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QEMU Options¶
The set of options that QEMU provides may depend on the selected architecture.
The output for qemu-system-aarch64 with "-help" option is written below.
Standard options: -h or -help display this help and exit -version display version information and exit -machine [type=]name[,prop[=value][,...]] selects emulated machine ('-machine help' for list) property accel=accel1[:accel2[:...]] selects accelerator supported accelerators are kvm, xen, hax, hvf, whpx or tcg (default: tcg) kernel_irqchip=on|off|split controls accelerated irqchip support (default=off) vmport=on|off|auto controls emulation of vmport (default: auto) kvm_shadow_mem=size of KVM shadow MMU in bytes dump-guest-core=on|off include guest memory in a core dump (default=on) mem-merge=on|off controls memory merge support (default: on) igd-passthru=on|off controls IGD GFX passthrough support (default=off) aes-key-wrap=on|off controls support for AES key wrapping (default=on) dea-key-wrap=on|off controls support for DEA key wrapping (default=on) suppress-vmdesc=on|off disables self-describing migration (default=off) nvdimm=on|off controls NVDIMM support (default=off) enforce-config-section=on|off enforce configuration section migration (default=off) memory-encryption=@var{} memory encryption object to use (default=none) -cpu cpu select CPU ('-cpu help' for list) -accel [accel=]accelerator[,thread=single|multi] select accelerator (kvm, xen, hax, hvf, whpx or tcg; use 'help' for a list) thread=single|multi (enable multi-threaded TCG) -smp [cpus=]n[,maxcpus=cpus][,cores=cores][,threads=threads][,dies=dies][,sockets=sockets] set the number of CPUs to 'n' [default=1] maxcpus= maximum number of total cpus, including offline CPUs for hotplug, etc cores= number of CPU cores on one socket (for PC, it's on one die) threads= number of threads on one CPU core dies= number of CPU dies on one socket (for PC only) sockets= number of discrete sockets in the system -numa node[,mem=size][,cpus=firstcpu[-lastcpu]][,nodeid=node] -numa node[,memdev=id][,cpus=firstcpu[-lastcpu]][,nodeid=node] -numa dist,src=source,dst=destination,val=distance -numa cpu,node-id=node[,socket-id=x][,core-id=y][,thread-id=z] -add-fd fd=fd,set=set[,opaque=opaque] Add 'fd' to fd 'set' -set group.id.arg=value set <arg> parameter for item <id> of type <group> i.e. -set drive.$id.file=/path/to/image -global driver.property=value -global driver=driver,property=property,value=value set a global default for a driver property -boot [order=drives][,once=drives][,menu=on|off] [,splash=sp_name][,splash-time=sp_time][,reboot-timeout=rb_time][,strict=on|off] 'drives': floppy (a), hard disk (c), CD-ROM (d), network (n) 'sp_name': the file's name that would be passed to bios as logo picture, if menu=on 'sp_time': the period that splash picture last if menu=on, unit is ms 'rb_timeout': the timeout before guest reboot when boot failed, unit is ms -m [size=]megs[,slots=n,maxmem=size] configure guest RAM size: initial amount of guest memory slots: number of hotplug slots (default: none) maxmem: maximum amount of guest memory (default: none) NOTE: Some architectures might enforce a specific granularity -mem-path FILE provide backing storage for guest RAM -mem-prealloc preallocate guest memory (use with -mem-path) -k language use keyboard layout (for example 'fr' for French) -audio-help show -audiodev equivalent of the currently specified audio settings -audiodev [driver=]driver,id=id[,prop[=value][,...]] specifies the audio backend to use id= identifier of the backend timer-period= timer period in microseconds in|out.fixed-settings= use fixed settings for host audio in|out.frequency= frequency to use with fixed settings in|out.channels= number of channels to use with fixed settings in|out.format= sample format to use with fixed settings valid values: s8, s16, s32, u8, u16, u32 in|out.voices= number