libvirt: Add support for --transient

The use case here is ephemeral VMs for CI tests; we don't
want to leak them across host updates and it's more efficient
to not create persistent disks for them.

Signed-off-by: Colin Walters <walters@verbum.org>

Author: cgwalters

crates/integration-tests/src/main.rs

@@ -283,6 +283,10 @@ fn main() {
             tests::libvirt_verb::test_libvirt_bind_storage_ro();
             Ok(())
         }),
+        Trial::test("libvirt_transient_vm", || {
+            tests::libvirt_verb::test_libvirt_transient_vm();
+            Ok(())
+        }),
         Trial::test("libvirt_base_disk_creation_and_reuse", || {
             tests::libvirt_base_disks::test_base_disk_creation_and_reuse();
             Ok(())

crates/integration-tests/src/tests/libvirt_verb.rs

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ use std::process::Command;
 use crate::{
     get_bck_command, get_test_image, run_bcvk, run_bcvk_nocapture, LIBVIRT_INTEGRATION_TEST_LABEL,
 };
+use bcvk::xml_utils::parse_xml_dom;
 
 /// Test libvirt list functionality (lists domains)
 pub fn test_libvirt_list_functionality() {
@@ -807,3 +808,158 @@ pub fn test_libvirt_error_handling() {
 
     println!("libvirt error handling validated");
 }
+
+/// Test transient VM functionality
+pub fn test_libvirt_transient_vm() {
+    let bck = get_bck_command().unwrap();
+    let test_image = get_test_image();
+
+    // Generate unique domain name for this test
+    let domain_name = format!(
+        "test-transient-{}",
+        std::time::SystemTime::now()
+            .duration_since(std::time::UNIX_EPOCH)
+            .unwrap()
+            .as_secs()
+    );
+
+    println!("Testing transient VM with domain: {}", domain_name);
+
+    // Cleanup any existing domain with this name
+    cleanup_domain(&domain_name);
+
+    // Create transient domain
+    println!("Creating transient libvirt domain...");
+    let create_output = run_bcvk(&[
+        "libvirt",
+        "run",
+        "--name",
+        &domain_name,
+        "--label",
+        LIBVIRT_INTEGRATION_TEST_LABEL,
+        "--transient",
+        "--filesystem",
+        "ext4",
+        &test_image,
+    ])
+    .expect("Failed to run libvirt run with --transient");
+
+    println!("Create stdout: {}", create_output.stdout);
+    println!("Create stderr: {}", create_output.stderr);
+
+    if !create_output.success() {
+        cleanup_domain(&domain_name);
+        panic!(
+            "Failed to create transient domain: {}",
+            create_output.stderr
+        );
+    }
+
+    println!("Successfully created transient domain: {}", domain_name);
+
+    // Verify domain is transient using virsh dominfo
+    println!("Verifying domain is marked as transient...");
+    let dominfo_output = Command::new("virsh")
+        .args(&["dominfo", &domain_name])
+        .output()
+        .expect("Failed to run virsh dominfo");
+
+    if !dominfo_output.status.success() {
+        cleanup_domain(&domain_name);
+        let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&dominfo_output.stderr);
+        panic!("Failed to get domain info: {}", stderr);
+    }
+
+    let dominfo = String::from_utf8_lossy(&dominfo_output.stdout);
+    println!("Domain info:\n{}", dominfo);
+
+    // Verify "Persistent: no" appears in dominfo
+    assert!(
+        dominfo.contains("Persistent:") && dominfo.contains("no"),
+        "Domain should be marked as non-persistent (transient). dominfo: {}",
+        dominfo
+    );
+    println!("✓ Domain is correctly marked as transient (Persistent: no)");
+
+    // Verify domain XML contains transient disk element
+    println!("Checking domain XML for transient disk configuration...");
+    let dumpxml_output = Command::new("virsh")
+        .args(&["dumpxml", &domain_name])
+        .output()
+        .expect("Failed to dump domain XML");
+
+    let domain_xml = String::from_utf8_lossy(&dumpxml_output.stdout);
+
+    // Parse the XML properly using our XML parser
+    let xml_dom = parse_xml_dom(&domain_xml).expect("Failed to parse domain XML");
+
+    // Verify domain XML contains transient disk element
+    let has_transient = xml_dom.find("transient").is_some();
+    assert!(
+        has_transient,
+        "Domain XML should contain transient disk element"
+    );
+    println!("✓ Domain XML contains transient disk element");
+
+    // Extract the base disk path from the domain XML using proper XML parsing
+    let base_disk_path = xml_dom
+        .find("source")
+        .and_then(|source_node| source_node.attributes.get("file"))
+        .map(|s| s.to_string());
+
+    println!("Base disk path: {:?}", base_disk_path);
+
+    // Stop the domain (this should make it disappear since it's transient)
+    println!("Stopping transient domain (should disappear)...");
+    let destroy_output = Command::new("virsh")
+        .args(&["destroy", &domain_name])
+        .output()
+        .expect("Failed to run virsh destroy");
+
+    if !destroy_output.status.success() {
+        let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&destroy_output.stderr);
+        panic!("Failed to stop domain: {}", stderr);
+    }
+
+    // Poll for domain disappearance with timeout
+    println!("Verifying domain has disappeared...");
+    let start_time = std::time::Instant::now();
+    let timeout = std::time::Duration::from_secs(10);
+    let mut domain_disappeared = false;
+
+    while start_time.elapsed() < timeout {
+        let list_output = Command::new("virsh")
+            .args(&["list", "--all", "--name"])
+            .output()
+            .expect("Failed to list domains");
+
+        let domain_list = String::from_utf8_lossy(&list_output.stdout);
+        if !domain_list.contains(&domain_name) {
+            domain_disappeared = true;
+            break;
+        }
+
+        // Wait briefly before checking again
+        std::thread::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(200));
+    }
+
+    assert!(
+        domain_disappeared,
+        "Transient domain should have disappeared after shutdown within {} seconds",
+        timeout.as_secs()
+    );
+    println!("✓ Transient domain disappeared after shutdown");
+
+    // Verify base disk still exists (only the overlay was removed)
+    if let Some(ref disk_path) = base_disk_path {
+        println!("Verifying base disk still exists: {}", disk_path);
+        let disk_exists = std::path::Path::new(disk_path).exists();
+        assert!(
+            disk_exists,
+            "Base disk should still exist after transient domain shutdown"
+        );
+        println!("✓ Base disk still exists (not deleted)");
+    }
+
+    println!("✓ Transient VM test passed");
+}

