VM instance
test instance
A test that declares template — a full QEMU/KVM VM cloned from a vmlab template. Linux or Windows, real init, reboots.
A test block declaring template runs in a full VM cloned from a vmlab template. It is the only kind with a real init system, its own kernel and the ability to reboot, and the only one that can run Windows guests. Scenarios always use VMs.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| declared with | template = "x86_64/ubuntu-24.04" |
| guest OS | Linux or Windows, detected from the guest agent |
| requires | the template must ship the vmlab guest agent |
| instance | each group gets a throwaway one-VM lab |
| parallelism | --vm-jobs N (default 2 — VMs are heavy) |
| Windows guests | Server 2019 / Windows 10 or newer |
Reach for a VM when the test needs systemd/OpenRC/runit to actually be running, a reboot, or Windows. A fresh Windows clone costs several minutes on its first boot, so group Windows tests together.