Network - Lima — ContextQMD

See the following flowchart to choose the best network for you:

mermaid

flowchart
connect_to_vm_via{"Connect to the VM via"} -- "localhost" --> default["Default"]
  connect_to_vm_via -- "IP" --> connect_from{"Connect to the VM IP from"}
  connect_from -- "Host" --> vm{"VM type"}
  vm -- "vz" --> vzNAT["vzNAT (see the VMNet page)"]
  vm -- "qemu" --> shared["socket_vmnet (shared)"]
  connect_from -- "Other VMs" --> userV2["user-v2"]
  connect_from -- "Other hosts" --> bridged["socket_vmnet (bridged)"]

Managing named networks (limactl network)

Lima networks defined in ~/.lima/_config/networks.yaml provide named interfaces that can be shared across instances.

Listing networks

limactl network list
# or the short alias:
limactl network ls
# machine-readable output:
limactl network list --json

Creating a network

limactl network create NAME --gateway CIDR

Example:

limactl network create mynet --gateway 192.168.42.1/24

Attaching a network to an instance

Add the network name under the networks key before starting the instance:

yaml

networks:
- lima: mynet

Deleting a network

limactl network delete --force NAME [NAME...]

Note: --force is currently required.