ZimaOS

ZimaOS inside a Docker container.

Features ✨

• KVM acceleration
• Web-based interface

Usage 🐳

Via Docker Compose:

services:
  zima:
    image: dockurr/zima
    container_name: zima
    devices:
      - /dev/kvm
      - /dev/net/tun
    cap_add:
      - NET_ADMIN
    ports:
      - 8080:80
    volumes:
      - ./zima:/storage
    restart: always
    stop_grace_period: 2m

Via Docker CLI:

docker run -it --rm --name zima -p 8080:80 --device=/dev/kvm --device=/dev/net/tun --cap-add NET_ADMIN -v "${PWD:-.}/zima:/storage" --stop-timeout 120 docker.io/dockurr/zima

Via Kubernetes:

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dockur/zima/refs/heads/master/kubernetes.yml

Via Github Codespaces:

Screenshot 📸

FAQ 💬

How do I use it?

Very simple! These are the steps:

• Start the container and connect to port 8080 using your web browser.

• Create an username and password, and login to ZimaOS to complete the setup.

Enjoy your brand new machine, and don't forget to star this repo!

How do I change the storage location?

To change the storage location, include the following bind mount in your compose file:

volumes:
  - ./zima:/storage

Replace the example path ./zima with the desired storage folder or named volume.

How do I change the amount of CPU or RAM?

By default, ZimaOS will be allowed to use two CPU cores and 4 GB of RAM.

If you want to adjust this, you can specify the desired amount using the following environment variables:

environment:
  RAM_SIZE: "8G"
  CPU_CORES: "4"

How do I expose network ports?

When using bridge networking, you can expose ports by adding them to your compose file. If you want to be able to connect to the SSH service of the machine for example, you would add it like this:

ports:
  - 2222:22

This will make port 2222 on your host redirect to port 22 of the virtual machine.

When using user-mode networking (for example when running under Podman), you will also need to add those ports to the USER_PORTS variable like this:

environment:
  USER_PORTS: "22,80,443"

How do I assign an individual IP address to the container?

By default, the container uses bridge networking, which shares the IP address with the host.

If you want to assign an individual IP address to the container, you can create a macvlan network as follows:

docker network create -d macvlan \
    --subnet=192.168.0.0/24 \
    --gateway=192.168.0.1 \
    --ip-range=192.168.0.100/28 \
    -o parent=eth0 vlan

Be sure to modify these values to match your local subnet.

Once you have created the network, change your compose file to look as follows:

services:
  zima:
    container_name: zima
    ..<snip>..
    networks:
      vlan:
        ipv4_address: 192.168.0.100

networks:
  vlan:
    external: true

An added benefit of this approach is that you won't have to perform any port mapping anymore, since all ports will be exposed by default.

How can ZimaOS acquire an IP address from my router?

After configuring the container for macvlan, it is possible for ZimaOS to become part of your home network by requesting an IP from your router, just like your other devices.

To enable this mode, in which the container and ZimaOS will have separate IP addresses, add the following lines to your compose file:

environment:
  DHCP: "Y"
devices:
  - /dev/vhost-net
device_cgroup_rules:
  - 'c *:* rwm'

How do I pass-through a disk?

It is possible to pass-through disk devices or partitions directly by adding them to your compose file in this way:

devices:
  - /dev/sdb:/disk1
  - /dev/sdc1:/disk2

Use /disk1 if you want it to become your main drive that will be formatted during installation, and use /disk2 and higher to add them as secondary drives that will stay untouched.

How do I pass-through a USB device?

To pass-through a USB device, first lookup its vendor and product id via the lsusb command, then add them to your compose file like this:

environment:
  ARGUMENTS: "-device usb-host,vendorid=0x1234,productid=0x1234"
devices:
  - /dev/bus/usb

How do I share files with the host?

To share files with the host, add the following volume to your compose file:

volumes:
  - ./example:/shared

Then start the container and execute the following command in ZimaOS:

mount -t 9p -o trans=virtio shared /mnt/example

Now the ./example directory on the host will be available as /mnt/example in ZimaOS.

How do I verify if my system supports KVM?

First check if your software is compatible using this chart:

Product	Linux	Win11	Win10	macOS
Docker CLI	✅	✅	❌	❌
Docker Desktop	❌	✅	❌	❌
Podman CLI	✅	✅	❌	❌
Podman Desktop	✅	✅	❌	❌

After that you can run the following commands in Linux to check your system:

sudo apt install cpu-checker
sudo kvm-ok

If you receive an error from kvm-ok indicating that KVM cannot be used, please check whether:

• the virtualization extensions (Intel VT-x or AMD SVM) are enabled in your BIOS.

• you enabled "nested virtualization" if you are running the container inside a virtual machine.

• you are not using a cloud provider, as most of them do not allow nested virtualization for their VPS's.

If you did not receive any error from kvm-ok but the container still complains about a missing KVM device, it could help to add privileged: true to your compose file (or sudo to your docker command) to rule out any permission issue.

How do I run CasaOS in a container?

See dockur/casa for a CasaOS container.

How do I run UmbrelOS in a container?

See dockur/umbrel for a UmbrelOS container.

Stars 🌟