How to import physical or virtual machines to LXD instances

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If you have an existing machine, either physical or virtual (VM or container), you can use the lxd-migrate tool to create a LXD instance based on your existing disk or image.

The tool copies the provided partition, disk or image to the LXD storage pool of the provided LXD server, sets up an instance using that storage and allows you to configure additional settings for the new instance.

Note

If you want to configure your new instance during the migration process, set up the entities that you want your instance to use before starting the migration process.

By default, the new instance will use the entities specified in the default profile. You can specify a different profile (or a profile list) to customize the configuration. See How to use profiles for more information. You can also override Instance options, the storage pool to be used and the size for the storage volume, and the network to be used.

Alternatively, you can update the instance configuration after the migration is complete.

The tool can create both containers and virtual machines:

  • When creating a container, you must provide a disk or partition that contains the root file system for the container. For example, this could be the / root disk of the machine or container where you are running the tool.

  • When creating a virtual machine, you must provide a bootable disk, partition, or an image in raw, QCOW, QCOW2, VDI, VHDX, or VMDK format. This means that just providing a file system is not sufficient, and you cannot create a virtual machine from a container that you are running. It is also not possible to create a virtual machine from the physical machine that you are using to do the migration, because the migration tool would be using the disk that it is copying. Instead, you could provide a bootable image, or a bootable partition or disk that is currently not in use.

The tool can also inject the required VIRTIO drivers into the image:

  • To convert the image into raw format and inject the VIRTIO drivers during the conversion, use the following command:

    lxd-migrate --conversion=format,virtio

    Note

    The conversion option virtio requires virt-v2v-in-place to be installed on the host where the LXD server runs.

  • For converting Windows images from a foreign hypervisor (not from QEMU/KVM with Q35/virtio-scsi), you must install additional drivers on the host:

    • /usr/share/virtio-win/virtio-win.iso

      Download virtio-win.iso.

    • /usr/share/virt-tools/rhsrvany.exe

    • /usr/share/virt-tools/pnp_wait.exe

      rhsrvany.exe and pnp_wait.exe are provided in Ubuntu 24.04 and later in the rhsrvany package. For other OS versions, download rhsrvany.exe and pnp_wait.exe.

    Tip

    The lxd-migrate command with the --conversion=format,virtio option automatically converts the image and injects the VIRTIO drivers during the conversion. However, if you want to manually convert a Windows VM from a foreign hypervisor, you must install both the required Windows drivers (as described above) and virt-v2v (>= 2.3.4).

    Expand to see how to convert your Windows VM using virt-v2v

    Use virt-v2v to convert Windows image into raw format and include the required drivers. The resulting image is suitable for use with lxd-migrate.

    # Example 1. Convert a VMDK image to a raw image
sudo virt-v2v --block-driver virtio-scsi -o local -of raw -os ./os -i disk -if vmdk test-vm-disk.vmdk

# Example 2. Convert a QEMU/KVM qcow2 image to a raw image
sudo virt-v2v --block-driver virtio-scsi -o local -of raw -os ./os -i disk -if qcow2 test-vm-disk.qcow2

# Example 3. Convert a VMX image to a raw image
sudo virt-v2v --block-driver virtio-scsi -o local -of raw -os ./os -i vmx ./test-vm.vmx

    You can find the resulting image in the os directory and use it with lxd-migrate on the next steps. In addition, when migrating already converted images, lxd-migrate conversion options are not necessary.

Interactive instance import

Complete the following steps to migrate an existing machine to a LXD instance:

  1. Download the bin.linux.lxd-migrate tool (bin.linux.lxd-migrate.aarch64 or bin.linux.lxd-migrate.x86_64) from the Assets section of the latest LXD release.

  2. Place the tool on the machine that you want to use to create the instance. Make it executable (usually by running chmod u+x bin.linux.lxd-migrate).

  3. Make sure that the machine has rsync installed. If it is missing, install it (for example, with sudo apt install rsync).

  4. Run the tool:

    sudo ./bin.linux.lxd-migrate

    The tool then asks you to provide the information required for the migration.

