Multipass – A lightweight VM manager.

close up photo of programming of codes
Reading Time: 2 minutes

What is a multipass ?

Well a multipass is a lightweight VM manager for Linux , WIndows , Macos. Using this you can get an instant Ubuntu VM in a single command. It is really helpful for those who want a virtual machine at an instant. Suppose a developer wants to test his code on an ubuntu machine, using this he can achieve in a single command.

This uses Hyperkit on Macos , KVM on linux and Hyper-V on windows.

How to install multipass .

Using the below command you can download the multipass .

For Linux:

sudo snap install multipass

For MACOS:

 brew install --cask multipass

Once you are done installing check for the version using the below command.

rishivant@rishivant-Vostro-3590:~$ multipass --version

multipass   1.8.0
multipassd  1.8.0


To find the images using multipass.

Use the below command to find the images/

multipass find

The output will be as below :

Launching an instance of ubuntu.

Use the below command

multipass launch ubuntu

The output

How to find the running instances.

Use the below command :

multipass list

Output :-

Get a detailed information about your running container using the below command.

multipass info affecting-ovenbird

How to connect to the running instance.

Use the below command.

multipass shell affecting-ovenbird

Now you can use the above image as a container and use it for any work that you do on your normal ubuntu machine.

Running command in the ubuntu vm.

You can try with various commands in the above machine.

Also you can run various commands form outside using the below code snippet.

 multipass exec affecting-ovenbird -- ls -a

To run various commands put it above at the place of ls -a.

Reference

https://multipass.run/docs/installing-on-linux

Written by 

Rishivant is a enthusiastic devops learner at Knoldus. He believes in going 1% up everyday and showcases his learning in his work.