1virt-sysprep(1) Virtualization Support virt-sysprep(1)
2
6 virt-sysprep - Reset, unconfigure or customize a virtual machine so
7 clones can be made
8
10 virt-sysprep [--options] -d domname
11 virt-sysprep [--options] -a disk.img [-a disk.img ...]
13
15 Using "virt-sysprep" on live virtual machines, or concurrently with
16 other disk editing tools, can be dangerous, potentially causing disk
17 corruption. The virtual machine must be shut down before you use this
18 command, and disk images must not be edited concurrently.
19
21 Virt-sysprep can reset or unconfigure a virtual machine so that clones
22 can be made from it. Steps in this process include removing SSH host
23 keys, removing persistent network MAC configuration, and removing user
24 accounts. Virt-sysprep can also customize a virtual machine, for
25 instance by adding SSH keys, users or logos. Each step can be enabled
26 or disabled as required.
27 Virt-sysprep modifies the guest or disk image in place. The guest must
29 be shut down. If you want to preserve the existing contents of the
30 guest, you must snapshot, copy or clone the disk first. See "COPYING
31 AND CLONING" below.
32 You do not need to run virt-sysprep as root. In fact we'd generally
34 recommend that you don't. The time you might want to run it as root is
35 when you need root in order to access the disk image, but even in this
36 case it would be better to change the permissions on the disk image to
37 be writable as the non-root user running virt-sysprep.
38 "Sysprep" stands for "system preparation" tool. The name comes from
40 the Microsoft program sysprep.exe which is used to unconfigure Windows
41 machines in preparation for cloning them. Having said that, virt-
42 sysprep does not currently work on Microsoft Windows guests. We plan
43 to support Windows sysprepping in a future version, and we already have
44 code to do it.
45
47 --help
48 Display brief help.
49 -a file
51 --add file
52 Add file which should be a disk image from a virtual machine.
53 The format of the disk image is auto-detected. To override this
55 and force a particular format use the --format option.
56 -a URI
58 --add URI
59 Add a remote disk. The URI format is compatible with guestfish.
60 See "ADDING REMOTE STORAGE" in guestfish(1).
61 --colors
63 --colours
64 Use ANSI colour sequences to colourize messages. This is the
65 default when the output is a tty. If the output of the program is
66 redirected to a file, ANSI colour sequences are disabled unless you
67 use this option.
68 -c URI
70 --connect URI
71 If using libvirt, connect to the given URI. If omitted, then we
72 connect to the default libvirt hypervisor.
73 If you specify guest block devices directly (-a), then libvirt is
75 not used at all.
76 -d guest
78 --domain guest
79 Add all the disks from the named libvirt guest. Domain UUIDs can
80 be used instead of names.
81 -n
83 --dry-run
84 Perform a read-only "dry run" on the guest. This runs the sysprep
85 operation, but throws away any changes to the disk at the end.
86 --enable operations
88 Choose which sysprep operations to perform. Give a comma-separated
89 list of operations, for example:
90 --enable ssh-hostkeys,udev-persistent-net
92 would enable ONLY "ssh-hostkeys" and "udev-persistent-net"
94 operations.
95 If the --enable option is not given, then we default to trying most
97 sysprep operations (see --list-operations to show which are
98 enabled).
99 Regardless of the --enable option, sysprep operations are skipped
101 for some guest types.
102 Use --list-operations to list operations supported by a particular
104 version of virt-sysprep.
105 See "OPERATIONS" below for a list and an explanation of each
107 operation.
108 --operation operations
110 --operations operations
111 Choose which sysprep operations to perform. Give a comma-separated
112 list of operations, for example:
113 --operations ssh-hostkeys,udev-persistent-net
115 would enable ONLY "ssh-hostkeys" and "udev-persistent-net"
117 operations.
118 --operations allows you to enable and disable any operation,
120 including the default ones (which would be tried when specifying
121 neither --operations nor --enable) and all the available ones;
122 prepending a "-" in front of an operation name removes it from the
123 list of enabled operations, while the meta-names "defaults" and
124 "all" represent respectively the operations enabled by default and
125 all the available ones. For example:
126 --operations firewall-rules,defaults,-tmp-files
128 would enable the "firewall-rules" operation (regardless whether it
130 is enabled by default), all the default ones, and disable the
131 "tmp-files" operation.
132 --operations can be specified multiple times; the first time the
134 set of enabled operations is empty, while any further --operations
135 affects the operations enabled so far.
136 If the --operations option is not given, then we default to trying
138 most sysprep operations (see --list-operations to show which are
139 enabled).
140 Regardless of the --operations option, sysprep operations are
142 skipped for some guest types.
143 Use --list-operations to list operations supported by a particular
145 version of virt-sysprep.
146 See "OPERATIONS" below for a list and an explanation of each
148 operation.
149 --echo-keys
151 When prompting for keys and passphrases, virt-sysprep normally
152 turns echoing off so you cannot see what you are typing. If you
153 are not worried about Tempest attacks and there is no one else in
154 the room you can specify this flag to see what you are typing.
155 --format raw|qcow2|..
