Quickemu - create a VM with a local ISO

Requirements

  • quickemu installed
  • linux distro ISO file

How to

1. Directory Structure

~/VMs/
├── ufficiozero/
│   └── ufficiozero.iso
└── ufficiozero.conf

2. Config file

Create ufficiozero.conf:

guest_os="linux"
disk_img="ufficiozero/disk.qcow2"
iso="ufficiozero/ufficiozero.iso"
disk_size="25G"
ram="2G"
cpu_cores="2"
port_forwards=("2222:22" "2221:21") # OPTIONAL: SSH/FTP port forwarding to local host

3. Start VM

quickemu --vm ufficiozero.conf

4. Post-installation

Default behavior Quickemu uses SDL display by default with excellent performance but no clipboard sharing.

Advanced features with SPICE (optional) If you need clipboard sharing or USB redirection:

1 - Install in the guest:

sudo apt install spice-vdagent

2 - Restart VM with SPICE display backend:

quickemu --vm ufficiozero.conf --display spice

Trade-offs:

  • 🟢 SDL (default): Best performance, no clipboard
  • 🟡 SPICE (--display spice): Clipboard + USB redirection, lower performance

Note: The --display spice flag is optional. Use it only when you need the advanced features it provides.

Useful commands

Fullscreen: CTRL + ALT + F
Release Cursor: CTRL + ALT + G
Desktop shortcut: quickemu --vm ufficiozero.conf --shortcut

Notes

  • disk.qcow2 is created automatically on the first launch
  • RAM/CPU/disk_size parameters are optional (quickemu calculates optimal values if omitted)
  • The .conf file supports relative or absolute paths
  • Default Network: User Mode Networking NAT (10.0.2.0/24)
  • SSH Syntax Example: ssh user@localhost -p 22220