Starting a Linux instance
Run limactl start <INSTANCE> to create and start the first instance.
The <INSTANCE> name defaults to “default”.
$ limactl start
? Creating an instance "default" [Use arrows to move, type to filter]
> Proceed with the current configuration
Open an editor to review or modify the current configuration
Choose another template (docker, podman, archlinux, fedora, ...)
Exit
...
INFO[0029] READY. Run `lima` to open the shell.
Choose Proceed with the current configuration, and wait until “READY” to be printed on the host terminal.
For automation, --tty=false flag can be used for disabling the interactive user interface.
Customization
To create an instance “default” from a template “docker”:
limactl create --name=default template:docker
limactl start default
See also the command reference:
Executing Linux commands
Run limactl shell <INSTANCE> <COMMAND> to launch <COMMAND> on the VM:
limactl shell default uname -a
See also the command reference:
For the “default” instance, this command can be shortened as lima <COMMAND>.
lima uname -a
The lima command also accepts the instance name as the environment variable $LIMA_INSTANCE.
Home directory
The host home directory is mounted as read-only on the following path by default:
/Users/${USER}(on macOS hosts)/home/${USER}(on other hosts)
To make the host mount writable, run limactl start with --mount-writable.
To disable the mount, limactl start with --mount-none or --plain.
The guest home directory exists independently on the following path:
/Users/${USER}.guest(on macOS guests)/home/${USER}.guest(on other guests, since Lima v2.1)/home/${USER}.linux(prior to Lima v2.1)
Shell completion
- To enable bash completion, add
source <(limactl completion bash)to~/.bash_profile. - To enable zsh completion, see
limactl completion zsh --help