157 --format auto
158 The default for the -a option is to auto-detect the format of the
159 disk image. Using this forces the disk format for -a options which
160 follow on the command line. Using --format auto switches back to
161 auto-detection for subsequent -a options.
162 For example:
164 virt-sysprep --format raw -a disk.img
166 forces raw format (no auto-detection) for disk.img.
168 virt-sysprep --format raw -a disk.img --format auto -a another.img
170 forces raw format (no auto-detection) for disk.img and reverts to
172 auto-detection for another.img.
173 If you have untrusted raw-format guest disk images, you should use
175 this option to specify the disk format. This avoids a possible
176 security problem with malicious guests (CVE-2010-3851).
177 --key SELECTOR
179 Specify a key for LUKS, to automatically open a LUKS device when
180 using the inspection. "ID" can be either the libguestfs device
181 name, or the UUID of the LUKS device.
182 --key "ID":key:KEY_STRING
184 Use the specified "KEY_STRING" as passphrase.
185 --key "ID":file:FILENAME
187 Read the passphrase from FILENAME.
188 --keys-from-stdin
190 Read key or passphrase parameters from stdin. The default is to
191 try to read passphrases from the user by opening /dev/tty.
192 --list-operations
194 List the operations supported by the virt-sysprep program.
195 These are listed one per line, with one or more single-space-
197 separated fields, eg:
198 $ virt-sysprep --list-operations
200 bash-history * Remove the bash history in the guest
201 cron-spool * Remove user at-jobs and cron-jobs
202 dhcp-client-state * Remove DHCP client leases
203 dhcp-server-state * Remove DHCP server leases
204 [etc]
205 The first field is the operation name, which can be supplied to
207 --enable. The second field is a "*" character if the operation is
208 enabled by default or blank if not. Subsequent fields on the same
209 line are the description of the operation.
210 Before libguestfs 1.17.33 only the first (operation name) field was
212 shown and all operations were enabled by default.
213 --mount-options mp:opts[;mp:opts;...]
215 Set the mount options used when libguestfs opens the disk image.
216 Note this has no effect on the guest. It is used when opening
217 certain guests such as ones using the UFS (BSD) filesystem.
218 Use a semicolon-separated list of "mountpoint:options" pairs. You
220 may need to quote this list to protect it from the shell.
221 For example:
223 --mount-options "/:noatime"
225 will mount the root directory with "notime". This example:
227 --mount-options "/:noatime;/var:rw,nodiratime"
229 will do the same, plus mount /var with "rw,nodiratime".
231 -q
233 --quiet
234 Don’t print log messages.
235 To enable detailed logging of individual file operations, use -x.
237 --network
239 --no-network
240 Enable or disable network access from the guest during the
241 installation.
242 In virt-sysprep, the network is disabled by default. You must use
244 --network to enable it, in order that options such as --install or
245 --update will work.
246 virt-builder(1) has more information about the security advantages
248 of disabling the network.
249 -v
251 --verbose
252 Enable verbose messages for debugging.
253 -V
255 --version
256 Display version number and exit.
257 -x Enable tracing of libguestfs API calls.
259 --append-line FILE:LINE (see "customize" below)
261 Append a single line of text to the "FILE". If the file does not
262 already end with a newline, then one is added before the appended
263 line. Also a newline is added to the end of the "LINE" string
264 automatically.
265 For example (assuming ordinary shell quoting) this command:
267 --append-line '/etc/hosts:10.0.0.1 foo'
269 will add either "10.0.0.1 foo⏎" or "⏎10.0.0.1 foo⏎" to the file,
271 the latter only if the existing file does not already end with a
272 newline.
273 "⏎" represents a newline character, which is guessed by looking at
275 the existing content of the file, so this command does the right
276 thing for files using Unix or Windows line endings. It also works
277 for empty or non-existent files.
278 To insert several lines, use the same option several times:
280 --append-line '/etc/hosts:10.0.0.1 foo'
282 --append-line '/etc/hosts:10.0.0.2 bar'
283 To insert a blank line before the appended line, do:
285 --append-line '/etc/hosts:'
287 --append-line '/etc/hosts:10.0.0.1 foo'
288 --chmod PERMISSIONS:FILE (see "customize" below)
290 Change the permissions of "FILE" to "PERMISSIONS".
291 Note: "PERMISSIONS" by default would be decimal, unless you prefix
293 it with 0 to get octal, ie. use 0700 not 700.
294 --commands-from-file FILENAME (see "customize" below)
296 Read the customize commands from a file, one (and its arguments)
297 each line.
298 Each line contains a single customization command and its
300 arguments, for example:
301 delete /some/file
303 install some-package
304 password some-user:password:its-new-password
305 Empty lines are ignored, and lines starting with "#" are comments
307 and are ignored as well. Furthermore, arguments can be spread
308 across multiple lines, by adding a "\" (continuation character) at
309 the of a line, for example
310 edit /some/file:\
312 s/^OPT=.*/OPT=ok/
313 The commands are handled in the same order as they are in the file,
315 as if they were specified as --delete /some/file on the command
316 line.
