Vaark is...

Vaark uses QEMU to support x86_64 guests on x86_64 hosts. Vaark is currently being ported so it will also support aarch64 guests on aarch64 hosts.

Quick Install

Paste this command into a terminal prompt on Mac or Linux*:

source /dev/stdin <<< "$(curl -fsSL https://vaark.org/dist/vaark-install)"

    * on Linux, you might need to install curl first.

The installer will alert you about any dependencies.

See Installing Vaark And Dependencies for further details.

Quick Start 1 — Just a VM, please

  1. Make a minimal clone of any popular linux distribution. Let’s call it “bessie
    vrk-vm-clone debian-netinst-11 bessie
    (Your choices are:)
    • debian-netinst-11
    • debian-netinst-12
    • ubuntu-server-20
    • ubuntu-server-22
    • almalinux-minimal-8  # redhat
    • almalinux-minimal-9  # redhat
    • rockylinux-minimal-8 # redhat
    • rockylinux-minimal-9 # redhat
    • oraclelinux-server-8 # redhat
    • oraclelinux-server-9 # redhat
    
  2. Start the VM and connect
    vrk-vm-ssh bessie

Quick Start 2 — Minimal Project

  1. Create a 2-line Vaark project file (project.vrk) defining a single Debian VM, called “holstein
    mkdir -p ~/my-cluster
    echo '[holstein.vm]'                >  ~/my-cluster/project.vrk
    echo '  vm_proto=debian-netinst-11' >> ~/my-cluster/project.vrk
  2. Build the project
    vrk-project-build --file ~/my-cluster
  3. Start the VM and connect
    vrk-vm-ssh holstein

Quick Start 3 — Template Project

  1. Use vrk-project-starter to start a project called herd using a simple template.

    The default template defines 2 VMs – one client and one server.
    vrk-project-starter ./herd
  2. Build the project
    ./herd/project-build
  3. Start the VMs and connect
    vrk-vm-ssh herd-client
    vrk-vm-ssh herd-server
  4. To make changes, edit the files in ./herd/ and build again!

Documentation, Source, and More!

Visit the Vaark project on Gitlab