Quickemu and Quickgui setup

How to install Quickemu and Quickgui on Debian 13 and derivatives.

Quickemu

install Quickemu

sudo apt install quickemu ovmf qemu-system-gui qemu-system-modules-spice

create/run a vm

mkdir ~/vm # create a folder in home user
cd vm

quickget alma 9 boot # get almalinux 9 boot iso
vi alma-9-boot.conf  # check conf file created

quickemu --vm alma-9-boot.conf  # run vm

Quickgui

Download the deb package from https://github.com/quickemu-project/quickgui and install it:

sudo apt install ./quickgui-1.2.10+1-linux.deb

SSH from host to Quickemu VM

Verify SSH server on VM:

sudo systemctl status sshd

If not installed:

sudo apt install openssh-server && sudo systemctl enable --now sshd

Configure port forwarding in VM .conf file:

Add this line to your VM configuration file (e.g. debian-13.conf):

port_forwards=("2222:22")

Note: Use port_forwards not ssh_port to keep graphical display active.

SSH connection from host:

ssh -p 2222 user@localhost

Where 2222 is the host port configured in port forwarding and 22 is the standard SSH port of the guest VM.

Advanced features with SPICE (optional)

Default behavior (SDL display)

Quickemu uses SDL display by default, which provides:

  • ✅ Excellent graphics performance
  • ✅ Auto-resize display
  • ❌ No clipboard sharing
  • ❌ No USB redirection

Enable clipboard sharing and USB redirection

Only if you need these features, follow these steps:

1 - Install in the guest VM:

sudo apt install spice-vdagent

2 - Restart VM with SPICE display:

quickemu --vm alma-9-boot.conf --display spice

SPICE display provides:

  • ✅ Bidirectional clipboard sharing
  • ✅ USB device redirection
  • ❌ Lower graphics performance compared to SDL

Recommendation: Use SDL (default) for general work. Switch to SPICE only when clipboard/USB features are required.