317 --copy SOURCE:DEST (see "customize" below)
319 Copy files or directories recursively inside the guest.
320 Wildcards cannot be used.
322 --copy-in LOCALPATH:REMOTEDIR (see "customize" below)
324 Copy local files or directories recursively into the disk image,
325 placing them in the directory "REMOTEDIR" (which must exist).
326 Wildcards cannot be used.
328 --delete PATH (see "customize" below)
330 Delete a file from the guest. Or delete a directory (and all its
331 contents, recursively).
332 You can use shell glob characters in the specified path. Be
334 careful to escape glob characters from the host shell, if that is
335 required. For example:
336 virt-customize --delete '/var/log/*.log'.
338 See also: --upload, --scrub.
340 --edit FILE:EXPR (see "customize" below)
342 Edit "FILE" using the Perl expression "EXPR".
343 Be careful to properly quote the expression to prevent it from
345 being altered by the shell.
346 Note that this option is only available when Perl 5 is installed.
348 See "NON-INTERACTIVE EDITING" in virt-edit(1).
350 --firstboot SCRIPT (see "customize" below)
352 Install "SCRIPT" inside the guest, so that when the guest first
353 boots up, the script runs (as root, late in the boot process).
354 The script is automatically chmod +x after installation in the
356 guest.
357 The alternative version --firstboot-command is the same, but it
359 conveniently wraps the command up in a single line script for you.
360 You can have multiple --firstboot options. They run in the same
362 order that they appear on the command line.
363 Please take a look at "FIRST BOOT SCRIPTS" in virt-builder(1) for
365 more information and caveats about the first boot scripts.
366 See also --run.
368 --firstboot-command 'CMD+ARGS' (see "customize" below)
370 Run command (and arguments) inside the guest when the guest first
371 boots up (as root, late in the boot process).
372 You can have multiple --firstboot options. They run in the same
374 order that they appear on the command line.
375 Please take a look at "FIRST BOOT SCRIPTS" in virt-builder(1) for
377 more information and caveats about the first boot scripts.
378 See also --run.
380 --firstboot-install PKG,PKG.. (see "customize" below)
382 Install the named packages (a comma-separated list). These are
383 installed when the guest first boots using the guest’s package
384 manager (eg. apt, yum, etc.) and the guest’s network connection.
385 For an overview on the different ways to install packages, see
387 "INSTALLING PACKAGES" in virt-builder(1).
388 --hostname HOSTNAME (see "customize" below)
390 Set the hostname of the guest to "HOSTNAME". You can use a dotted
391 hostname.domainname (FQDN) if you want.
392 --install PKG,PKG.. (see "customize" below)
394 Install the named packages (a comma-separated list). These are
395 installed during the image build using the guest’s package manager
396 (eg. apt, yum, etc.) and the host’s network connection.
397 For an overview on the different ways to install packages, see
399 "INSTALLING PACKAGES" in virt-builder(1).
400 See also --update, --uninstall.
402 --keep-user-accounts USERS (see "user-account" below)
404 The user accounts to be kept in the guest. The value of this
405 option is a list of user names separated by comma, where specifying
406 an user means it is going to be kept. For example:
407 --keep-user-accounts mary
409 would keep the user account "mary".
411 This option can be specified multiple times.
413 --link TARGET:LINK[:LINK..] (see "customize" below)
415 Create symbolic link(s) in the guest, starting at "LINK" and
416 pointing at "TARGET".
417 --mkdir DIR (see "customize" below)
419 Create a directory in the guest.
420 This uses "mkdir -p" so any intermediate directories are created,
422 and it also works if the directory already exists.
423 --move SOURCE:DEST (see "customize" below)
425 Move files or directories inside the guest.
426 Wildcards cannot be used.
428 --no-logfile (see "customize" below)
430 Scrub "builder.log" (log file from build commands) from the image
431 after building is complete. If you don't want to reveal precisely
432 how the image was built, use this option.
433 See also: "LOG FILE".
435 --password USER:SELECTOR (see "customize" below)
437 Set the password for "USER". (Note this option does not create the
438 user account).
439 See "USERS AND PASSWORDS" in virt-builder(1) for the format of the
441 "SELECTOR" field, and also how to set up user accounts.
442 --password-crypto md5|sha256|sha512 (see "customize" below)
444 When the virt tools change or set a password in the guest, this
445 option sets the password encryption of that password to "md5",
446 "sha256" or "sha512".
447 "sha256" and "sha512" require glibc ≥ 2.7 (check crypt(3) inside
449 the guest).
450 "md5" will work with relatively old Linux guests (eg. RHEL 3), but
452 is not secure against modern attacks.
453 The default is "sha512" unless libguestfs detects an old guest that
455 didn't have support for SHA-512, in which case it will use "md5".
456 You can override libguestfs by specifying this option.
457 Note this does not change the default password encryption used by
459 the guest when you create new user accounts inside the guest. If
460 you want to do that, then you should use the --edit option to
461 modify "/etc/sysconfig/authconfig" (Fedora, RHEL) or
462 "/etc/pam.d/common-password" (Debian, Ubuntu).
463 --remove-user-accounts USERS (see "user-account" below)
465 The user accounts to be removed from the guest. The value of this
466 option is a list of user names separated by comma, where specifying
467 an user means it is going to be removed. For example:
468 --remove-user-accounts bob,eve
470 would only remove the user accounts "bob" and "eve".