    1. Specify the LXD server URL, either as an IP address or as a DNS name.

      Note

      The LXD server must be exposed to the network. If you want to import to a local LXD server, you must still expose it to the network. You can then specify 127.0.0.1 as the IP address to access the local server.

    2. Check and confirm the certificate fingerprint.

    3. Choose a method for authentication (see Remote API authentication).

      For example, if you choose using a certificate token, log on to the LXD server and create a token for the machine on which you are running the migration tool with lxc config trust add. Then use the generated token to authenticate the tool.

    4. Choose whether to create a container or a virtual machine. See Containers and VMs.

    5. Specify a name for the instance that you are creating.

    6. Provide the path to a root file system (for containers) or a bootable disk, partition or image file (for virtual machines).

    7. For containers, optionally add additional file system mounts.

    8. For virtual machines, specify whether secure boot is supported.

    9. Optionally, configure the new instance. You can do so by specifying profiles, directly setting configuration options or changing storage or network settings.

      Alternatively, you can configure the new instance after the migration.

    10. When you are done with the configuration, start the migration process.

    Expand to see an example output for importing to a container
    user@host:~$ sudo ./bin.linux.lxd-migrate
    Please provide LXD server URL: https://192.0.2.7:8443Certificate fingerprint: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxok (y/n)? y 1) Use a certificate token2) Use an existing TLS authentication certificate3) Generate a temporary TLS authentication certificatePlease pick an authentication mechanism above: 1Please provide the certificate token: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Remote LXD server:  Hostname: bar  Version: 5.4 Would you like to create a container (1) or virtual-machine (2)?: 1Name of the new instance: fooPlease provide the path to a root filesystem: /Do you want to add additional filesystem mounts? [default=no]: Instance to be created:  Name: foo  Project: default  Type: container  Source: / Additional overrides can be applied at this stage:1) Begin the migration with the above configuration2) Override profile list3) Set additional configuration options4) Change instance storage pool or volume size5) Change instance network Please pick one of the options above [default=1]: 3Please specify config keys and values (key=value ...): limits.cpu=2 Instance to be created:  Name: foo  Project: default  Type: container  Source: /  Config:    limits.cpu: "2" Additional overrides can be applied at this stage:1) Begin the migration with the above configuration2) Override profile list3) Set additional configuration options4) Change instance storage pool or volume size5) Change instance network Please pick one of the options above [default=1]: 4Please provide the storage pool to use: defaultDo you want to change the storage volume size? [default=no]: yesPlease specify the storage volume size: 20GiB Instance to be created:  Name: foo  Project: default  Type: container  Source: /  Storage pool: default  Storage volume size: 20GiB  Config:    limits.cpu: "2" Additional overrides can be applied at this stage:1) Begin the migration with the above configuration2) Override profile list3) Set additional configuration options4) Change instance storage pool or volume size5) Change instance network Please pick one of the options above [default=1]: 5Please specify the network to use for the instance: lxdbr0 Instance to be created:  Name: foo  Project: default  Type: container  Source: /  Storage pool: default  Storage volume size: 20GiB  Network name: lxdbr0  Config:    limits.cpu: "2" Additional overrides can be applied at this stage:1) Begin the migration with the above configuration2) Override profile list3) Set additional configuration options4) Change instance storage pool or volume size5) Change instance network Please pick one of the options above [default=1]: 1Instance foo successfully created
    Expand to see an example output for importing to a VM
    user@host:~$ sudo ./bin.linux.lxd-migrate
    Please provide LXD server URL: https://192.0.2.7:8443Certificate fingerprint: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxok (y/n)? y 1) Use a certificate token2) Use an existing TLS authentication certificate3) Generate a temporary TLS authentication certificatePlease pick an authentication mechanism above: 1Please provide the certificate token: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Remote LXD server:  Hostname: bar  Version: 5.4 Would you like to create a container (1) or virtual-machine (2)?: 2Name of the new instance: fooPlease provide the path to a root filesystem: ./virtual-machine.imgDoes the VM support UEFI Secure Boot? [default=no]: no Instance to be created:  Name: foo  Project: default  Type: virtual-machine  Source: ./virtual-machine.img  Config:    security.secureboot: "false" Additional overrides can be applied at this stage:1) Begin the migration with the above configuration2) Override profile list3) Set additional configuration options4) Change instance storage pool or volume size5) Change instance network Please pick one of the options above [default=1]: 3Please specify config keys and values (key=value ...): limits.cpu=2 Instance to be created:  Name: foo  Project: default  Type: virtual-machine  Source: ./virtual-machine.img  Config:    limits.cpu: "2"    security.secureboot: "false" Additional overrides can be applied at this stage:1) Begin the migration with the above configuration2) Override profile list3) Set additional configuration options4) Change instance storage pool or volume size5) Change instance network Please pick one of the options above [default=1]: 4Please provide the storage pool to use: defaultDo you want to change the storage volume size? [default=no]: yesPlease specify the storage volume size: 20GiB Instance to be created:  Name: foo  Project: default  Type: virtual-machine  Source: ./virtual-machine.img  Storage pool: default  Storage volume size: 20GiB  Config:    limits.cpu: "2"    security.secureboot: "false" Additional overrides can be applied at this stage:1) Begin the migration with the above configuration2) Override profile list3) Set additional configuration options4) Change instance storage pool or volume size5) Change instance network Please pick one of the options above [default=1]: 5Please specify the network to use for the instance: lxdbr0 Instance to be created:  Name: foo  Project: default  Type: virtual-machine  Source: ./virtual-machine.img  Storage pool: default  Storage volume size: 20GiB  Network name: lxdbr0  Config:    limits.cpu: "2"    security.secureboot: "false" Additional overrides can be applied at this stage:1) Begin the migration with the above configuration2) Override profile list3) Set additional configuration options4) Change instance storage pool or volume size5) Change instance network Please pick one of the options above [default=1]: 1Instance foo successfully created

