Ubuntu VMs on demand for any workstation

Get an instant Ubuntu VM with a single command. Multipass can launch and run virtual machines and configure them with cloud-init like a public cloud. Prototype your cloud launches locally for free.

Multipass

Select OS to get started

Linux

 Windows macOS

  1. Install Multipass on Linux 

    sudo snap install multipass

    Don’t have the snap command? Get set up for snaps

  2. How to launch LTS instances

    The first five minutes with Multipass let you know how easy it is to have a lightweight cloud handy. Let’s launch a few LTS instances, list them, exec a command, use cloud-init and clean up old instances to start.

    Launch an instance (by default you get the current Ubuntu LTS)

    multipass launch --name foo

    Run commands in that instance, try running bash (logout or ctrl-d to quit)

    multipass exec foo -- lsb_release -a

    Pass a cloud-init metadata file to an instance on launch. See using cloud-init with multipass for more details

    multipass launch -n bar --cloud-init cloud-config.yaml

    See your instances

    multipass list

    Stop and start instances

    multipass stop foo bar
    multipass start foo

    Clean up what you don’t need

    multipass delete bar
    multipass purge

    Find alternate images to launch with multipass

    multipass find

    Get help

    multipass help
    multipass help <command>

    Now don’t forget you still have 'foo' running. To learn more about Multipass keep reading, go to the docs, or join the discussion and get involved.

  1. Install Multipass on Windows

    Download Multipass for Windows

    Note: You need Windows 10 Pro/Enterprise/Education v 1803 or later, or any Windows 10 with VirtualBox

    Make sure your network is private or Windows prevents Multipass from starting.

    Run the installer. You need to allow the installer to gain Administrator privileges.

  2. How to launch LTS instances

    The first five minutes with Multipass let you know how easy it is to have a lightweight cloud handy. Let’s launch a few LTS instances, list them, exec a command, use cloud-init and clean up old instances to start.

    Launch an instance (by default you get the current Ubuntu LTS)

    multipass launch --name foo

    Run commands in that instance, try running bash (logout or ctrl-d to quit)

    multipass exec foo -- lsb_release -a

    Pass a cloud-init metadata file to an instance on launch. See using cloud-init with multipass for more details

    multipass launch -n bar --cloud-init cloud-config.yaml

    See your instances

    multipass list

    Stop and start instances

    multipass stop foo bar
    multipass start foo

    Clean up what you don’t need

    multipass delete bar
    multipass purge

    Find alternate images to launch with multipass

    multipass find

    Get help

    multipass help
    multipass help <command>

    Now don’t forget you still have 'foo' running. To learn more about Multipass keep reading, go to the docs, or join the discussion and get involved.

  1. Install Multipass on MacOS

    Download Multipass for MacOS

    Run the installer in an account with Administrator privileges.

    If you'd like to use Multipass with VirtualBox use this terminal command:

    sudo multipass set local.driver=virtualbox

  2. How to launch LTS instances

    The first five minutes with Multipass let you know how easy it is to have a lightweight cloud handy. Let’s launch a few LTS instances, list them, exec a command, use cloud-init and clean up old instances to start.

    Launch an instance (by default you get the current Ubuntu LTS)

    multipass launch --name foo

    Run commands in that instance, try running bash (logout or ctrl-d to quit)

    multipass exec foo -- lsb_release -a

    Pass a cloud-init metadata file to an instance on launch. See using cloud-init with multipass for more details

    multipass launch -n bar --cloud-init cloud-config.yaml

    See your instances

    multipass list

    Stop and start instances

    multipass stop foo bar
    multipass start foo

    Clean up what you don’t need

    multipass delete bar
    multipass purge

    Find alternate images to launch with multipass

    multipass find

    Get help

    multipass help
    multipass help <command>

    Now don’t forget you still have 'foo' running. To learn more about Multipass keep reading, go to the docs, or join the discussion and get involved.

The ”Ubuntu Server CLI cheat sheet“ is your fast path to learning the Linux command line - from basic file management to deploying Kubernetes and OpenStack.

Download Cheat Sheet

Multipass provides a command line interface to launch, manage and generally fiddle about with instances of Linux. The downloading of a minty-fresh image takes a matter of seconds, and within minutes a VM can be up and running.

The Register

Cloud-style VMs on-demand

Spin up cloud instances with a single command

Launch instances of Ubuntu and initialise them with cloud-init metadata like AWS, Azure, Google, IBM and Oracle clouds. Simulate your own cloud deployment on your workstation.

VMs for Windows, macOS and Linux

Start Ubuntu VMs with each platform’s native hypervisor

Multipass uses Hyper-V on Windows, HyperKit on macOS and KVM on Linux for minimal overhead and the fastest possible start time.

cloud-init

Optimised VM performance

VMs tuned for out-of-the-box performance

Multipass VMs use images tuned for cloud usage. Software baked in with all the tools to deploy a cloud.

Most notably cloud-init, a tool with utilities to initialise cloud instances. Pass multipass a custom cloud-init definition and turn a generic Ubuntu image into a custom-configured server in seconds.

Learn more about cloud-init

Designed for developer convenience

VMs you can trust with access to what you need

Share files and folders between your host and your instances.

Your ‘primary’ instance gets special treatment with integration to your native filesystem and dedicated hot-key access.

Multipass automatically fetches the latest Ubuntu images from Canonical, minimising initial update time.

A curated catalogue of images

Images with apps built-in one command away

Multipass is growing a catalogue of images to initialise pre-installed applications to get started with a single command.

Talk to us about your project

Appliances in VMs

Ubuntu Appliance images to try before you Pi

Run a Virtual Ubuntu Appliance on your workstation without affecting your existing system. No need for spare hardware, just follow the steps and you’ll be up and running in minutes.

Try Ubuntu Appliances

Join our community

Multipass is built by a team of engineers at Canonical and a community of contributors. We appreciate your interest in Multipass, and if you want to join the discussion or contribute, come and say hi. We don’t bite.

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