472 This option can be specified multiple times.
474 --root-password SELECTOR (see "customize" below)
476 Set the root password.
477 See "USERS AND PASSWORDS" in virt-builder(1) for the format of the
479 "SELECTOR" field, and also how to set up user accounts.
480 Note: In virt-builder, if you don't set --root-password then the
482 guest is given a random root password.
483 --run SCRIPT (see "customize" below)
485 Run the shell script (or any program) called "SCRIPT" on the disk
486 image. The script runs virtualized inside a small appliance,
487 chrooted into the guest filesystem.
488 The script is automatically chmod +x.
490 If libguestfs supports it then a limited network connection is
492 available but it only allows outgoing network connections. You can
493 also attach data disks (eg. ISO files) as another way to provide
494 data (eg. software packages) to the script without needing a
495 network connection (--attach). You can also upload data files
496 (--upload).
497 You can have multiple --run options. They run in the same order
499 that they appear on the command line.
500 See also: --firstboot, --attach, --upload.
502 --run-command 'CMD+ARGS' (see "customize" below)
504 Run the command and arguments on the disk image. The command runs
505 virtualized inside a small appliance, chrooted into the guest
506 filesystem.
507 If libguestfs supports it then a limited network connection is
509 available but it only allows outgoing network connections. You can
510 also attach data disks (eg. ISO files) as another way to provide
511 data (eg. software packages) to the script without needing a
512 network connection (--attach). You can also upload data files
513 (--upload).
514 You can have multiple --run-command options. They run in the same
516 order that they appear on the command line.
517 See also: --firstboot, --attach, --upload.
519 --script SCRIPT (see "script" below)
521 Run the named "SCRIPT" (a shell script or program) against the
522 guest. The script can be any program on the host. The script’s
523 current directory will be the guest’s root directory.
524 Note: If the script is not on the $PATH, then you must give the
526 full absolute path to the script.
527 --scriptdir SCRIPTDIR (see "script" below)
529 The mount point (an empty directory on the host) used when the
530 "script" operation is enabled and one or more scripts are specified
531 using --script parameter(s).
532 Note: "SCRIPTDIR" must be an absolute path.
534 If --scriptdir is not specified then a temporary mountpoint will be
536 created.
537 --scrub FILE (see "customize" below)
539 Scrub a file from the guest. This is like --delete except that:
540 · It scrubs the data so a guest could not recover it.
542 · It cannot delete directories, only regular files.
544 --selinux-relabel (see "customize" below)
546 Relabel files in the guest so that they have the correct SELinux
547 label.
548 This will attempt to relabel files immediately, but if the
550 operation fails this will instead touch /.autorelabel on the image
551 to schedule a relabel operation for the next time the image boots.
552 You should only use this option for guests which support SELinux.
554 --sm-attach SELECTOR (see "customize" below)
556 Attach to a pool using "subscription-manager".
557 See "SUBSCRIPTION-MANAGER" in virt-builder(1) for the format of the
559 "SELECTOR" field.
560 --sm-credentials SELECTOR (see "customize" below)
562 Set the credentials for "subscription-manager".
563 See "SUBSCRIPTION-MANAGER" in virt-builder(1) for the format of the
565 "SELECTOR" field.
566 --sm-register (see "customize" below)
568 Register the guest using "subscription-manager".
569 This requires credentials being set using --sm-credentials.
571 --sm-remove (see "customize" below)
573 Remove all the subscriptions from the guest using
574 "subscription-manager".
575 --sm-unregister (see "customize" below)
577 Unregister the guest using "subscription-manager".
578 --ssh-inject USER[:SELECTOR] (see "customize" below)
580 Inject an ssh key so the given "USER" will be able to log in over
581 ssh without supplying a password. The "USER" must exist already in
582 the guest.
583 See "SSH KEYS" in virt-builder(1) for the format of the "SELECTOR"
585 field.
586 You can have multiple --ssh-inject options, for different users and
588 also for more keys for each user.
589 --timezone TIMEZONE (see "customize" below)
591 Set the default timezone of the guest to "TIMEZONE". Use a
592 location string like "Europe/London"
593 --touch FILE (see "customize" below)
595 This command performs a touch(1)-like operation on "FILE".
596 --truncate FILE (see "customize" below)
598 This command truncates "FILE" to a zero-length file. The file must
599 exist already.
600 --truncate-recursive PATH (see "customize" below)
602 This command recursively truncates all files under "PATH" to zero-
603 length.
604 --uninstall PKG,PKG.. (see "customize" below)
606 Uninstall the named packages (a comma-separated list). These are
607 removed during the image build using the guest’s package manager
608 (eg. apt, yum, etc.). Dependent packages may also need to be
609 uninstalled to satisfy the request.
610 See also --install, --update.
612 --update (see "customize" below)
614 Do the equivalent of "yum update", "apt-get upgrade", or whatever
615 command is required to update the packages already installed in the
616 template to their latest versions.