  5. When the migration is complete, check the new instance and update its configuration to the new environment. Typically, you must update at least the storage configuration (/etc/fstab) and the network configuration.

Non-interactive instance import

Alternatively, the entire instance import configuration can be provided using lxd-migrate flags. If any required flag is missing, lxd-migrate will interactively prompt for the missing value. However, when the --non-interactive flag is used, an error is returned instead.

Note that if any flag contains an invalid value, an error is returned regardless of the mode (interactive or non-interactive).

The lxd-migrate command supports the following flags that can be used in non-interactive migration:

Instance configuration:
  -c, --config               Config key/value to apply to the new instance
      --mount-path           Additional container mount paths
      --name                 Name of the new instance
      --network              Network name
      --no-profiles          Create the instance with no profiles applied
      --profiles             Profiles to apply on the new instance (default [default])
      --project              Project name
      --source               Path to the root filesystem for containers, or to the block device or disk image file for virtual machines
      --storage              Storage pool name
      --storage-size         Size of the instance's storage volume
      --type                 Type of the instance to create (container or vm)

Target server:
      --server               Unix or HTTPS URL of the target server
      --token                Authentication token for HTTPS remote
      --cert-path            Trusted certificate path
      --key-path             Trusted certificate path

Other:
      --conversion strings   Comma-separated list of conversion options to apply. Allowed values are: [format, virtio] (default [format])
      --non-interactive      Prevent further interaction if migration questions are incomplete
      --rsync-args           Extra arguments to pass to rsync

Example VM import to local LXD server:

lxd-migrate \
  --name v1 \
  --type vm \
  --source "${sourcePath}" \
  --non-interactive

Example VM import to remote HTTPS server:

# Token from remote server.
token=$(lxc config trust add --name lxd-migrate --quiet)

lxd-migrate \
  --server https://example.com:8443 \
  --token "$token" \
  --name v1 \
  --type vm \
  --source "${sourcePath}" \
  --non-interactive

Example VM import with secure boot disabled and custom resource limits:

lxd-migrate \
  --name v1 \
  --type vm \
  --source "${sourcePath}" \
  --config security.secureboot=false \
  --config limits.cpu=4 \
  --config limits.memory=4GiB \
  --non-interactive