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Attach to a microVM

Start a development microVM, then attach:

Terminal window
mvmctl up ./my-app --name devbox
mvmctl console devbox

The console uses the project’s guest-control path rather than requiring SSH inside the guest. That keeps the base image smaller and avoids introducing a second always-on remote access service.

Terminal window
mvmctl console devbox --command "id && uname -a"

Use this for terminal-shaped checks. For normal automation, prefer:

Terminal window
mvmctl exec devbox -- id
mvmctl proc start devbox -- python /work/task.py

Console behavior depends on the active backend and image mode:

  • Development images may expose PTY-backed shell access.
  • Sealed images should refuse interactive console access.
  • Terminal resize, signal forwarding, and scrollback are backend-specific.
  • Console sessions end when the VM stops.

When a backend cannot provide a console, use mvmctl logs, mvmctl exec, and guest readiness probes to debug the workload.

  • Do not treat console access as a production management API.
  • Avoid pasting secrets into an interactive shell.
  • Prefer short-lived dev sandboxes for debugging third-party code.
  • Stop or cold-pause the VM when the debugging session is over.
  • Capture relevant state with explicit files or logs instead of relying on terminal scrollback.