Alternatives to libvirt

A toolkit, daemon and API for managing KVM, QEMU, Xen, LXC and other virtualization platforms. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as libvirt.

  • Incus

    Manage Linux system containers and virtual machines through one interface.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxSelf-hosted

    Incus manages Linux system containers and virtual machines through one interface, instead of acting as a general API layer across KVM, QEMU, Xen and LXC. It needs a Linux host.

  • LXD

    Canonical's open-source manager for system containers and KVM virtual machines on Linux.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxWebSelf-hostedCommand line

    LXD is Canonical's manager for system containers and KVM virtual machines, with a web interface and CLI, AGPL-3.0 licensed, and most at home on Ubuntu hosts.

  • Proxmox VE

    A bare-metal server platform that runs KVM virtual machines and LXC containers from one web interface.

    FreemiumOpen sourceLinuxSelf-hosted

    Proxmox VE replaces the management layer with a full bare-metal operating system and web interface for KVM virtual machines and LXC containers, including backup and clustering.

  • Ganeti

    An open-source cluster manager for running virtual machines on Xen or KVM across several servers.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxSelf-hostedCommand line

    Ganeti manages Xen or KVM virtual machines across a cluster of about 3 to 100 servers, focusing on high availability rather than a single-host API with language bindings.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.