Running VMs
The VM's window
Starting a VM opens it in a window of its own, titled with the VM's name. Each running VM is an app of its own, under its own name in the Dock, ⌘Tab and the menu bar, with its own icon (the system's glyph on a light tile) and its own menus. If one VM crashes, nothing else does. macOS also asks about the microphone for each VM on its own.
- The display follows the window. Resize the window and the guest's screen resolution follows, at your Mac's scale.
- The window remembers its size and place for the next time that VM runs.
- Keys go to the guest while the window is in front, except the Mac's own shortcuts: ⌘Tab switches apps, and the window's menu shortcuts (⌘Q, ⌥⌘P and the rest, below) work as in any Mac app.
- The subtitle says what the VM is doing when it is not simply running: Starting…, Paused, Saving…, Suspended.
Starting a VM that is already running brings its window forward instead.
Drop files on the window to copy them into a Linux VM: files and folders from Finder go into the Downloads folder of the guest's user, and the window's subtitle says how far it is, then where they went. It needs Elyra VM Tools in the VM.
Pause, suspend, shut down
| What happens | Memory | Next start | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pause | The VM freezes in place; its window stays | kept in RAM | Resume carries on at once |
| Suspend | The VM is paused, saved to disk and closed | saved to the VM's folder | carries on where it was |
| Shut Down | The guest is asked to shut down, as with a power button | released | a fresh boot |
| Force Stop | The VM is turned off at once | released, unsaved work lost | a fresh boot |
These are in the VM window's Virtual Machine menu, in the library's … menu, and on the command line.
Shut Down depends on the guest: a desktop Linux shuts down cleanly; a minimal system without an ACPI daemon may ignore it. Use Force Stop then.
Closing the window suspends
Closing the VM's window, Suspend and Quit (⌘Q) in its menu, quitting it from the Dock and logging out of macOS all suspend the VM. It is saved as it is and the blue light shows in the library. Starting it again restores it, typically in a few seconds, and the saved state is used up. A log out, restart or shut down of the Mac waits until the VM is saved, then goes on; it stops only if you cancel the VM's question.
If a VM's devices don't allow it to be saved, closing it offers Shut Down, Force Stop or Cancel instead.
If a saved state can no longer be restored, starting the VM explains why and offers to Start Afresh (what was open in the VM when it was suspended is lost) or Quit. Changing a suspended VM's processors or memory would cause this, so the library doesn't allow it.
The VM window's menus
| Menu | Item | Key |
|---|---|---|
| Elyra VM | Hide, Hide Others, Show All | ⌘H, ⌥⌘H |
| Suspend and Quit | ⌘Q | |
| Virtual Machine | Pause | ⌥⌘P |
| Resume | ⌥⌘R | |
| Suspend | ⌥⌘S | |
| Shut Down | ||
| Force Stop | ||
| Plug In Disk Image…, Pull Out Disk Images | ||
| Window | Minimize | ⌘M |
| Zoom | ||
| Enter Full Screen | ⌃⌘F |
Items that don't apply to what the VM is doing are greyed out.
Disk images as USB sticks
A disk image (an ISO, or a raw IMG or RAW) can be plugged into a running VM as a USB stick,
and pulled out again: Virtual Machine › Plug In Disk Image… in the VM's window, or
elyravm attach <vm> <image> (--read-only to keep it as it is). The guest sees a USB disk
(/dev/sda in Linux; in macOS, it mounts on the desktop), as when a stick is plugged into a
PC. Pull Out Disk Images, or elyravm detach <vm> [<name>], takes them out; eject them in
the guest first, as with a real stick. Each image is named by its file, and elyravm status --json lists those plugged in (usb). They are plugged in for as long as the VM runs, not
kept in its settings. This needs macOS 15 or later on the Mac.
VMs outlive the library
A VM keeps running when you quit the library, and the library shows it as running when it opens again. VMs started from the command line or by an agent are in the library like any other.