617 See also --install, --uninstall.
619 --upload FILE:DEST (see "customize" below)
621 Upload local file "FILE" to destination "DEST" in the disk image.
622 File owner and permissions from the original are preserved, so you
623 should set them to what you want them to be in the disk image.
624 "DEST" could be the final filename. This can be used to rename the
626 file on upload.
627 If "DEST" is a directory name (which must already exist in the
629 guest) then the file is uploaded into that directory, and it keeps
630 the same name as on the local filesystem.
631 See also: --mkdir, --delete, --scrub.
633 --write FILE:CONTENT (see "customize" below)
635 Write "CONTENT" to "FILE".
636
638 If the --enable/--operations option is not given, then most sysprep
639 operations are enabled.
640 Use "virt-sysprep --list-operations" to list all operations for your
642 virt-sysprep binary. The ones which are enabled by default are marked
643 with a "*" character. Regardless of the --enable/--operations options,
644 sysprep operations are skipped for some guest types.
645 Operations can be individually enabled using the --enable/--operations
647 options. Use a comma-separated list, for example:
648 virt-sysprep --operations ssh-hostkeys,udev-persistent-net [etc..]
650 Future versions of virt-sysprep may add more operations. If you are
652 using virt-sysprep and want predictable behaviour, specify only the
653 operations that you want to have enabled.
654 "*" = enabled by default when no --enable/--operations option is given.
656 abrt-data *
658 Remove the crash data generated by ABRT.
659 Remove the automatically generated ABRT crash data in
661 "/var/spool/abrt/".
662 backup-files *
664 Remove editor backup files from the guest.
665 The following files are removed from anywhere in the guest filesystem:
667 · *.bak
669 · *~
671 On Linux and Unix operating systems, only the following filesystems
673 will be examined:
674 · /etc
676 · /root
678 · /srv
680 · /tmp
682 · /var
684 bash-history *
686 Remove the bash history in the guest.
687 Remove the bash history of user "root" and any other users who have a
689 ".bash_history" file in their home directory.
690 Notes on bash-history
692 Currently this only looks in "/root" and "/home/*" for home
694 directories, so users with home directories in other locations won't
695 have the bash history removed.
696 blkid-tab *
698 Remove blkid tab in the guest.
699 ca-certificates
701 Remove CA certificates in the guest.
702 crash-data *
704 Remove the crash data generated by kexec-tools.
705 Remove the automatically generated kdump kernel crash data.
707 cron-spool *
709 Remove user at-jobs and cron-jobs.
710 customize *
712 Customize the guest.
713 Customize the guest by providing virt-customize(1) options for
715 installing packages, editing files and so on.
716 dhcp-client-state *
718 Remove DHCP client leases.
719 dhcp-server-state *
721 Remove DHCP server leases.
722 dovecot-data *
724 Remove Dovecot (mail server) data.
725 firewall-rules
727 Remove the firewall rules.
728 This removes custom firewall rules by removing
730 "/etc/sysconfig/iptables" or custom firewalld configuration in
731 "/etc/firewalld/*/*".
732 Note this is not enabled by default since it may expose guests to
734 exploits. Use with care.
735 flag-reconfiguration
737 Flag the system for reconfiguration.
738 For Linux guests, this touches "/.unconfigured", which causes the first
740 boot to interactively query the user for settings such as the root
741 password and timezone.
742 fs-uuids
744 Change filesystem UUIDs.
745 On guests and filesystem types where this is supported, new random
747 UUIDs are generated and assigned to filesystems.
748 Notes on fs-uuids
750 The fs-uuids operation is disabled by default because it does not yet
752 find and update all the places in the guest that use the UUIDs. For
753 example "/etc/fstab" or the bootloader. Enabling this operation is
754 more likely than not to make your guest unbootable.
