folders, USB, GPU passthrough, and other options, see Workload details and Create a Workload. To grow a virtual disk, use Disks, then expand the partition and filesystem inside the guest.