crates/kit/src/libvirt/domain.rs

@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ pub struct DomainBuilder {
     memory: Option<u64>, // in MB
     vcpus: Option<u32>,
     disk_path: Option<String>,
+    transient_disk: bool, // Use transient disk with temporary overlay
     network: Option<String>,
     vnc_port: Option<u16>,
     kernel_args: Option<String>,
@@ -58,6 +59,7 @@ impl DomainBuilder {
             memory: None,
             vcpus: None,
             disk_path: None,
+            transient_disk: false,
             network: None,
             vnc_port: None,
             kernel_args: None,
@@ -95,6 +97,12 @@ impl DomainBuilder {
         self
     }
 
+    /// Enable transient disk (changes written to temporary overlay)
+    pub fn with_transient_disk(mut self, transient: bool) -> Self {
+        self.transient_disk = transient;
+        self
+    }
+
     /// Set network configuration
     pub fn with_network(mut self, network: &str) -> Self {
         self.network = Some(network.to_string());
@@ -305,6 +313,9 @@ impl DomainBuilder {
             writer.write_empty_element("driver", &[("name", "qemu"), ("type", disk_type)])?;
             writer.write_empty_element("source", &[("file", disk_path)])?;
             writer.write_empty_element("target", &[("dev", "vda"), ("bus", "virtio")])?;
+            if self.transient_disk {
+                writer.write_empty_element("transient", &[])?;
+            }
             writer.end_element("disk")?;
         }
 

crates/kit/src/libvirt/run.rs

@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
-//! libvirt run command - run a bootable container as a persistent VM
+//! libvirt run command - run a bootable container as a VM
 //!
 //! This module provides the core functionality for creating and managing
-//! libvirt-based VMs from bootc container images.
+//! libvirt-based VMs from bootc container images. Supports both persistent
+//! VMs (survive shutdown) and transient VMs (disappear on shutdown).
 
 use camino::{Utf8Path, Utf8PathBuf};
 use clap::{Parser, ValueEnum};
@@ -26,6 +27,19 @@ pub(super) fn virsh_command(connect_uri: Option<&str>) -> Result<std::process::C
     Ok(cmd)
 }
 