of voices to use in|out.buffer-len= length of buffer in microseconds -audiodev none,id=id,[,prop[=value][,...]] dummy driver that discards all output -audiodev oss,id=id[,prop[=value][,...]] in|out.dev= path of the audio device to use in|out.buffer-count= number of buffers in|out.try-poll= attempt to use poll mode try-mmap= try using memory mapped access exclusive= open device in exclusive mode dsp-policy= set timing policy (0..10), -1 to use fragment mode -audiodev wav,id=id[,prop[=value][,...]] path= path of wav file to record -soundhw c1,... enable audio support and only specified sound cards (comma separated list) use '-soundhw help' to get the list of supported cards use '-soundhw all' to enable all of them -device driver[,prop[=value][,...]] add device (based on driver) prop=value,... sets driver properties use '-device help' to print all possible drivers use '-device driver,help' to print all possible properties -name string1[,process=string2][,debug-threads=on|off] set the name of the guest string1 sets the window title and string2 the process name When debug-threads is enabled, individual threads are given a separate name NOTE: The thread names are for debugging and not a stable API. -uuid %08x-%04x-%04x-%04x-%012x specify machine UUID Block device options: -fda/-fdb file use 'file' as floppy disk 0/1 image -hda/-hdb file use 'file' as IDE hard disk 0/1 image -hdc/-hdd file use 'file' as IDE hard disk 2/3 image -cdrom file use 'file' as IDE cdrom image (cdrom is ide1 master) -blockdev [driver=]driver[,node-name=N][,discard=ignore|unmap] [,cache.direct=on|off][,cache.no-flush=on|off] [,read-only=on|off][,detect-zeroes=on|off|unmap] [,driver specific parameters...] configure a block backend -drive [file=file][,if=type][,bus=n][,unit=m][,media=d][,index=i] [,cache=writethrough|writeback|none|directsync|unsafe][,format=f] [,snapshot=on|off][,rerror=ignore|stop|report] [,werror=ignore|stop|report|enospc][,id=name][,aio=threads|native] [,readonly=on|off][,copy-on-read=on|off] [,discard=ignore|unmap][,detect-zeroes=on|off|unmap] [[,bps=b]|[[,bps_rd=r][,bps_wr=w]]] [[,iops=i]|[[,iops_rd=r][,iops_wr=w]]] [[,bps_max=bm]|[[,bps_rd_max=rm][,bps_wr_max=wm]]] [[,iops_max=im]|[[,iops_rd_max=irm][,iops_wr_max=iwm]]] [[,iops_size=is]] [[,group=g]] use 'file' as a drive image -mtdblock file use 'file' as on-board Flash memory image -sd file use 'file' as SecureDigital card image -pflash file use 'file' as a parallel flash image -snapshot write to temporary files instead of disk image files -fsdev local,id=id,path=path,security_model=mapped-xattr|mapped-file|passthrough|none [,writeout=immediate][,readonly][,fmode=fmode][,dmode=dmode] [[,throttling.bps-total=b]|[[,throttling.bps-read=r][,throttling.bps-write=w]]] [[,throttling.iops-total=i]|[[,throttling.iops-read=r][,throttling.iops-write=w]]] [[,throttling.bps-total-max=bm]|[[,throttling.bps-read-max=rm][,throttling.bps-write-max=wm]]] [[,throttling.iops-total-max=im]|[[,throttling.iops-read-max=irm][,throttling.iops-write-max=iwm]]] [[,throttling.iops-size=is]] -fsdev proxy,id=id,socket=socket[,writeout=immediate][,readonly] -fsdev proxy,id=id,sock_fd=sock_fd[,writeout=immediate][,readonly] -fsdev synth,id=id -virtfs local,path=path,mount_tag=tag,security_model=mapped-xattr|mapped-file|passthrough|none [,id=id][,writeout=immediate][,readonly][,fmode=fmode][,dmode=dmode] -virtfs proxy,mount_tag=tag,socket=socket[,id=id][,writeout=immediate][,readonly] -virtfs proxy,mount_tag=tag,sock_fd=sock_fd[,id=id][,writeout=immediate][,readonly] -virtfs synth,mount_tag=tag[,id=id][,readonly] -virtfs_synth Create synthetic file system image -iscsi [user=user][,password=password] [,header-digest=CRC32C|CR32C-NONE|NONE-CRC32C|NONE [,initiator-name=initiator-iqn][,id=target-iqn] [,timeout=timeout] iSCSI session parameters USB options: -usb enable the USB driver (if it is not used by default yet) -usbdevice name add the