Need to manage virtual machines on Linux? I found an easier way
Need to manage virtual machines on Linux? I found an easier way
https://www.zdnet.com/article/using-cockpit-as-a-virtual-machine-manager-on-linux/
Publish Date: 2026-01-27 17:15:00
Source Domain: www.zdnet.com
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Cockpit offers an easy way to manage virtual machines.
- Once installed, this method is easy and versatile.
- Cockpit is free to use.
I recently wrote about my migration away from VirtualBox to KVM/Virt-Machine for my virtual machine needs. I’ve found those tools to be far superior (albeit with a bit more of a learning curve) than VirtualBox.
Since then, however, I’ve found another method of working with KVM (the Linux kernel virtual machine technology), one that not only allows me to create and manage virtual machines on my local computer, but also from any machine on my LAN.
That tool is Cockpit, which makes managing your Linux machines considerably easier.
Also: The best Linux distributions for beginners: Expert tested and reviewed
Cockpit can be installed on just about any Linux distribution and has a virtual machines plugin you can add into the mix. With this plugin, you can:
- Create new virtual machines
- Import virtual machines
- Start virtual machines
- View virtual machines
- Insert disks into a virtual machine
- Add network interfaces to a virtual machine
- And much more
The Cockpit/Virtual Machines combination is very powerful and quite useful.
Let me show you how to install and use it.
Installing Cockpit
What you’ll need: I’m going to install and run Cockpit on my main Pop!_OS installation. You can install Cockpit on other distros with your default package manager (such as dnf and pacman). Besides the Linux distro, you’ll also need a user with sudo privileges.
Let’s make this happen.
Install Cockpit with the following command:
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sudo apt-get install cockpit -y
Next, install the virtual machines plugin with the command:
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sudo apt-get install cockpit-machines -y
You could also install both of those packages with the single command:
sudo apt-get install cockpit cockpit-machines -y
You’re now ready to rock.
