What is virt-manager used for?

virt-manager is a desktop graphical tool for creating and managing virtual machines through libvirt, mainly QEMU/KVM guests. It is a good fit for managing KVM guests on a Linux workstation, and scripting virtual machine creation and cloning.

Is virt-manager open source?

Yes. virt-manager is open source under the GPL-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at virt-manager/virt-manager and is written mainly in Python.

Is virt-manager free?

Yes. virt-manager is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host virt-manager?

Yes. virt-manager can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is virt-manager an alternative to?

virt-manager is an open-source alternative to VMware Workstation. Other open-source alternatives to VMware Workstation include Quickemu, QEMU and VirtualBox.

Is virt-manager actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to virt-manager was on 4 September 2026, and the latest release is v5.1.0, published on 26 August 2025. The project has 3.3k stars on GitHub.

virt-manager: open-source alternative to VMware Workstation

About virt-manager

Virtual Machine Manager, usually called virt-manager, is a graphical desktop tool for managing virtual machines through libvirt. Most usage is with QEMU/KVM virtual machines, though Xen and libvirt LXC containers are also well supported, and common operations should work with any libvirt driver. It is written in Python and licensed under GPL-2.0.

The project also ships several command-line tools. virt-install creates new libvirt virtual machines, virt-clone duplicates existing ones, and virt-xml edits existing machines or manipulates their libvirt XML. Together they cover both interactive desktop use and scripted workflows for administrators who prefer a terminal.

Dependency details and installation instructions are in the INSTALL.md file, and the code can be launched directly from a git checkout for quick testing. Bug reporting guidance, contribution instructions and translation information are published on the project website and in the repository, and the team can be reached on IRC.

Key features

Graphical management of libvirt virtual machines
Primary support for QEMU/KVM guests
Xen and libvirt LXC support
virt-install command for creating machines
virt-clone for duplicating virtual machines
virt-xml for editing libvirt XML

Good fit for

→Managing KVM guests on a Linux workstation
→Scripting virtual machine creation and cloning

Built with: Python
Tags: virtualization; libvirt; kvm; qemu; virtual-machines; desktop; linux; xen

virt-manager: questions and answers

What is virt-manager used for?: virt-manager is a desktop graphical tool for creating and managing virtual machines through libvirt, mainly QEMU/KVM guests. It is a good fit for managing KVM guests on a Linux workstation, and scripting virtual machine creation and cloning.
Is virt-manager open source?: Yes. virt-manager is open source under the GPL-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at virt-manager/virt-manager and is written mainly in Python.
Is virt-manager free?: Yes. virt-manager is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host virt-manager?: Yes. virt-manager can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is virt-manager an alternative to?: virt-manager is an open-source alternative to VMware Workstation. Other open-source alternatives to VMware Workstation include Quickemu, QEMU and VirtualBox.
Is virt-manager actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to virt-manager was on 4 September 2026, and the latest release is v5.1.0, published on 26 August 2025. The project has 3.3k stars on GitHub.