Installing in a libvirt virtual machine¶

IncusOS can be easily installed in a libvirt virtual machine.

Get install media¶

Follow the instructions to get an IncusOS image. This document will assume an ISO image is used.

Create a new virtual machine¶

Create a new virtual machine.

virt-install -n IncusOS \
    --os-variant=debian13 \
    --ram=4096 \
    --vcpus=1 \
    --disk path=/var/lib/libvirt/images/IncusOS.qcow2,bus=sata,size=50 \
    --cdrom /home/gibmat/Downloads/IncusOS_202511070055.iso \
    --tpm backend.type=emulator,backend.version=2.0,model=tpm-crb \
    --boot loader=/usr/share/OVMF/OVMF_CODE_4M.secboot.fd,loader_ro=yes,loader_type=pflash,nvram_template=/usr/share/OVMF/OVMF_VARS_4M.fd

Create a new virtual machine. Set the operating system to “Debian 13”.

libvirt VM configuring ISO

Before we can start the virtual machine, some additional configuration is required.

libvirt VM configuring customize

Select the OVMF_CODE_4M.secboot.fd UEFI firmware.

libvirt VM configuring Secure Boot

Change the main virtual disk bus to SATA.

libvirt VM configuring virtual disk

Add a TPM device.

libvirt VM configuring TPM

Secure Boot and TPM configuration¶

IncusOS depends on Secure Boot and a TPM. When configuring the virtual machine, make the following selections:

Select the OVMF_CODE_4M.secboot.fd UEFI firmware option
Add a virtual TPM 2.0 device

CPU, memory, network, and local storage¶

Configure the CPU and memory for the virtual machine as desired and add at least one network interface.

Remember that the main system drive must be at least 50GiB or larger.

IncusOS installation¶

virt-install will automatically start the virtual machine, which will load the necessary Secure Boot keys from the install media and reboot. libvirt ejects the CDROM after rebooting the virtual machine, but we need to re-attach it so the install can begin.

libvirt VM no install media

Re-attach the CDROM image and reset the virtual machine to begin the installation.

virsh attach-disk IncusOS /home/gibmat/Downloads/IncusOS_202511070055.iso sdb --type=cdrom
virsh reset IncusOS

libvirt VM installing IncusOS

Upon completion of the install, remove the CDROM device and reset the virtual machine.

virsh change-media IncusOS sdb --eject
virsh reset IncusOS

libvirt VM installation complete

IncusOS is ready for use¶

Once the virtual machine starts, IncusOS will perform its first boot configuration.

libvirt VM running IncusOS

Once complete, follow the instructions for accessing the system.