host or guest USB device 'name' Display options: -display spice-app[,gl=on|off] -display sdl[,frame=on|off][,alt_grab=on|off][,ctrl_grab=on|off] [,window_close=on|off][,gl=on|core|es|off] -display gtk[,grab_on_hover=on|off][,gl=on|off]| -display vnc=<display>[,<optargs>] -display curses[,charset=<encoding>] -display none -display egl-headless[,rendernode=<file>] select display type The default display is equivalent to "-vnc localhost:0,to=99,id=default" -nographic disable graphical output and redirect serial I/Os to console -trace-log enables emulator logging in an execution format -print-pte-addr prints PTE address value to stdout every time it is calculated -curses shorthand for -display curses -alt-grab use Ctrl-Alt-Shift to grab mouse (instead of Ctrl-Alt) -ctrl-grab use Right-Ctrl to grab mouse (instead of Ctrl-Alt) -no-quit disable SDL window close capability -sdl shorthand for -display sdl -spice [port=port][,tls-port=secured-port][,x509-dir=<dir>] [,x509-key-file=<file>][,x509-key-password=<file>] [,x509-cert-file=<file>][,x509-cacert-file=<file>] [,x509-dh-key-file=<file>][,addr=addr][,ipv4|ipv6|unix] [,tls-ciphers=<list>] [,tls-channel=[main|display|cursor|inputs|record|playback]] [,plaintext-channel=[main|display|cursor|inputs|record|playback]] [,sasl][,password=<secret>][,disable-ticketing] [,image-compression=[auto_glz|auto_lz|quic|glz|lz|off]] [,jpeg-wan-compression=[auto|never|always]] [,zlib-glz-wan-compression=[auto|never|always]] [,streaming-video=[off|all|filter]][,disable-copy-paste] [,disable-agent-file-xfer][,agent-mouse=[on|off]] [,playback-compression=[on|off]][,seamless-migration=[on|off]] [,gl=[on|off]][,rendernode=<file>] enable spice at least one of {port, tls-port} is mandatory -portrait rotate graphical output 90 deg left (only PXA LCD) -rotate <deg> rotate graphical output some deg left (only PXA LCD) -vga [std|cirrus|vmware|qxl|xenfb|tcx|cg3|virtio|none] select video card type -full-screen start in full screen -vnc <display> shorthand for -display vnc=<display> -no-acpi disable ACPI -smbios file=binary load SMBIOS entry from binary file -smbios type=0[,vendor=str][,version=str][,date=str][,release=%d.%d] [,uefi=on|off] specify SMBIOS type 0 fields -smbios type=1[,manufacturer=str][,product=str][,version=str][,serial=str] [,uuid=uuid][,sku=str][,family=str] specify SMBIOS type 1 fields -smbios type=2[,manufacturer=str][,product=str][,version=str][,serial=str] [,asset=str][,location=str] specify SMBIOS type 2 fields -smbios type=3[,manufacturer=str][,version=str][,serial=str][,asset=str] [,sku=str] specify SMBIOS type 3 fields -smbios type=4[,sock_pfx=str][,manufacturer=str][,version=str][,serial=str] [,asset=str][,part=str] specify SMBIOS type 4 fields -smbios type=17[,loc_pfx=str][,bank=str][,manufacturer=str][,serial=str] [,asset=str][,part=str][,speed=%d] specify SMBIOS type 17 fields Network options: -netdev user,id=str[,ipv4[=on|off]][,net=addr[/mask]][,host=addr] [,ipv6[=on|off]][,ipv6-net=addr[/int]][,ipv6-host=addr] [,restrict=on|off][,hostname=host][,dhcpstart=addr] [,dns=addr][,ipv6-dns=addr][,dnssearch=domain][,domainname=domain] [,tftp=dir][,tftp-server-name=name][,bootfile=f][,hostfwd=rule][,guestfwd=rule][,smb=dir[,smbserver=addr]] configure a user mode network backend with ID 'str', its DHCP server and optional services -netdev tap,id=str[,fd=h][,fds=x:y:...:z][,ifname=name][,script=file][,downscript=dfile] [,br=bridge][,helper=helper][,sndbuf=nbytes][,vnet_hdr=on|off][,vhost=on|off] [,vhostfd=h][,vhostfds=x:y:...:z][,vhostforce=on|off][,queues=n] [,poll-us=n] configure a host TAP network backend with ID 'str' connected to a bridge (default=br0) use network scripts 'file' (default=/etc/qemu-ifup) to configure it and 'dfile' (default=/etc/qemu-ifdown) to deconfigure it use '[down]script=no' to disable script execution use network helper 'helper' (default=/home/ssedai/projects/qemu4v/build/target/libexec/qemu-bridge-helper) to