+/// Run a virsh command and handle errors consistently
+pub(crate) fn run_virsh_cmd(connect_uri: Option<&str>, args: &[&str], err_msg: &str) -> Result<()> {
+    let output = virsh_command(connect_uri)?
+        .args(args)
+        .output()
+        .with_context(|| format!("Failed to run virsh command: {:?}", args))?;
+    if !output.status.success() {
+        let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr);
+        return Err(color_eyre::eyre::eyre!("{}: {}", err_msg, stderr));
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 /// Firmware type for virtual machines
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, ValueEnum)]
 #[clap(rename_all = "kebab-case")]
@@ -102,6 +116,10 @@ pub struct LibvirtRunOpts {
     /// User-defined labels for organizing VMs (comma not allowed in labels)
     #[clap(long)]
     pub label: Vec<String>,
+
+    /// Create a transient VM that disappears on shutdown/reboot
+    #[clap(long)]
+    pub transient: bool,
 }
 
 impl LibvirtRunOpts {
@@ -168,12 +186,17 @@ pub fn run(global_opts: &crate::libvirt::LibvirtOptions, opts: LibvirtRunOpts) -
 
     println!("Using base disk image: {}", base_disk_path);
 
-    // Phase 2: Clone the base disk to create a VM-specific disk
-    let disk_path =
-        crate::libvirt::base_disks::clone_from_base(&base_disk_path, &vm_name, connect_uri)
-            .with_context(|| "Failed to clone VM disk from base")?;
-
-    println!("Created VM disk: {}", disk_path);
+    // Phase 2: Clone the base disk to create a VM-specific disk (or use base directly if transient)
+    let disk_path = if opts.transient {
+        println!("Transient mode: using base disk directly with overlay");
+        base_disk_path
+    } else {
+        let cloned_disk =
+            crate::libvirt::base_disks::clone_from_base(&base_disk_path, &vm_name, connect_uri)
+                .with_context(|| "Failed to clone VM disk from base")?;
+        println!("Created VM disk: {}", cloned_disk);
+        cloned_disk
+    };
 
     // Phase 3: Create libvirt domain
     println!("Creating libvirt domain...");
@@ -642,6 +665,7 @@ fn create_libvirt_domain_from_disk(
         .with_memory(memory.into())
         .with_vcpus(opts.cpus)
         .with_disk(disk_path.as_str())
+        .with_transient_disk(opts.transient)
         .with_network("none") // Use QEMU args for SSH networking instead
         .with_firmware(opts.firmware)
         .with_tpm(!opts.disable_tpm)
@@ -747,34 +771,28 @@ fn create_libvirt_domain_from_disk(
     let xml_path = format!("/tmp/{}.xml", domain_name);
     std::fs::write(&xml_path, domain_xml).with_context(|| "Failed to write domain XML")?;
 
-    // Define the domain
-    let output = global_opts
-        .virsh_command()
-        .args(&["define", &xml_path])
-        .output()
-        .with_context(|| "Failed to run virsh define")?;
-
-    if !output.status.success() {
-        let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr);
-        return Err(color_eyre::eyre::eyre!(
-            "Failed to define libvirt domain: {}",
-            stderr
-        ));
-    }
-
-    // Start the domain by default (compatibility)
-    let output = global_opts
-        .virsh_command()
-        .args(&["start", domain_name])
-        .output()
-        .with_context(|| "Failed to start domain")?;
+    let connect_uri = global_opts.connect.as_deref();
 
-    if !output.status.success() {
-        let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr);
-        return Err(color_eyre::eyre::eyre!(
-            "Failed to start libvirt domain: {}",
-            stderr
-        ));
+    // Create domain (transient or persistent)
+    if opts.transient {
+        // Create transient domain (single command - domain disappears on shutdown)
+        run_virsh_cmd(
+            connect_uri,
+            &["create", &xml_path],
+            "Failed to create transient libvirt domain",
+        )?;
+    } else {
+        // Define and start the domain (persistent)
+        run_virsh_cmd(
+            connect_uri,
+            &["define", &xml_path],
+            "Failed to define libvirt domain",
+        )?;
+        run_virsh_cmd(
+            connect_uri,
+            &["start", domain_name],
+            "Failed to start libvirt domain",
+        )?;
     }
 
     // Clean up temporary XML file

docs/src/man/bcvk-libvirt-run.md

@@ -106,6 +106,10 @@ Run a bootable container as a persistent VM
 
     User-defined labels for organizing VMs (comma not allowed in labels)
 
+**--transient**
+
+    Create a transient VM that disappears on shutdown/reboot
+
 <!-- END GENERATED OPTIONS -->
 
 # EXAMPLES