755 See: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=991641
757 kerberos-data
759 Remove Kerberos data in the guest.
760 logfiles *
762 Remove many log files from the guest.
763 On Linux the following files are removed:
765 · /etc/Pegasus/*.cnf
767 · /etc/Pegasus/*.crt
769 · /etc/Pegasus/*.csr
771 · /etc/Pegasus/*.pem
773 · /etc/Pegasus/*.srl
775 · /root/anaconda-ks.cfg
777 · /root/anaconda-post.log
779 · /root/initial-setup-ks.cfg
781 · /root/install.log
783 · /root/install.log.syslog
785 · /root/original-ks.cfg
787 · /var/cache/fontconfig/*
789 · /var/cache/gdm/*
791 · /var/cache/man/*
793 · /var/lib/AccountService/users/*
795 · /var/lib/fprint/*
797 · /var/lib/logrotate.status
799 · /var/log/*.log*
801 · /var/log/BackupPC/LOG
803 · /var/log/ConsoleKit/*
805 · /var/log/anaconda.syslog
807 · /var/log/anaconda/*
809 · /var/log/apache2/*_log
811 · /var/log/apache2/*_log-*
813 · /var/log/apt/*
815 · /var/log/aptitude*
817 · /var/log/audit/*
819 · /var/log/btmp*
821 · /var/log/ceph/*.log
823 · /var/log/chrony/*.log
825 · /var/log/cron*
827 · /var/log/cups/*_log*
829 · /var/log/debug*
831 · /var/log/dmesg*
833 · /var/log/exim4/*
835 · /var/log/faillog*
837 · /var/log/firewalld*
839 · /var/log/gdm/*
841 · /var/log/glusterfs/*glusterd.vol.log
843 · /var/log/glusterfs/glusterfs.log
845 · /var/log/grubby*
847 · /var/log/httpd/*log
849 · /var/log/installer/*
851 · /var/log/jetty/jetty-console.log
853 · /var/log/journal/*
855 · /var/log/lastlog*
857 · /var/log/libvirt/libvirtd.log
859 · /var/log/libvirt/libxl/*.log
861 · /var/log/libvirt/lxc/*.log
863 · /var/log/libvirt/qemu/*.log
865 · /var/log/libvirt/uml/*.log
867 · /var/log/lightdm/*
869 · /var/log/mail/*
871 · /var/log/maillog*
873 · /var/log/messages*
875 · /var/log/ntp
877 · /var/log/ntpstats/*
879 · /var/log/ppp/connect-errors
881 · /var/log/rhsm/*
883 · /var/log/sa/*
885 · /var/log/secure*
887 · /var/log/setroubleshoot/*.log
889 · /var/log/spooler*
891 · /var/log/squid/*.log
893 · /var/log/syslog*
895 · /var/log/tallylog*
897 · /var/log/tuned/tuned.log
899 · /var/log/wtmp*
901 · /var/log/xferlog*
903 · /var/named/data/named.run
905 lvm-uuids *
907 Change LVM2 PV and VG UUIDs.
908 On Linux guests that have LVM2 physical volumes (PVs) or volume groups
910 (VGs), new random UUIDs are generated and assigned to those PVs and
911 VGs.
912 machine-id *
914 Remove the local machine ID.
915 The machine ID is usually generated from a random source during system
917 installation and stays constant for all subsequent boots. Optionally,
918 for stateless systems it is generated during runtime at boot if it is
919 found to be empty.
920 mail-spool *
922 Remove email from the local mail spool directory.
923 net-hostname *
925 Remove HOSTNAME and DHCP_HOSTNAME in network interface configuration.
926 For Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, this is removed from "ifcfg-*"
928 files.
929 net-hwaddr *
931 Remove HWADDR (hard-coded MAC address) configuration.
932 For Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, this is removed from "ifcfg-*"
934 files.
935 pacct-log *
937 Remove the process accounting log files.
938 The system wide process accounting will store to the pacct log files if
940 the process accounting is on.
941 package-manager-cache *
943 Remove package manager cache.
944 pam-data *
946 Remove the PAM data in the guest.
947 passwd-backups *
949 Remove /etc/passwd- and similar backup files.
950 On Linux the following files are removed:
952 · /etc/group-
954 · /etc/gshadow-
956 · /etc/passwd-
958 · /etc/shadow-
960 · /etc/subgid-
962 · /etc/subuid-
964 puppet-data-log *
966 Remove the data and log files of puppet.
967 rh-subscription-manager *
969 Remove the RH subscription manager files.
970 rhn-systemid *
972 Remove the RHN system ID.
973 rpm-db *
975 Remove host-specific RPM database files.
976 Remove host-specific RPM database files and locks. RPM will recreate
978 these files automatically if needed.
979 samba-db-log *
981 Remove the database and log files of Samba.
982 script *
984 Run arbitrary scripts against the guest.
985 The "script" module lets you run arbitrary shell scripts or programs
987 against the guest.
988 Note this feature requires FUSE support. You may have to enable this
990 in your host, for example by adding the current user to the "fuse"
991 group, or by loading a kernel module.
992 Use one or more --script parameters to specify scripts or programs that
994 will be run against the guest.
995 The script or program is run with its current directory being the
997 guest’s root directory, so relative paths should be used. For example:
998 "rm etc/resolv.conf" in the script would remove a Linux guest’s DNS
999 configuration file, but "rm /etc/resolv.conf" would (try to) remove the
1000 host’s file.
1001 Normally a temporary mount point for the guest is used, but you can
1003 choose a specific one by using the --scriptdir parameter.
1004 Note: This is different from --firstboot scripts (which run in the
1006 context of the guest when it is booting first time). --script scripts
1007 run on the host, not in the guest.
1008 smolt-uuid *
1010 Remove the Smolt hardware UUID.
1011 ssh-hostkeys *
1013 Remove the SSH host keys in the guest.
1014 The SSH host keys are regenerated (differently) next time the guest is
1016 booted.
1017 If, after cloning, the guest gets the same IP address, ssh will give
1019 you a stark warning about the host key changing:
1020 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
1022 @ WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED! @
1023 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
1024 IT IS POSSIBLE THAT SOMEONE IS DOING SOMETHING NASTY!
1025 ssh-userdir *
1027 Remove ".ssh" directories in the guest.
1028 Remove the ".ssh" directory of user "root" and any other users who have
1030 a ".ssh" directory in their home directory.
1031 Notes on ssh-userdir
1033 Currently this only looks in "/root" and "/home/*" for home
1035 directories, so users with home directories in other locations won't
1036 have the ssh files removed.
