minvmd - VM daemon

minvmd is the host daemon that brings up a Linux microVM via libkrun (macOS/HVF or Linux/KVM) and supervises the minimald instance running inside it. On macOS it is the only session backend. On Linux, select it with min --provider local-minvmd (see min).

Global flags

Flag	Description
--minimal-state-dir <PATH>	Override the state dir base (default: $XDG_STATE_HOME/minimal). Runtime files live under <dir>/providers/local-minvmd0/

Commands

run and boot bring the VM up. run (alias start) is the lifecycle-managed supervisor: it drives the daemon’s state transitions and supports --detach for background operation, so it is the usual entry point. boot is a lower-level bring-up that skips lifecycle state, used mainly for diagnostics.

boot

minvmd boot [--foreground]

Boots the microVM and waits until the guest is up. --foreground stays in the foreground until the VMM child exits.

run (alias: start)

minvmd run [--detach] [--timeout <SECONDS>]

Starts the microVM supervisor (foreground by default).

Flag	Description
--detach	Spawn the supervisor in the background and return once the host UDS is accepting connections
--timeout <SECONDS>	Timeout in seconds to wait for the host UDS when using --detach (default: 8)

The VM’s hostname proxy takes port 7654 when no other process or VM holds it, and a free port otherwise. To pin the port, set MINVMD_NODE_PROXY_PORT for minvmd run or for the min command that starts it. If another process holds a pinned port, the start fails.

An own-IP box that declares no egress section gets the deny-all egress default: it reaches no external address. To keep the earlier allow-all default for such boxes, set MINVMD_EGRESS_DENY_ALL_OPT_OUT=1. This is the VM counterpart of minimald run --egress-deny-all-opt-out. Only 1, true, yes, or on opt out, in any letter case. Any other value, or leaving it unset, keeps the deny-all default.

minvmd reads the variable only when it starts, and hands it to the guest at boot. Set it in the environment of the process that starts minvmd: minvmd run, or the first min command that starts the VM for you. Setting it for a later min command against a running VM changes nothing. To apply a change, stop minvmd (minvmd stop) and start it again with the new environment.

status

minvmd status [--json]

Prints daemon status. Exit code: 0 if running, 1 if stopped, 2 on lock contention. --json prints status as a JSON object.

config show

minvmd config show [--json]

Prints the effective per-VM resource configuration and each value’s source. --json prints it as a JSON object.

config set

minvmd config set [--vcpus <N>] [--ram-mib <N>]

Checks and persists resource parameters, applied on the next boot.

Flag	Description
--vcpus <N>	Number of virtual CPUs
--ram-mib <N>	Guest RAM in MiB

stop

minvmd stop

Stops the running daemon gracefully.

completions

minvmd completions <SHELL>

Generates a shell tab-completion script. Supported shells include bash, zsh, elvish, fish, powershell.

Last updated Oct 9, 2026