wendy vm start
Start a VM and attach to its console
Syntax
wendy vm start [name] [flags]Examples
wendy vm start --helpArguments
Argument notation from the CLI: [name]. Angle brackets mark required values; square brackets mark optional values. See Details for command-specific validation.
Flags
Flags below include inherited options. Types and defaults come from the CLI source. An empty default means no value is configured.
| Flag | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
--cpus | int | 4 | Guest CPU count |
--detach / -d | bool | false | Run the VM in the background instead of attaching to its console |
--device | string | (empty) | Target device host (hostname, IP, or host:port); 'wendy run' accepts a comma-separated list to deploy one build to several devices (needs a remote build host and --detach). Defaults to $WENDY_DEVICE, then the saved default device |
--json | bool | false | Output in JSON format |
--memory | int | 4096 | Guest memory in MiB |
--net | string | user | Networking: 'user' forwards the agent port and needs no setup, but 'wendy discover' cannot see the VM; 'shared' puts it on a host-visible network so discover works (needs socket_vmnet) |
--port | int | 50051 | Host port to forward to the guest agent's 50051. Without it the VM reuses its last port, or the first free one from the default |
--yes / -y | bool | false | Accept prompts, including installing QEMU when it is missing (Linux still asks before running sudo) |
Output
Output depends on the operation and selected target. Command behavior and detailed examples.
JSON output
The global --json option requests machine-readable output. The CLI also selects JSON mode when no interactive terminal is attached. Support and payloads are command-specific; this flag does not guarantee a single JSON document for commands that stream logs or invoke build tools. Consult Details before parsing command output.
Exit codes
The CLI entry point returns 0 on success and for its user-cancelled or default-cleared results. Other returned errors exit with 1 and print a diagnostic to stderr. Some operations may terminate through subprocess or signal handling; do not infer application health from the CLI exit code alone.
Common errors
Check argument values and flag combinations against the synopsis above. For discovery, build, port, and readiness failures, see deployment troubleshooting. Command-specific constraints are in Details.