configure it use 'fd=h' to connect to an already opened TAP interface use 'fds=x:y:...:z' to connect to already opened multiqueue capable TAP interfaces use 'sndbuf=nbytes' to limit the size of the send buffer (the default is disabled 'sndbuf=0' to enable flow control set 'sndbuf=1048576') use vnet_hdr=off to avoid enabling the IFF_VNET_HDR tap flag use vnet_hdr=on to make the lack of IFF_VNET_HDR support an error condition use vhost=on to enable experimental in kernel accelerator (only has effect for virtio guests which use MSIX) use vhostforce=on to force vhost on for non-MSIX virtio guests use 'vhostfd=h' to connect to an already opened vhost net device use 'vhostfds=x:y:...:z to connect to multiple already opened vhost net devices use 'queues=n' to specify the number of queues to be created for multiqueue TAP use 'poll-us=n' to speciy the maximum number of microseconds that could be spent on busy polling for vhost net -netdev bridge,id=str[,br=bridge][,helper=helper] configure a host TAP network backend with ID 'str' that is connected to a bridge (default=br0) using the program 'helper (default=/home/ssedai/projects/qemu4v/build/target/libexec/qemu-bridge-helper) -netdev l2tpv3,id=str,src=srcaddr,dst=dstaddr[,srcport=srcport][,dstport=dstport] [,rxsession=rxsession],txsession=txsession[,ipv6=on/off][,udp=on/off] [,cookie64=on/off][,counter][,pincounter][,txcookie=txcookie] [,rxcookie=rxcookie][,offset=offset] configure a network backend with ID 'str' connected to an Ethernet over L2TPv3 pseudowire. Linux kernel 3.3+ as well as most routers can talk L2TPv3. This transport allows connecting a VM to a VM, VM to a router and even VM to Host. It is a nearly-universal standard (RFC3391). Note - this implementation uses static pre-configured tunnels (same as the Linux kernel). use 'src=' to specify source address use 'dst=' to specify destination address use 'udp=on' to specify udp encapsulation use 'srcport=' to specify source udp port use 'dstport=' to specify destination udp port use 'ipv6=on' to force v6 L2TPv3 uses cookies to prevent misconfiguration as well as a weak security measure use 'rxcookie=0x012345678' to specify a rxcookie use 'txcookie=0x012345678' to specify a txcookie use 'cookie64=on' to set cookie size to 64 bit, otherwise 32 use 'counter=off' to force a 'cut-down' L2TPv3 with no counter use 'pincounter=on' to work around broken counter handling in peer use 'offset=X' to add an extra offset between header and data -netdev socket,id=str[,fd=h][,listen=[host]:port][,connect=host:port] configure a network backend to connect to another network using a socket connection -netdev socket,id=str[,fd=h][,mcast=maddr:port[,localaddr=addr]] configure a network backend to connect to a multicast maddr and port use 'localaddr=addr' to specify the host address to send packets from -netdev socket,id=str[,fd=h][,udp=host:port][,localaddr=host:port] configure a network backend to connect to another network using an UDP tunnel -netdev vhost-user,id=str,chardev=dev[,vhostforce=on|off] configure a vhost-user network, backed by a chardev 'dev' -netdev hubport,id=str,hubid=n[,netdev=nd] configure a hub port on the hub with ID 'n' -nic [tap|bridge|user|l2tpv3|vhost-user|socket][,option][,...][mac=macaddr] initialize an on-board / default host NIC (using MAC address macaddr) and connect it to the given host network backend -nic none use it alone to have zero network devices (the default is to provided a 'user' network connection) -net nic[,macaddr=mac][,model=type][,name=str][,addr=str][,vectors=v] configure or create an on-board (or machine default) NIC and connect it to hub 0 (please use -nic unless you need a hub) -net [user|tap|bridge|socket][,option][,option][,...] old way to initialize a host network interface (use the -netdev option if possible instead) Character device options: -chardev help -chardev null,id=id[,mux=on|off][,logfile=PATH][,logappend=on|off] -chardev