Consoles and files

Open a VM's console from the Virtual machines page: click Console on a running VM, or ⋯ → Console on a stopped one. The console page shows the VM's status and node, and a row of tabs:

Tab	What it is	Needs
Terminal	The VM's serial console	The VM running. Linux cloud images use it.
Screen	The VM's display, keyboard and mouse	The VM running
Root shell	A root shell inside the guest, without a password or network	The VM running, with the Incus agent in the guest. Not offered for Windows.
Files	Download a file from the guest, or upload one into it	The VM running, with the Incus agent in the guest. Not offered for Windows.
Boot log	Everything the VM has written to its serial port	Nothing; works while the VM is stopped

The console opens on Terminal, or on Screen for Windows and for any VM with install media attached. A container has no Screen tab: its Terminal is the container's own console, and Root shell and Files work without an agent. If the VM is stopped, every tab but Boot log offers a Start button instead (for a VM with saved memory, starting resumes it).

The console works the same on every node: open it from any node's page and staxmax connects you to the node the VM runs on.

Terminal

The serial console. Press Enter if you see no prompt.

Only one person can hold a VM's console at a time. If someone else has it open, in another window or with incus console, click Take over to disconnect them. Reconnect reopens a closed console.

Windows: Special Administration Console

Windows doesn't use the serial port, so the terminal stays blank until you turn on its Special Administration Console. In an administrator Command Prompt in the VM, run:

bcdedit /ems on
bcdedit /emssettings EMSPORT:1 EMSBAUDRATE:115200

Restart the VM. The terminal then shows a SAC> prompt, which keeps working even when the desktop is stuck. Type cmd, then ch -si 1, and sign in to get a command prompt. The tab shows these steps until you click Open the terminal, which this browser remembers for that VM; Go to the screen switches to Screen.

Screen

The VM's display. Click the screen to type into the VM.

• Send Ctrl+Alt+Del sends that key combination to the VM.
• Fit to window / Actual size switches between scaling and real size.
• Full screen fills the screen; click Exit full screen, or hold Esc, to leave it. In full screen, keys such as Esc and the Windows key go to the VM where the browser allows it.
• Take over and Reconnect work as for the terminal. The screen and the terminal share one console, so only one of them can be open.

When install media is attached, a hint appears for a few seconds after the VM starts: if the screen says Press any key to boot from CD or DVD, click it and press a key. If you miss it, click Restart at the top of the page to get the prompt again.

For Windows, a note suggests installing the VirtIO guest tools (virtio-win-guest-tools.exe) for a sharp screen that resizes with the window. Click Don't show again to hide it.

Root shell

A root shell inside the guest through the Incus agent. It needs no password and no network, so it is the way into a cloud image VM created without a user.

Linux cloud images start the agent during boot. An OS installed from an ISO needs incus-agent installed first; until then, the tab says it is waiting and you can use Terminal or Screen.

Files

Also through the Incus agent.

• Download a file: type the full path in the guest, like /var/log/syslog, and click Download.
• Upload a file: choose a file, give the folder in the guest under Into folder (like /root), and click Upload. The file is written as root with mode 0644 and replaces a file of the same name.

Boot log

Everything the VM has written to its serial port, newest at the bottom. Click Refresh to reload it. It is available while the VM is stopped, which helps when a VM doesn't boot.