1037 sssd-db-log *
1039 Remove the database and log files of sssd.
1040 tmp-files *
1042 Remove temporary files.
1043 This removes temporary files under "/tmp" and "/var/tmp".
1045 udev-persistent-net *
1047 Remove udev persistent net rules.
1048 Remove udev persistent net rules which map the guest’s existing MAC
1050 address to a fixed ethernet device (eg. eth0).
1051 After a guest is cloned, the MAC address usually changes. Since the
1053 old MAC address occupies the old name (eg. eth0), this means the fresh
1054 MAC address is assigned to a new name (eg. eth1) and this is usually
1055 undesirable. Erasing the udev persistent net rules avoids this.
1056 user-account
1058 Remove the user accounts in the guest.
1059 By default remove all the user accounts and their home directories.
1061 The "root" account is not removed.
1062 See the --remove-user-accounts parameter for a way to specify how to
1064 remove only some users, or to not remove some others.
1065 utmp *
1067 Remove the utmp file.
1068 This file records who is currently logged in on a machine. In modern
1070 Linux distros it is stored in a ramdisk and hence not part of the
1071 virtual machine’s disk, but it was stored on disk in older distros.
1072 yum-uuid *
1074 Remove the yum UUID.
1075 Yum creates a fresh UUID the next time it runs when it notices that the
1077 original UUID has been erased.
1078
1080 Virt-sysprep can be used as part of a process of cloning guests, or to
1081 prepare a template from which guests can be cloned. There are many
1082 different ways to achieve this using the virt tools, and this section
1083 is just an introduction.
1084 A virtual machine (when switched off) consists of two parts:
1086 configuration
1088 The configuration or description of the guest. eg. The libvirt XML
1089 (see "virsh dumpxml"), the running configuration of the guest, or
1090 another external format like OVF.
1091 Some configuration items that might need to be changed:
1093 · name
1095 · UUID
1097 · path to block device(s)
1099 · network card MAC address
1101 block device(s)
1103 One or more hard disk images, themselves containing files,
1104 directories, applications, kernels, configuration, etc.
1105 Some things inside the block devices that might need to be changed:
1107 · hostname and other net configuration
1109 · UUID
1111 · SSH host keys
1113 · Windows unique security ID (SID)
1115 · Puppet registration
1117 COPYING THE BLOCK DEVICE
1119 Starting with an original guest, you probably wish to copy the guest
1120 block device and its configuration to make a template. Then once you
1121 are happy with the template, you will want to make many clones from it.
1122 virt-sysprep
1124 |
1125 v
1126 original guest --------> template ---------->
1127 \------> cloned
1128 \-----> guests
1129 \---->
1130 You can, of course, just copy the block device on the host using cp(1)
1132 or dd(1).
1133 dd dd
1135 original guest --------> template ---------->
1136 \------> cloned
1137 \-----> guests
1138 \---->
1139 There are some smarter (and faster) ways too:
1141 snapshot
1143 template ---------->
1144 \------> cloned
1145 \-----> guests
1146 \---->
1147 You may want to run virt-sysprep twice, once to reset the guest (to
1149 make a template) and a second time to customize the guest for a
1150 specific user:
1151 virt-sysprep virt-sysprep
1153 (reset) (add user, keys, logos)
1154 | |
1155 dd v dd v
1156 original guest ----> template ---------> copied ------> custom
1157 template guest
1158 · Create a snapshot using qemu-img:
1160 qemu-img create -f qcow2 -o backing_file=original snapshot.qcow
1162 The advantage is that you don’t need to copy the original (very
1164 fast) and only changes are stored (less storage required).
1165 Note that writing to the backing file once you have created guests
1167 on top of it is not possible: you will corrupt the guests.
1168 · Create a snapshot using "lvcreate --snapshot".
1170 · Other ways to create snapshots include using filesystems-level
1172 tools (for filesystems such as btrfs).
1173 Most Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices can also create cheap
1175 snapshots from files or LUNs.
1176 · Get your NAS to duplicate the LUN. Most NAS devices can also
1178 duplicate LUNs very cheaply (they copy them on-demand in the
1179 background).
1180 · Prepare your template using virt-sparsify(1). See below.
1182 VIRT-CLONE
1184 A separate tool, virt-clone(1), can be used to duplicate the block
1185 device and/or modify the external libvirt configuration of a guest. It
1186 will reset the name, UUID and MAC address of the guest in the libvirt
1187 XML.
1188 virt-clone(1) does not use libguestfs and cannot look inside the disk
1190 image. This was the original motivation to write virt-sysprep.
1191 SPARSIFY
1193 virt-sparsify
1194 original guest --------> template
1195 virt-sparsify(1) can be used to make the cloning template smaller,
1197 making it easier to compress and/or faster to copy.
1198 Notice that since virt-sparsify also copies the image, you can use it
1200 to make the initial copy (instead of "dd").
1201 RESIZE
1203 virt-resize
1204 template ---------->
1205 \------> cloned
1206 \-----> guests
1207 \---->
1208 If you want to give people cloned guests, but let them pick the size of
1210 the guest themselves (eg. depending on how much they are prepared to
1211 pay for disk space), then instead of copying the template, you can run
1212 virt-resize(1). Virt-resize performs a copy and resize, and thus is
1213 ideal for cloning guests from a template.