socket,id=id[,host=host],port=port[,to=to][,ipv4][,ipv6][,nodelay][,reconnect=seconds] [,server][,nowait][,telnet][,websocket][,reconnect=seconds][,mux=on|off] [,logfile=PATH][,logappend=on|off][,tls-creds=ID][,tls-authz=ID] (tcp) -chardev socket,id=id,path=path[,server][,nowait][,telnet][,websocket][,reconnect=seconds] [,mux=on|off][,logfile=PATH][,logappend=on|off] (unix) -chardev udp,id=id[,host=host],port=port[,localaddr=localaddr] [,localport=localport][,ipv4][,ipv6][,mux=on|off] [,logfile=PATH][,logappend=on|off] -chardev msmouse,id=id[,mux=on|off][,logfile=PATH][,logappend=on|off] -chardev vc,id=id[[,width=width][,height=height]][[,cols=cols][,rows=rows]] [,mux=on|off][,logfile=PATH][,logappend=on|off] -chardev ringbuf,id=id[,size=size][,logfile=PATH][,logappend=on|off] -chardev file,id=id,path=path[,mux=on|off][,logfile=PATH][,logappend=on|off] -chardev pipe,id=id,path=path[,mux=on|off][,logfile=PATH][,logappend=on|off] -chardev pty,id=id[,mux=on|off][,logfile=PATH][,logappend=on|off] -chardev stdio,id=id[,mux=on|off][,signal=on|off][,logfile=PATH][,logappend=on|off] -chardev serial,id=id,path=path[,mux=on|off][,logfile=PATH][,logappend=on|off] -chardev tty,id=id,path=path[,mux=on|off][,logfile=PATH][,logappend=on|off] -chardev parallel,id=id,path=path[,mux=on|off][,logfile=PATH][,logappend=on|off] -chardev parport,id=id,path=path[,mux=on|off][,logfile=PATH][,logappend=on|off] Bluetooth(R) options: -bt hci,null dumb bluetooth HCI - doesn't respond to commands -bt hci,host[:id] use host's HCI with the given name -bt hci[,vlan=n] emulate a standard HCI in virtual scatternet 'n' -bt vhci[,vlan=n] add host computer to virtual scatternet 'n' using VHCI -bt device:dev[,vlan=n] emulate a bluetooth device 'dev' in scatternet 'n' TPM device options: -tpmdev passthrough,id=id[,path=path][,cancel-path=path] use path to provide path to a character device; default is /dev/tpm0 use cancel-path to provide path to TPM's cancel sysfs entry; if not provided it will be searched for in /sys/class/misc/tpm?/device -tpmdev emulator,id=id,chardev=dev configure the TPM device using chardev backend Linux/Multiboot boot specific: -kernel bzImage use 'bzImage' as kernel image -append cmdline use 'cmdline' as kernel command line -initrd file use 'file' as initial ram disk -dtb file use 'file' as device tree image Debug/Expert options: -fw_cfg [name=]<name>,file=<file> add named fw_cfg entry with contents from file -fw_cfg [name=]<name>,string=<str> add named fw_cfg entry with contents from string -serial dev redirect the serial port to char device 'dev' -parallel dev redirect the parallel port to char device 'dev' -monitor dev redirect the monitor to char device 'dev' -qmp dev like -monitor but opens in 'control' mode -qmp-pretty dev like -qmp but uses pretty JSON formatting -mon [chardev=]name[,mode=readline|control][,pretty[=on|off]] -debugcon dev redirect the debug console to char device 'dev' -pidfile file write PID to 'file' -singlestep always run in singlestep mode --preconfig pause QEMU before machine is initialized (experimental) -S freeze CPU at startup (use 'c' to start execution) -realtime [mlock=on|off] run qemu with realtime features mlock=on|off controls mlock support (default: on) -overcommit [mem-lock=on|off][cpu-pm=on|off] run qemu with overcommit hints mem-lock=on|off controls memory lock support (default: off) cpu-pm=on|off controls cpu power management (default: off) -gdb dev wait for gdb connection on 'dev' -s shorthand for -gdb tcp::1234 -d item1,... enable logging of specified items (use '-d help' for a list of log items) -D logfile output log to logfile (default stderr) -dfilter range,.. filter debug output to range of addresses (useful for -d cpu,exec,etc..) -seed number seed the pseudo-random number generator -L path set the directory for the BIOS, VGA BIOS and keymaps -bios file set the filename for the BIOS -enable-kvm enable KVM full virtualization support -xen-domid id specify xen guest domain id -xen-attach attach to existing xen domain libxl will use this when starting QEMU -xen-domid-restrict restrict set of available xen operations to specified domain id. (Does not affect xenpv machine type). -no-reboot exit instead of rebooting -no-shutdown stop before shutdown -loadvm [tag|id] start right away with a saved state (loadvm in monitor) -daemonize daemonize QEMU after initializing -option-rom rom load a file, rom, into the option ROM space -rtc [base=utc|localtime|<datetime>][,clock=host|rt|vm][,driftfix=none|slew] set the RTC base and clock, enable drift fix for clock ticks (x86 only) -icount [shift=N|auto][,align=on|off][,sleep=on|off,rr=record|replay,rrfile=<filename>,rrsnapshot=<snapshot>] enable virtual instruction counter with 2^N clock ticks per instruction, enable aligning the host and virtual clocks or disable real time cpu sleeping -watchdog model enable virtual hardware watchdog [default=none] -watchdog-action reset|shutdown|poweroff|inject-nmi|pause|debug|none action when watchdog fires [default=reset] -echr chr set terminal escape character instead of ctrl-a -show-cursor show cursor -tb-size n set TB size -incoming tcp:[host]:port[,to=maxport][,ipv4][,ipv6] -incoming rdma:host:port[,ipv4][,ipv6] -incoming unix:socketpath prepare for incoming migration, listen on specified protocol and socket address -incoming fd:fd -incoming exec:cmdline accept incoming migration on given file descriptor or from given external command -incoming defer wait for the URI to be specified via migrate_incoming -only-migratable allow only migratable devices -nodefaults don't create default devices -chroot dir chroot to dir just before starting the VM -runas user change to user id user just before starting the VM user can be numeric uid:gid instead -semihosting semihosting mode -semihosting-config [enable=on|off][,target=native|gdb|auto][,chardev=id][,arg=str[,...]] semihosting configuration -old-param old param mode -sandbox on[,obsolete=allow|deny][,elevateprivileges=allow|deny|children] [,spawn=allow|deny][,resourcecontrol=allow|deny] Enable seccomp mode 2 system call filter (default 'off'). use 'obsolete' to allow obsolete system calls that are provided by the kernel, but typically no longer used by modern C library implementations. use 'elevateprivileges' to allow or deny QEMU process to elevate its privileges by blacklisting all set*uid|gid system calls. The value 'children' will deny set*uid|gid system calls for main QEMU process but will allow forks and execves to run unprivileged use 'spawn' to avoid QEMU to spawn new threads or processes by blacklisting *fork and execve use 'resourcecontrol' to disable process affinity and schedular priority -readconfig <file> -writeconfig <file> read/write config file -no-user-config do not load default user-provided config files at startup -trace [[enable=]<pattern>][,events=<file>][,file=<file>] specify tracing options -enable-fips enable FIPS 140-2 compliance -msg timestamp[=on|off] change the format of messages on|off controls leading timestamps (default:on) -dump-vmstate <file> Output vmstate information in JSON format to file. Use the scripts/vmstate-static-checker.py file to check for possible regressions in migration code by comparing two such vmstate dumps. -enable-sync-profile enable synchronization profiling Generic object creation: -object TYPENAME[,PROP1=VALUE1,...] create a new object of type TYPENAME setting properties in the order they are specified. Note that the 'id' property must be set. These objects are placed in the '/objects' path. During emulation, the following keys are useful: ctrl-alt-f toggle full screen ctrl-alt-n switch to virtual console 'n' ctrl-alt toggle mouse and keyboard grab When using -nographic, press 'ctrl-a h' to get some help.
Updated by Sergey Smolov about 5 years ago · 2 revisions