KVM/Minimalized Installation

Whonix ®

Download

Windows Linux Mac VirtualBox KVM Qubes Intel / AMD64 ARM64 PPC64 USB ISO Raspberry Pi More options Source Code

About

Overview Features Whonix vs VPNs Why Open Source? Project Activities Contributors Mission & Vision

Docs

Documentation FAQ Troubleshooting

Community

Forums Forum Best Practices Contribute

Support

Self Support First Policy Search Engines, Docs and AI Support (Limited) Reporting Bugs Contact (Restricted)

Tools Upload file Special pages Recent changes Print Version Page meta What links here Related changes Page information

Page Read Edit History Move Protection Unwatch Watch Delete Purge

User Preferences Watchlist Contributions Logout Create account Login

Donate

This page is for minimalized guide written by community members.

Note (1) You are encouraged to read the official KVM guide and documentation first and only refer here if are still unsure about what to do. Please report any uncertainties about the official guide on the KVM support forum.

Note (2) This fast instructions for amd processors with debian as a host if you want other installation commands for different distro please check Install KVM, if you are first time user please check this guide section.

Note (3) Copy&Paste each command separately then press Enter to run them.

• You need to add your username to the sudoers:

Setup sudoers. Add the operating system user name to sudoers.

Become root.

su

Add the user account to the sudoer's group. Replace user with the actual operating system user name.

sudo adduser user sudo

Reboot so group changes take effect.

reboot

• Then follow the rest of the commands:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install --no-install-recommends qemu-kvm libvirt-daemon-system libvirt-clients virt-manager gir1.2-spiceclientgtk-3.0 dnsmasq qemu-utils -y sudo adduser "$(whoami)" libvirt sudo adduser "$(whoami)" kvm sudo reboot

• After Reboot:

virsh -c qemu:///system net-autostart default virsh -c qemu:///system net-start default

• For simplicity, you can copy and paste the following commands without changes, download and store Whonix image in your home folder (which is the default for most of the browsers to save downloads in /home/username but if you like to use the commands in /home/username/Downloads because you downloaded whonix kvm image there then up to you)

• To download the qcow2 images please press on Download Whonix icon

• After whonix kvm image finished downloading follow the rest of the commands:

tar -xvf Whonix*.libvirt.xz sudo virsh -c qemu:///system net-define Whonix_external*.xml sudo virsh -c qemu:///system net-define Whonix_internal*.xml sudo virsh -c qemu:///system net-autostart Whonix-External sudo virsh -c qemu:///system net-start Whonix-External sudo virsh -c qemu:///system net-autostart Whonix-Internal sudo virsh -c qemu:///system net-start Whonix-Internal sudo virsh -c qemu:///system define Whonix-Gateway*.xml sudo virsh -c qemu:///system define Whonix-Workstation*.xml sudo mv Whonix-Gateway*.qcow2 /var/lib/libvirt/images/Whonix-Gateway.qcow2 sudo mv Whonix-Workstation*.qcow2 /var/lib/libvirt/images/Whonix-Workstation.qcow2

• Depend on your desktop environment these images for KDE as e.g:

Start Menu → Applications → System → Virtual Machine Manager

Whonix-Gateway → Open → Play symbol

To take snapshots, please follow the instructions below:

Manage VM snapshots → Create new snapshot → Type Name & Description → Finish

To start the snapshot, please follow the instructions below:-

Right click on snapshot → Start snapshot → Yes

Whonix The most watertight privacy operating system in the world.

Dark mode

Follow us on social media

Supported by Power Up Privacy

Whonix is proudly supported until 2025 by Power Up Privacy, a privacy advocacy group that seeks to supercharge privacy projects with resources so they can complete their mission of making our world a better place. (Strictly subject to our sponsorship policy.)

At Whonix we value freedom and trust, supporting Open Source and Freedom Software

By using this website, you acknowledge you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these agreements: Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, E-Sign Consent, DMCA, Imprint 2012- 2025 ENCRYPTED SUPPORT LLC

Your support makes
all the difference!

We believe security software like Whonix needs to remain open source and independent. Would you help sustain and grow the project? Learn more about our 13 year success story and maybe DONATE!