1214
1216 The two options --firstboot and --script both supply shell scripts that
1217 are run against the guest. However these two options are significantly
1218 different.
1219 --firstboot script uploads the file "script" into the guest and
1221 arranges that it will run, in the guest, when the guest is next booted.
1222 (The script will only run once, at the "first boot").
1223 --script script runs the shell "script" on the host, with its current
1225 directory inside the guest filesystem.
1226 If you needed, for example, to "yum install" new packages, then you
1228 must not use --script for this, since that would (a) run the "yum"
1229 command on the host and (b) wouldn't have access to the same resources
1230 (repositories, keys, etc.) as the guest. Any command that needs to run
1231 on the guest must be run via --firstboot.
1232 On the other hand if you need to make adjustments to the guest
1234 filesystem (eg. copying in files), then --script is ideal since (a) it
1235 has access to the host filesystem and (b) you will get immediate
1236 feedback on errors.
1237 Either or both options can be used multiple times on the command line.
1239
1241 Although virt-sysprep removes some sensitive information from the
1242 guest, it does not pretend to remove all of it. You should examine the
1243 "OPERATIONS" above and the guest afterwards.
1244 Sensitive files are simply removed. The data they contained may still
1246 exist on the disk, easily recovered with a hex editor or undelete tool.
1247 The --scrub option can be used to scrub files instead of just deleting
1248 them. virt-sparsify(1) is another way to remove this content. See
1249 also the scrub(1) command to get rid of deleted content in directory
1250 entries and inodes.
1251 RANDOM SEED
1253 (This section applies to Linux guests only)
1254 For supported guests, virt-sysprep writes a few bytes of randomness
1256 from the host into the guest’s random seed file.
1257 If this is just done once and the guest is cloned from the same
1259 template, then each guest will start with the same entropy, and things
1260 like SSH host keys and TCP sequence numbers may be predictable.
1261 Therefore you should arrange to add more randomness after cloning from
1263 a template too, which can be done by enabling just the customize
1264 module:
1265 cp template.img newguest.img
1267 virt-sysprep --enable customize -a newguest.img
1268
1270 For guests which make use of SELinux, special handling for them might
1271 be needed when using operations which create new files or alter
1272 existing ones.
1273 For further details, see "SELINUX" in virt-builder(1).
1275
1277 Windows 8 "fast startup" can prevent virt-sysprep from working. See
1278 "WINDOWS HIBERNATION AND WINDOWS 8 FAST STARTUP" in guestfs(3).
1279
1281 This program returns 0 on success, or 1 if there was an error.
1282
1284 "VIRT_TOOLS_DATA_DIR"
1285 This can point to the directory containing data files used for
1286 Windows firstboot installation.
1287 Normally you do not need to set this. If not set, a compiled-in
1289 default will be used (something like /usr/share/virt-tools).
1290 This directory may contain the following files:
1292 rhsrvany.exe
1294 This is the RHSrvAny Windows binary, used to install a
1295 "firstboot" script in Windows guests. It is required if you
1296 intend to use the --firstboot or --firstboot-command options
1297 with Windows guests.
1298 See also: "https://github.com/rwmjones/rhsrvany"
1300 pvvxsvc.exe
1302 This is a Windows binary shipped with SUSE VMDP, used to
1303 install a "firstboot" script in Windows guests. It is required
1304 if you intend to use the --firstboot or --firstboot-command
1305 options with Windows guests.
1306 For other environment variables, see "ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES" in
1308 guestfs(3).
1309
1311 guestfs(3), guestfish(1), virt-builder(1), virt-clone(1),
1312 virt-customize(1), virt-rescue(1), virt-resize(1), virt-sparsify(1),
1313 virsh(1), lvcreate(8), qemu-img(1), scrub(1), http://libguestfs.org/,
1314 http://libvirt.org/.
1315
1317 Richard W.M. Jones http://people.redhat.com/~rjones/
1318 Wanlong Gao, Fujitsu Ltd.
1320
1322 Copyright (C) 2011-2020 Red Hat Inc.
1323 Copyright (C) 2012 Fujitsu Ltd.
1325
1327 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
1328 under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
1329 Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your
1330 option) any later version.
1331 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
1333 WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
1334 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
1335 General Public License for more details.
1336 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
1338 with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
1339 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
1340
1342 To get a list of bugs against libguestfs, use this link:
1343 https://bugzilla.redhat.com/buglist.cgi?component=libguestfs&product=Virtualization+Tools
1344 To report a new bug against libguestfs, use this link:
1346 https://bugzilla.redhat.com/enter_bug.cgi?component=libguestfs&product=Virtualization+Tools
1347 When reporting a bug, please supply:
1349 · The version of libguestfs.
1351 · Where you got libguestfs (eg. which Linux distro, compiled from
1353 source, etc)
1354 · Describe the bug accurately and give a way to reproduce it.
1356 · Run libguestfs-test-tool(1) and paste the complete, unedited output
1358 into the bug report.
1359libguestfs-1.42.0 2020-03-09 virt-sysprep(1)