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mvm

Install

Install mvm on Windows

Native Windows is not a supported local microVM host. WSL2 with nested KVM is the supported libkrun-backed workload path.

mvm does not currently support native Windows as a local microVM host. The supported local hosts are:

  • macOS Apple Silicon.
  • Native Linux with /dev/kvm.

The supported Windows-adjacent runtime path is WSL2 with nested KVM running the libkrun workload backend inside the distro. Native Windows remains future work, tracked in mvm#428.

For the full host/backend matrix, see Platform support.

Current Windows Guidance

Section titled “Current Windows Guidance”

Use one of these paths today:

  • Run mvm inside a WSL2 distro that exposes /dev/kvm, has libkrun installed, and keeps the repo/runtime state on the WSL ext4 filesystem.
  • Run mvm on a Linux host with /dev/kvm.
  • Run mvm on an Apple Silicon Mac.

WSL2 With Nested KVM

Section titled “WSL2 With Nested KVM”

Before treating the WSL2 path as supported, verify inside the distro:

Terminal window
test -c /dev/kvm && test -w /dev/kvm
mvmctl doctor

If either check fails, use a supported host. See the WSL2 notes for details and caveats.

Optional: host-side Nix (in WSL2) for power users

Section titled “Optional: host-side Nix (in WSL2) for power users”

Skip this unless you’re contributing to mvm itself or want a shared /nix/store between your editor and mvm. Inside the WSL2 distro:

Terminal window
sh <(curl -L https://nixos.org/nix/install) --daemon
. /etc/profile.d/nix.sh

Installing host-side Nix is optional. The normal mvmctl machine build path still treats the CLI as the host control plane and the builder VM as the image build boundary. See Builder VM.

What about native Windows microVMs?

Section titled “What about native Windows microVMs?”

There isn’t a maintained native-Windows microVM stack we support today. Hyper-V is the likely future Windows direction, but as a managed Linux builder/backend VM, not as part of the libkrun path.

That future backend needs its own lifecycle, filesystem, networking, and trust model. Until it lands, native Windows remains unsupported.

Tracking issue: Future work: Windows host support via Windows Hypervisor Platform.

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”
  • /dev/kvm missing inside WSL2 — this host shape is unsupported for mvm’s WSL2 workload path.
  • mvmctl doctor reports “no KVM available” — use a supported Linux KVM host or Apple Silicon Mac.

See Windows troubleshooting for the full Windows-specific FAQ.